Black Sesame Pie Crust Pinwheel Cookies

5 from 3 votes

Black Sesame Pie Crust Pinwheel Cookies

Easy Black Sesame Pie Crust Pinwheel Cookies ready in 30 minutes. Flaky, chewy and perfect for Chinese New Year or last minute teatime.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: Chinese

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: cookies

Calories: 161kcal

Author: HWC Magazine

Equipment

baking sheet
Rolling Pin
parchment paper or baking liner

Ingredients

¾ cup Homemade Black Sesame Paste sweetened with honey (or can use tahini or any nut butter like peanut, almond or walnut butter BUT you need to follow the recipe adaptation instructions below)
14 ounces pre-made refrigerated pie crust dough (2 refrigerated pie crust per package) or use leftover homemade pie crust dough.
2 tablespoons brown sugar
packed (I only like my delicately sweet so you may want to add more to suit your taste)
1 whole egg
beaten
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds white or black

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 374 degrees F (190 degree celsius).
Remove the pre-made refrigerator pie crusts from the box and wrapping. Unroll your pre-made pie crusts and roll lightly with a rolling pin to flatten. Cut the four edges off the circle crust to make a square (This makes it easier to roll up and cut) You can pull together the scrap crusts and roll out as well.

If you are not using our recipe for homemade black sesame paste, please read the recipe notes below for instructions. Every seed paste, tahini or nut butter has a different flavor and consistency. This will affect the outcome of the recipe!

Using a lightly greased butterknife, delicately spread ½ of the thick sweetened homemade black sesame paste over the top of each of the 2 raw square pie crusts so that it is about ⅛ inch thick. Please leave about 1 inch bare on the edges closest and furthest away from you. This space gives you room to seal the pie cookies after rolling.
Sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the black sesame paste. Use a little more if you like it sweeter!
Use a sharp knife and slice the black sesame paste topped pie crust in 1-inch segments. Roll each cut slice into a pinwheel. Pinch the edge to seal the cookie. (You will get about 10 cookies from each pie crust section or about 20 cookies in total.)
Beat an egg and brush the egg around the edges of each sliced cookie dough and on top. Roll the pinwheel edges in the toasted white sesame seeds.
Placed your prepared Black Sesame Pie Crust Pinwheel cookies on a lined cookie sheet about 2 inches apart (they do not expand). Bake for about 14-16 or until slightly golden and crisp on the outside but still chewy in the center.
Enjoy your Sesame Spiral Pie Cookies with a little Chinese Tea and friends and family. Delicious hot out of the oven, room temperature or even chilled.

Video

Notes

Make in Advance for Easy Entertaining

Option 1: Prepare the recipe and refrigerate for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to 2 months in a freezer BEFORE baking. To make sure the cookies do not stick together, place the cookies directly to the freezer on a baking sheet until firm. Then, transfer to freezer safe container for longer storage.

Refrigerated or frozen pinwheel cookies can be baked straight away. There is no need to thaw the cookies before baking. Frozen cookies may take a couple minutes longer to bake compared to cookies that are not frozen. They are done baking when golden brown with crispy edges.

Option 2: Prepare and bake black sesame swirl cookies. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

How to Use Black or Traditional Tahini in Rolled Cookies?

Stir the tahini paste before using. It is common for the natural oils from the seeds to raise to the top of the jar.
Add at least ½ cup or more of brown sugar to the tahini paste BEFORE spreading on pie crusts. You are also going to want to sprinkle a little brown sugar on top of the tahini that is spread on the pie crust dough before rolling. Raw sesame seeds are very bitter!
Only add a thin layer of tahini on to each pie crust. You will only need 3 tablespoons or less on each pie crust – 6 tablespoons total.
To help the tahini adhere to the pie crust during the rolling process, consider adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of either toasted white or black on top of the tahini before rolling.

How to Use Other Nut or Seed Butters in Pinwheel Cookies?

Creamy Natural Peanut Butter is usually very thin and pourable, consider adding ½ cup brown sugar to sweeten. Use only 3 tablespoons per pie crust to keep a thin manageable layer for rolling. Add roasted crushed peanuts over the thin layer of natural peanut butter before rolling. This adds some structure to the pie cookies. Instead of garnishing the pinwheel cookies with sesame seeds, consider dipping the edges into finely crushed roasted peanuts.
Jiffy Brand peanut butter or similar brand is thick and spreadable and is already sweetened. Consider garnishing the edges of the peanut butter pinwheel cookies with finely crushed roasted peanuts instead of sesame seeds.
Crunchy Peanut Butter - if natural, consider adding a sweetener. It’s thinner than the sweetened Jiffy peanut butter. Do not put a thick layer over the pie crust dough or it will ooze off the sides during the rolling process.
Pumpkin Seed Butter - if natural, consider adding a sweetener. We still like using Sesame seeds for the garnish.
Other nut or seeds butters – just remember the basic rules. Add brown sugar, alternative sweeteners or even date paste to natural unsweetened seed or nut butters. If thick and not pourable, you will need a little more (about ⅓ to ½ cup) to cover the pie crust. On the other hand, use less (about 3 tablespoons or less) if thin so that it does not leak out the sides. Consider adding crushed roasted nuts or seeds over the top of the nut butter to help it stay in place before rolling.

Nutrition