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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
Adding 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.
Sesame Brittle
May I ask what does the baking soda do? Does it make it less sticky? My Daddy loves this and I ways wondered. Thank you!
Hi, Holly! The baking soda creates a million little bubbles in the candy, which gives it a lighter, crispier texture once it has set. So glad you like it!
What sugar should I use? Granulated or castor?
Hi Gemma,
Granulated sugar, if you have it. Otherwise use castor sugar measure for measure. They don’t weight exactly the same, but in this recipe it shouldn’t matter too too much. Good luck! I imagine you are one of our UK readers. Thanks for reading *wherever* you are in the world.
Yes I am in the UK, just wanted to check. Thank you for your reply
Perfect easy recipe. Even I can’t mess it up. I also add sunflower, chia and hemp seeds. I get grief from my wife because this snack is impossible to ignore! I also toast all the seeds before adding. I mess with the temp a little.. if you want it more chewy finish it just shy of 300, crisper..leave in until heat reaches 302-305. Low and slow is the key, don’t turn the heat up passed medium, it’ll get there. Cheers and thank you!
xxxxxyyyyy
Made it, it makes a perfectly delicious brittle!
I doubled up on the recipe, cooked it for 10 min on medium heat once the sesame seeds were added to confirm sugar has reached 300F to brittle up correctly. Only change was I used 1 tbsp organic butter per recipe so 2 tbsp total for the doubled up recipe. The baking soda really makes a difference in texture, I love it! I used mostly organic ingredients and it broke down to $8 to make a double recipe. It also made 26.04oz of delicious brittle! 13 servings of 2.03oz = 266 cal, 11g fat, 4g protein, 2g fiber, 22% Ca, 20% Iron per myfitnesspal.com breakdown.
*Organic Kirkland cane sugar, organic raw unfiltered unprocessed honey, Himalayan pink sea salt, organic nutmeg, organic TOASTED unhulled sesame seeds, Kirkland pure vanilla extract, organic Kirkland butter, and Arm & Hammer baking soda*
Thank you for this absolutely perfect recipe, it’s A-MAZING!!!!!
xxxxxyyyyy
can i use maple syrup instead of honey
Hi Megha! That should work, although I’ve not tried it. Give it a go and let us know how it turns out. I bet the flavor will be delicious.