Herbal Recipe: Sesame Orange Cookies

Now that you’ve made your own food-grade herbs in the form of dried orange peel (see previous post with directions), here’s an idea of how to make something tasty with them! These black sesame, cardamom, and dried orange peel cookies are a wonderful treat to support digestion, nourish us in this yin time of winter, and open the new year.

Bonus: the ingredients help move and counteract some of the stagnation from heavy holiday meals (so these would also make a great dessert for Thanksgiving or December cookie swaps). Enjoy in moderation, of course.

Sesame Orange Cookies: Recipe

Food-grade Herbs included:

Black Sesame Seeds (Hei Zhi Ma) – Tonify Yin (sweet, neutral)

  • Tonifies Liver and Kidneys, nourishes yin and blood, lubricates intestines

  • Lightly slows aging signs (graying hair, wrinkles, dry skin), aids constipation

Aged Tangerine Peel (Pinyin: Chen Pi) – Regulate Qi (spicy, bitter, warm, aromatic)

  • Promotes the flow of qi, dries damp and transforms phlegm, helps prevent stagnation

  • Aids digestion

Cardamon (Pinyin: Sha Ren) – Aromatic to Transform Damp (spicy, warm, aromatic)

  • Promotes movement of qi, transforms dampness, and strengthens SP

  • Aids digestion

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (or substitute non-wheat flour of your preference)

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar

  • 1/4 cup baking sugar (or substitute honey or other preferred alternative)

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

  • 1 1/2 tbsp Chen Pi (dried/aged satsuma peel) chopped fine*

  • 3/4 cup black sesame seeds, ground*

  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamon

*Organic is best. I used Hunza organic black sesame seeds and dried my own organic satsuma peels in the oven on low temperature (see instructions above).

Note: You will have to change amounts based on your choice if you make substitutions.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In medium/small bowl, melt butter then stir in sugar.

In large bowl, combine dry ingredients except flour. Add butter and sugar mixture to large bowl. Add egg and vanilla extract. Now, a half cup at a time, slowly stir in flour.

Once all ingredients are blended, hand roll small balls of dough, add at least one additional piece of Chen Pi to each cookie, and place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 8 min or until bottom is lightly browned.

Adjustments:

In future I would add additional Chen Pi at the end when rolling cookie balls to ensure every cookie has more than one piece of peel. Maybe add in a tsp fresh tangerine juice or zest as well.

Please let me know if you have other suggestions for adjustments!

Inspiration:

Other “Food as Medicine” Articles you may enjoy:

ABOUT SHAWNA

Shawna Seth, L.Ac. is a California state licensed and nationally certified acupuncturist currently pursuing physician assistant training. To better understand acupuncture and how you can use it in your daily life, and to explore the connections between Western and Eastern medicine, follow her blog A Cuppa Qi. She also invites connection via email contact@shawnaseth.com or Instagram @acuppaqi.