Thin, lacy sesame cookies the size of a coin. Crisp, brown-sugar-bittersweet, with toasted benne (sesame) seeds throughout. A Charleston tea-room classic.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Benne is the Gullah-Geechee word for sesame, brought from West Africa with enslaved Africans in the 17th century. The seed grew well in Carolina soil and became a staple of Sea Island cookery. Benne wafers are documented in Charleston Receipts (1950), the Junior League's still-in-print cookbook compiled by 11 Charleston women. The cookie became a tearoom and confectionery staple by the mid-20th century; tins of benne wafers are now the city's most-shipped edible souvenir. Charleston Receipts remains in print at the City Market and most bookshops.
Common allergens: Gluten, Sesame, Egg, Dairy
Tip from the editors. Toast the seeds properly; raw benne in a cold pan tastes grassy. Pull the trays at deep amber; pale wafers are chewy not crisp.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Charleston City Market runs daily inside four open-air sheds on Meeting Street since 1804. The cradle of sweetgrass-basket weaving and the city's main souvenir-and-snack hall.
Tip: Night market Friday and Saturday adds craft vendors. Sweetgrass-basket prices run $30 and up.
Sugar Bakeshop in Charleston bakes small-batch cupcakes, cookies and custom cakes from a Cannon Street counter since 2007. Pink storefront, locals' birthday-cake source.
Tip: Specials sell out by mid-afternoon; arrive before 14:00 for the daily cupcake. Closed Sundays.
Worth the queue: Lady Baltimore cupcake
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