When D first gave me her list of “to make” Japanese foods, she ended with “red bean ice cream, of course.” So I took that idea and ran with it, and I ran right into these sweet red bean cookies.
Of course. I really wanted to make it. I really, really did. After all I love ice cream SO much. I had the ice cream maker canister in the freezer and everything, but in the end, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It’s just too cold out. I can get behind ice cream at almost any time. Even if it’s 20 degrees out (like when Mom and I went to Ghiradelli over Christmas for hot fudge sundaes). But it was TWO degrees today. Two. And that, my friend, is my ice cream limit.
However, I couldn’t shake the red bean theme from my head, and since I had lots of time on my hands thanks to another adult snow day, I came up with Sweet Red Bean cookies. Most red bean cookie concoctions are ravioli-like; a sweet, chewy rice flour dumpling filled with the red bean filling, but I wanted to try something a bit different so I hodgepodged a few cookie recipes to come up with this one. Plus, I got a shiny new mixer for Christmas that I had yet to use.
Thanks, Mom!
The result?
Good! I surprised myself with this one. While taste-testing the batter (come on, who does NOT eat cookie dough? Those who possess more self-control than I…), I feared the red bean flavor would be lost, and the result would taste like nothing more than a sugar cookie. However, once they were out of the oven and cooled, I was pleased to taste a subtle yet distinct sweet red bean flavor, complemented by the sesame seed coating.
Crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, these cookies were a success.
So, maybe not Japanese in reality, they are Japanese in spirit, and that’s what counts.
Sweet Red Bean Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup sweetened red bean paste available at Asian or other ethnic grocers
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp powdered ginger optional
- pinch ground cloves optional
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup toasted sesame seeds divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and airy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
- Add the red bean paste and salt. Incorporate well.
- Add in the baking soda and flour and mix until just combined. Add 1/2 cup sesame seeds.
- Roll about 1 TB of the batter into a ball. Roll the ball in the remaining sesame seeds, as desired.
- Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet about 1- ½ inches apart
- Bake 14-16 minutes until lightly golden. Let sit on the baking sheet about 3 minutes before moving to a rack to finish cooling.
These are the best cookies in the world (ok my Grandmother’s banana cookies are beyond compare but that’s family devotion for you) I add 1/2 tsp. of ginger powder and a pinch of clove just to heighten the taste, but otherwise I stay true to your recipe. One interesting thing….these cookies taste even better if frozen at least a week before eating. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Your comment just made my day! And I love the top on the ginger and clove- I could totally see how that’d have such a big impact. I’m actually going to put that in the notes of the recipe- so thank you! And interesting about the frozen bit. I’ll note that as well! Thanks for stopping by 🙂