My mother and I share a secret (well maybe not so secret) indulgence. Sesame brittle. Our local health food store almost always has it available, and sometimes we’ll make a trip to that store to buy whatever, it doesn’t matter, the real reason is to satisfy a hankering for sesame brittle.
Now that I’ve discovered how easy it is to make, I think mom and I are doomed.
Before, we at least had to make the effort to drive a few miles to get our fix. Sigh. Well at least I’ll have someone to share it with when I make a batch!
Speaking of which, this must be one of the easiest things in the world to make. All you really need is raw sesame seeds, sugar, and honey.
A pinch of salt will add a little sparkle, as will a little nutmeg, butter and vanilla. A little baking soda will help create tiny pockets of air, making the brittle a little lighter.
You can easily make a batch in less than 15 minutes, with maybe another 15 or 20 to cool. You don’t even have to toast the sesame seeds first. Cooking them in the honey and sugar will brown them sufficiently.
Sesame Brittle Recipe
PrintAdding a small amount of baking soda to the hot mixture right before pouring it out will cause the mixture to foam up a bit, as the baking soda reacts with the acid from the caramelization of the sugar. This creates bubbles of carbon dioxide which helps produce a slightly lighter, more porous texture for the brittle, making it easier to eat.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1 cup raw sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
Method
1 Heat sugar, honey, water, salt, nutmeg: Put the sugar, honey, salt, nutmeg, and water into a small (1 1/2 quart), thick-bottomed saucepan. Heat on medium heat and stir until a smooth slurry is formed.
2 Stir in the raw sesame seeds.
3 Cook the sesame seed mixture, stirring often, until the mixture turns an amber caramel color, about 5 to 10 minutes.
If you have a candy thermometer, the temp should be 300°F. At this point, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract and the butter.
Once the butter has completely melted into the mixture, stir in the baking soda. The mixture will foam up a bit after you stir in the baking soda, as the baking soda reacts with the acid from the caramelization of the sugar.
4 Pour the mixture out onto a Silpat-lined baking sheet. (If you don't have Silpat, no worries, pour directly onto a buttered metal baking sheet and use a metal spatula to separate brittle from the pan once cooled.)
5 Once completely cooled and hardened (about 15-20 minutes), break into pieces.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
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How can this be stored and for how long?
When I go to Canada I always look for Sesame Seed Snaps to bring back to the states….why Canada when they are from Poland? just wondering. Then “light” came on…..go online and look for recipe. Lo, and behold….here I am………thank you, thank you……forget the peanut brittle……..they are getting sesame brittle for Christmas. And no more sugar pecan, either.
I used golden caster sugar for this recipe and toasted the sesame seeds a little before tipping them in the sugar mixture. Result was amazing.
Will definitely use this recipe again.
Tried out the recipe and loved it! I poured mine into a nonstick pizza pan which worked out really well. The brittle is a bit oily/buttery on the outside but wonderful flavor and easy to make. I’m going to attempt it again with a variety of seeds. Thank you for the recipe!
I made this and it turned out pretty well. When it was still warm and pliable I scored it into squares, waited for it to cool a fair amount and cut along the scored lines. The only thing I would have done differently would be to place a sheet of parchment on top and use a rolling pin to get it nice as thin as I found I made it too thick. I though cleanup would be horrible but steel wool did the trick. Recipe was very straightforward and accurate and was fairly fast. The whole process took about 20 Minutes, cleanup included.