SESAME SEED RINGS

3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sesame seeds
1 egg, well beaten with pinch of salt (for egg wash)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Set racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Line 3 cookie sheets or jellyroll pans with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

In bowl, stir flour into baking powder and salt.

Pour melted butter into large bowl. Whisk in milk, sugar, and eggs, one at a time. Add flour mixture. Using large rubber spatula, stir together to make soft dough.

Scrape dough onto lightly floured work surface. Roll into 18-inch cylinder. Cut every 1/2 inch to make 36 pieces.

Roll each piece of dough under palms of hand into 4- to 5-inch rope. Connect ends to make circle. Set aside on work surface until all cookies are formed.

Place 1 to 2 tablespoons sesame seeds in small bowl. Working one at a time, paint outside with egg wash, then gently press top into seeds. Lay cookie rings seeds-up 1 inch apart on prepared pans. Add small amounts of seeds to bowl at intervals to avoid egg sticking to all of them.

Bake in preheated oven about 30 minutes until golden and dry, turning and alternating racks for even baking. If heat in lower part of oven is much stronger, stack second pan under baking pan for insulation.

Cool on pans on racks. If not completely crisp after cooling, cookies can be returned to turned-off, still warm, oven about 20 minutes, then cooled.

Store between sheets of parchment or waxed paper in tightly covered container.

Makes 36 cookies
Source: A Baker's Tour: Nick Malgieri's Favorite Baking Recipes from Around the World by Nick Malgieri