A Nut Walks into a Seedy Bar...

Sorry, I couldn't resist.  And you'll have to wait a bit for the punch line.

So, there are these sesame seed bars that they sell in the bulk bins.  You know the ones I mean...they're chock full of sesame seeds, maybe sunflower and some other unidentifiable seed too, all held together by a smaller ratio of sweet, crunchy brittle.  Only problem is I'm addicted to them (and anything else sesame seed laden), and ingredient #2 is corn syrup (*shudders*) .  So, I told myself I'd just get some to keep in the car...you know, for the rare occasion I was running late or stranded somewhere and needed an emergency snack.  But as it turns out, I need an emergency snack before I even get out of my driveway and whenever I'm waiting at the bus stop too (hey, sometimes I have to wait 5 whole minutes, people!).

So, I thought to myself, "Self, you could make a slightly healthier version."  I'm not a sugar chemist, so I wasn't sure how things would turn out when I scoffed at the white sugar and corn syrup in regular brittle and replaced them with coconut palm sugar and brown rice syrup, but I just knew I had to try...to get a product lower on the Richter Scale...er...Glycemic Index.

Nutty Seedy Bars

1/2 cup water
1 cup coconut palm sugar
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp Earth Balance butter
3 cups seeds and nuts (I used sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds; and almonds and pistachios)

Combine the first five ingredients in a medium saucepan over med-high heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 260 degrees (20 minutes or so).

Turn the heat off.  Add in seeds & nuts, and mix. 

Don't panic thinking the sugar will cool down and solidify - it stays VERY hot for some time.  So, just keep mixing until all the seeds and nuts are coated. 

Turn out into a buttered 9 x 13-inch pan, and spread out til flat.  I used a piece of parchment (sprayed with oil) to pack it down, but the bottom of a metal measuring cup (lightly buttered) would also work.  When it's cool enough not to be tacky to the touch, cut it into squares with a pizza cutter (I buttered this also but not sure it was really necessary at that point). 

Let cool, and keep in an airtight container with parchment between the layers.


Now for that punch line.  These bars are not for the faint of heart tooth.  Turns out I was right about not quitting my day job to become a sugar chemist, and these really aren't glove-box worthy.  They're kinda hard.

The best way to eat them, IMO, is to zap them in the microwave for 10 seconds.  And then, my friends, you have a very tasty little smackerel of perfect delicious, crunchy, chewy blissfulness.

And since they aren't 95% sesame seeds (aka not so addictive) I'm able to go a day, or at least half, without opening the lid to their container.