Sweet and Salty Sesame Cookies

In the bowl of a food processor, add flours, sugar and salt; pulse until combined. Add butter and pulse until coarse crumbs form. Slowly trickle water into the spout while pulsing the food processor, adding just enough water until a dough just begins to form.

Remove dough from the food processor and knead a few times on the counter top. Divide dough into 2 even sized discs. Roll each disc between 2 pieces of wax paper into a 1/4-inch thick disc. Place discs, still covered by wax paper, on a baking sheet. Freeze dough until firm, about 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Using a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter (or whatever size you have, though obviously the larger the cookie cutter, the fewer cookies), cut dough into small round discs. Place discs about 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Brush tops with the beaten egg, then sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds.

Bake cookies until lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Then remove the pans from the oven and set them on a wire rack. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Adapted from Food & Wine.