Instead of giving chocolate for Valentine's Day, I made black sesame (goma) shortbread cookies. They were easy and really yummy, especially if you are as obsessed with black sesame desserts as I am. I used this recipe for the shortbread base and added two tablespoons of pure black sesame paste (the blackest, sesame-est thing you can imagine) and three tablespoons of roasted, crushed black sesame seeds. (I roasted the seeds in a pan on the stove for about one minute and then crushed them in my suribachi, a Japanese mortar.)

If you are not obsessed with black sesame desserts, you may not like these. But it's worth a shot.

I'm planning on experimenting more with desserts. Elements include, but are not limited to, kabocha, gingerbread, azuki beans, cream cheese frosting, green tea, ice cream, jellies, cheesecake and cupcakes. I'll keep you posted.