Benne Wafers: Simple Crackers with a Rich History

“Benne” is a West African name for these potent seeds. Benne seeds came to colonial America with enslaved Black people from Africa and the Caribbean, marking the beginning of benne’s now 300-plus-year history in the United States. (Sesame plants were cultivated in Asia thousands of years ago, before they made their way to Africa.)

Enslaved people in the Southern United States often grew them in gardens and sowed them among plantation rows. High in protein and oil, benne seeds were a necessary source of sustenance. They were consumed on their own and ground into flour used to make breads and thicken stews.

Kristin Donnelly, writing in 2016 for TASTE, explained the evolution of benne seeds to sesame seeds: “When farmers realized the seeds could be commercially grown to produce cooking oil . . . they started prizing high yields over flavor. By the 20th century, that shift led to the milder-tasting seeds that are grown commercially today as sesame seeds.”

While sesame seeds became a popular product nationally, benne seeds were still grown and used primarily in the Lowcountry, finding their way into baked confections such as sweet benne wafers—crisp, lacy cookies that remain a popular treat in South Carolina to this day. But sweet benne wafers are only half the story. 

A recipe for a savory version of benne wafers (calling for benne seeds, not sesame), sometimes referred to as “benne seed cocktailers,” was published in ​1950 in Charleston Receipts. Soon after, The New York Times glowingly called them “a cocktail biscuit that should revolutionize cocktail parties.” 

These wafers have a flaky texture, taste strongly of benne/sesame, and pair fabulously with spreads (such as our Lowcountry Shrimp Butter) or dips at a cookout or party. 

We set out to make a modernized recipe for these buttery, salty wafers. 

Benne wafers typically contain just a handful of ingredients: flour, leavener, butter, salt, cayenne pepper, milk, and benne seeds. For traditional versions, butter is cut into the dry ingredients by hand, and then milk is stirred in to create a dough, which is rolled thin and cut into rounds before being baked. To avoid cutting in the butter by hand, we use a food processor. 

To draw out maximum flavor from the seeds, we toast them to a deep golden brown before adding them to the dough. We incorporate the toasted benne seeds both pulsed into the dough (where they break up just enough to release their nutty essence) and pressed into the top of the rolled-out dough before cutting and baking. 

To ensure structural stability—you want to be able to pile on a lot of spread or dip—we let the dough chill for at least an hour before rolling; this rest allows the flour to hydrate and develop gluten to give the crackers stronger structure. 

After a short stint in the oven, the wafers emerge lightly browned, delightfully crisp, and full of flavor.