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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Sesame Seed Toffee Snaps (...or brittle for short)

I love buying those gigantor disks of brittle-type snacks when I stop by the Mexican market.  Do you know the ones I'm talking about?  They are basically the size of one of those huge rainbow-colored, twisted lollipops.  Minus the stick.  It's a hardened caramel or toffee packed with cacahuate, pepitas, mixed nuts, or sesame seeds all formed into a neat disk and wrapped in cellophane.  I like any kind and the type I choose usually depends on my mood.  And though I've never even tried to replicate it at home before, it is crazy simple.  I'm just afraid of how much I will eat if it's readily available at any moment of the day or night.  But today I decided to make a batch, just to see what would happen.  And guess what happened?  Exactly what I knew would.  My belly is lamenting it...as are my thighs and bum and love handles.  When it's just sitting there, it really hard to pass it by without snapping off a little bite.  Well, 57 little bites probably equal more than the one disk I bring home from market.  Good thing I only made a third of what the original recipe intended.
Sesame Seed Toffee Snaps
...that's British-speak for Sesame Brittle

~3.34 oz. sugar
3 Tbs. water
2¼ oz. sesame seeds

Put your sugar and water into a pan on medium heat.  Stir a few times until it comes to the boil, then don't you dare stir it anymore (crystals will form and you'll be shnookered).  When the syrup reaches a light golden color, pour in the sesame seeds.  Swirl the pan around a bit so that the seeds get coated, but remember not to stir.  Continue to cook until the color is dark golden.  Immediately pour out onto a silpat (or a nonstick pan that has been oiled).  Use a palette knife to spread it out until it is ~¼" in thickness...or even thinner, if you can.
Let it sit and cool for ~15 minutes.  Now you one big slab of brittle ready to break into shards and bits.
Use immediately or store in an airtight container.  This is awesome crumbled over ice cream...with or without some hot apple pie alongside that ice cream.  Or try with pudding or mousse or anything you want to add a bit of crunch to.  The nuttiness of the sesame seeds tames the sweetness a bit.  Or just eat it out of hand; it is hard to resist.  I'm totally trying it with pepitas next time.  Which will be approximately 159 days from now.  You know, once I've worked this batch off.  Hurry up and get home family of mine, otherwise I'll eat it all by myself...
Our theme at IHCC this week is POTLUCK (anything Jamie Oliver goes).
IHCCJamieOliver
I am also sharing this post with:
wanderfood-badge flash-back Friday Cookin' for my Captain

Would you like to comment?

  1. Oh darlin', I LOVE this stuff!!! What have you done..... ;o)
    ~Terry

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  2. i love this...and i love those candies all of them..I am so lucky to live so close by mexico, I swear by the time I move home I'm gonna be at leat 800 pounds, lol

    sweetlife

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  3. These are very common healthy snaps we make in India. I love the sesame and groundnut snaps. Beautiful presentation, girlie!

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  4. Great combination!! Almost anything toffee is good.

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  5. Me encantan, que delicia de barritas.

    Saludos

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  6. I'll happily have those sesame brittles rite now..

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  7. I too make these brittles often but use jaggery instead of sugar...love the colour.

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  8. It's dangerous being able to make things like this so easily, right? It look super!

    P.S. Good thing you didn't stir the pot too much, wouldn't want you to get shnookered. LOL!

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  9. hmmmm, don't think I've noticied those snacks at the Mexican Market. I'll have to pay more attention, however, when I'm in there, I'm in visual overload. These look wonderful Heather.

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  10. toasty sesame seeds wrapped in golden sugar, who could ask for anything more. Yum.

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  11. Looks like this would be fun to make.

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  12. I've never had candy like this - looks tasty!! Thank you for sharing:)

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  13. Oh how I adore these - I used to get them at middle-eastern markets. It's a wonderful global treat! They look perfect!

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  14. These look super simple and so good! Gotta try it! Thanks!

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  15. You crack me up..."love handles".....I am getting to be the queen there. hahaha

    I like your choice for Potluck - good one.

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  16. I adore sesame seeds in sweets and I'm pretty sure this brittle would last approximately thirty seconds in my apartment. Delicious!

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  17. Lovely snaps. we call them chikki here in India and generally make them out of jaggery

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  18. These sesame brittle looks awesome. My grandma make with black one.

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  19. Lovely! These would be pretty served in a dish of ice crem.

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  20. A recipe that instructs me to break something is A-OK in my book! Looks good, Heather.

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  21. Such a cool snack! Love sweets with sesame seeds...nice :)

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  22. oh how i'd love to be snacking on that about now. i adore the flavor of sesame!

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  23. perfect.. looks perfect. We make these at home, well, mu mom makes and I keep eating them non stop :)

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  24. Love making peanut brittle, but have never reached out to other things. Not a huge fan of sesame but makes my brian-gears turn a little bit...

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  25. Oh man oh man! I think these look amazing. Great post and tasty treats... and fun to eat too!

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  26. MY GOODNESS lady, stop making everything i want to eat through my screen!

    :)

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  27. Yum yum yum! Love toffee, love brittle!!

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  28. I try to avoid the snacks at the Mexican market. They can end up too quickly on my hips too. Can you get shnookered if you drink while making these? ;-)

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  29. This looks exactly like the sesame snaps that I remember! Wonderful. I'd probably eat the whole thing myself too. :-)

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  30. Ciao ! My son loves this stuff (me too ....) maybe I should resist !

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  31. I have been looking for this recipe everywhere. Thank you so much!

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