Black Sesame Earl Grey Cookies

Alternately titled Black & Grey Cookies?

Well, I’m still a little sick — but this is somehow different from last week — so things have been going slow here at EGO HQ. I want to be free of these ailments!

Anyway, speaking of sickness, four years ago yesterday the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. This anniversary also reminded me that four years ago, on March 7, I was shakily walking into a tasting to be cast on The Great American Baking Show. I was shaky because I was so nervous to be auditioning *a second time* for my favorite TV show at the time (after making it pretty far the first time! It was really cool!). But also because there were rumors about the scary new coronavirus being in the city already and everyone was sort of looking around on the street being like… should we be here? I was still working at TED at the time so I think I scheduled the afternoon off and brought my baked goods to the tasting at some building downtown. (I’m going to try to tell what I think I can without breaking the confidentiality clause in the application. And if you want to know more about the audition process, I guess you can just Google it.)

I brought these matcha croissants and this mile-high blackberry torte, which was an insane thing to try to commute with. I can’t remember the third item if there was one. This was about six months into the existence of easygayoven, but well into my newfound obsession with baking, which ignited when I entered the workforce. (I had loved baking my whole life but it became a full-blown hobby in high school and college.)

easygayoven

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I didn’t hear back from them, and I don’t know if they even ended up casting with that pool of applicants because of … what would end up happening when it wasn’t just “two weeks of lockdown”. Of course, I didn’t really know whether to be disappointed. It was a weird time, obviously. And they reached out asking me to audition a few times after that, which I didn’t do only because I wanted easygayoven to be my focus and I was unsure of how the show would help that long-term. (From what I can see from the American version, unlike the original, unless you win, it doesn’t raise your profile. And even if you do win, it can be hit or miss.) I also became concerned about how appearing on TV could actually be potentially not good for me or my new project. But still, it would have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

But now that I’m pretty far removed from the “amateur” baker level (but also wouldn’t call myself a pro baker or pastry chef just yet as I have never worked in a bakery nor have I been to pastry school) I know it’s not for me anymore. Also…. I’m pretty slow in the kitchen, so I don’t know why a timed competition ever appealed to me! And it’s one of those what if — If/Then? — moments where, if it had happened either of the times I auditioned, would I be in the same spot I’m in now? Would I have been thrown off course and never left my full-time job? IDK! But ABC, if you’re reading this, I’m always available to come and judge or host!

Updates

We hit 75,000 people following the IG page!! So if you’re one of them, thank you. Insta is where this whole shebang all started and despite the rumors it definitely did not blow up overnight (it’s been around for four years!)

EGO Recommends

TV 📺: Only Murders in the Building
I’m continuing two themes with this recommendation: 1. Recommending murder mystery shows (I think this has to be number 3 or 4) and 2. recommending shows that have been out for years. I just finished Season 1 so that’s all I can speak to, but I’m having fun. The show is clever plus beautifully designed and scored, and the twists are genuinely twisty.

This Week’s Recipe

Okay, the offering for this week is a little unusual. It’s a cookie; crisp on outside, chewy on inside — as is my platonic ideal. I’ve been obsessing a bit over black sesame lately (the flavor makes many appearances in my “to-develop” notes app note.) So in addition to being flavored with earl grey tea, the dough is also swirled with inky channels of black tahini (or black sesame paste, more on that later).

Black tahini is simply black sesame seeds that have been ground in a mill, releasing their oils and producing this thin, runny paste that’s smokey and nutty. I know this ingredient hailing from the Middle East might be harder to find in American grocery stores than its beige sister made from regular sesame seeds. I have, however, found it at Whole Foods and Wegmans (this is the brand I used) and would bet it can be sourced in some Middle Eastern speicialty stores or spice shops.

But if you can’t find it, or you happen to have black sesame seeds, you can also make black sesame paste. It comes together in a food processor and, for the honey version we’re making, is sweeter than black tahini. Now… they are selling a 3-ounce jar of black sesame seeds at Whole Foods for $10. (IDK why I can’t find sesame seeds in their bulk section anymore!). But, trust me, you can get them in spice shops or Asian supermarkets or online for less. Or, if you want, buy pre-made black sesame paste, just make sure it’s the sweet kind.

So, yes, you have many options for the mix-in, but you can also decide if you want to do the earl grey sugar coating to really amp up the tea flavor, if that’s what you love. Make sure you don’t mix in the sesame paste or black tahini too well, or you’ll end up with cookies that are good, but you’ll be unable make out the difference between the flavors or the beautiful striations of color. I include some examples below.

This one was well-swirled but not covered in the tea-sugar mix. ^

These were covered in the tea-sugar mix but swirled a little too much so we lost the definition not just in color but also in flavor. ^

Black Sesame Earl Grey Cookies

Makes 12-13 cookies

Ingredients