Recipes: Garrett, Neely, & Sullivan

Gail W. Tolbert's Benne Wafers

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sesame (benne) seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

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Cream butter and sugar together and mix other ingredients in the order given.  Drop with a teaspoon onto a well-greased cookie sheet far enough apart to allow spreading while baking.  Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 7-10 minutes.  Yield: 7 dozen.

The History of the Benne Wafer

Unique to the Low Country since Colonial times, Benne (the Bantu-word for sesame) was brought from East Africa and planted extensively throughout the South. Other foods brought from Africa in the 17th and 18th century include peanuts, sweet potatoes, okra, black-eyed peas and collard greens.

History Source