I must admit I am getting restless with all this baking. My “must try” recipe file is getting bigger than my waistline! It doesn’t help that I keep subscribing to interesting feeds from other feeds I normally feed off (no pun(s) intended) – a vicious cycle for a foodie. But while I see a lot of neat stuff, I don’t necessarily follow a lot of food trends. Remember Matcha, PSL – took me years to finally hop on the wagon for either of those. I remember in Chef school just briefly exploring molecular gastronomy. So much effort – wonderful results but impractical for my needs as a Chef. I remember buying aerators, pumps, organic powders etc. with some of them going to waste as by the time I got to trying things out, they were past their expiry date.

Michelin starred restaurants are big on foams and dots and spectacular doodahs. But have you seen how many people it takes to do one plate. Ugh! It’s art! It requires time and patience, oh yes and let’s not forget skill! So, why am I telling you this, because I will stick to recipes that stay close to home and yield great results – remember, you only see what works on the blog. So many unwritten – but eaten, “not what I was expecting” tries.

I put this recipe on IGTV so you can see the process step by step. I hope I’m getting better at those videos. It is so different being in-front of you in a classroom situation, and doing it by yourself on video. I’m not always thrilled with the outcome, I expect Food Network production quality, but end up with Canada’s funniest videos! But this is a nice recipe so if you are learning, try watching the link for technique – otherwise it’s just a nice recipe! https://www.instagram.com/p/CAf36Dkp4no/. Techniques are what make the dish – never stop learning new techniques. Stay safe! Don’t let your guard down, we have come too far to go back! This recipe makes about 24 cookies (more or less). As always – enjoy!

250g butter, room temperature
110g brown sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
280g all-purpose flour
¾ tsp salt
1¾ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp. sesame seeds – white or black and white

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt – whisk and set aside
Combine the sugar and butter using a hand or stand mixer – about 3 minutes
Add the yolks, one at a time, and mix on low to incorporate
Add the vanilla – scrape down the bowl as needed
Add the flour mix in two additions
When all mixed you should have dough that is slightly sticky – but not so much that you can’t roll it into a ball
At this stage you can either use a piping bag or a spoon to make the cookies
If using a piping bag, empty the contents of the bowl into the piping bag with a large star tip (I used Ateco #829)
Pipe stars onto a parchment lined baking sheet – sprinkle the tops with the sesame seeds
If you are using a big teaspoon, scoop the dough into the spoon, roll into a ball and flatten slightly repeat until all the dough is finished – sprinkle with the sesame seeds
Bake for 15 minutes or until the cookie comes off easily from the pan – as show in the video
A buttery light mild taste sensation!