Best Sesame Bars Recipes

PASTELI (GREEK SESAME BARS)

Steps:

• Bring honey to a boil in a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring with wooden spoon. Add sesame seeds, lemon juice, cinnamon, cardamom, and coriander, tossing to combine until light and golden.
• Turn the dough onto a cookie sheet lined with half of the parchment or wax paper and fold the other half over the dough. Roll out dough between papers to a 1/4 inch thinness. Allow to cool.
• Using a ruler and a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough through the papers into bars or squares of your favorite size. To serve, peel papers off and enjoy your sesame bar!

SESAME BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x9 inch square pan.
• Stir sesame seeds into melted butter, and set aside to cool. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar and vanilla into the butter mixture. Add dry ingredients and stir until well blended.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan, spread evenly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool and cut into squares.

CRUNCHY CASHEW-SESAME BARS

Steps:

• Coat 8x8" baking pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray; line with parchment, leaving overhang on all sides. Toast 1 1/2 cups cashews, 6 tablespoons raw sesame seeds, and 5 tablespoons flaxseed in separate areas on a rimmed baking sheet in a 350° oven, stirring occasionally (but not mixing), until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Let cool. Set aside 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon flaxseed. Process cashews and remaining seeds with 1/4 cup wheat bran, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom in a food processor until mostly finely chopped. Place in a medium bowl. Bring 1/2 cup pure maple syrup and 1 tablespoon coconut oil to a boil in a small saucepan; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Pour over cashew mixture and stir to coat. Press mixture firmly into prepared pan with wet hands (it will be sticky). Top with reserved seeds; press to adhere. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Let cool, then cut into bars.

STICKY SESAME BARS WITH RAW CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

Steps:

• 1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper and grease the pan with coconut oil or vegetable oil.
• 2. Place the nuts, sesame seeds, and chia seeds in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the agave nectar, nut or seed butter, oil, vanilla, and salt. Process, using on/off pulses, until the mixture is blended and begins to stick together and clump on the sides of the bowl.
• 3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Place a large piece of parchment paper, wax paper, or plastic wrap (lightly greased with coconut or vegetable oil) atop the bar mixture and use it to spread and flatten the mixture evenly in the pan; leave the paper or plastic wrap to cover. Place the mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• 4. To prepare the chocolate drizzle: Mix the oil, agave nectar, and cocoa powder in a small bowl until blended. Remove the bar mixture from the freezer, uncover, and decoratively drizzle or spread with the chocolate mixture. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or place in the freezer for 1 hour until the mixture is firm.
• 5. Using the liner, lift the mixture from the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 20 bars. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

SESAME-PEANUT BARS

Steps:

• Butter an 8x8" glass baking dish; line with parchment paper, leaving a generous overhang on all sides. Mix 1 1/4 cups white and/or black sesame seeds, 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, 1/4 cup unsalted, roasted peanuts, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl. Mix 1/4 cup honey, 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract in a small bowl. Add to sesame seed mixture and mix well.
• Scrape mixture into prepared baking dish; press firmly into an even layer. Bake at 350°F until golden brown around the edges, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool until firm, 30-40 minutes. Lift out of baking dish (if it starts to crumble, let cool longer) and cut into 16 bars. Let cool completely.
• Do Ahead
• Bars can be made 3 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

APRICOT SESAME OAT BARS

Steps:

• Set the oven rack in the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cut a piece of foil or parchment as wide as the pan and about 22 inches long and fit it into the sprayed pan, pushing it into the corners and up and over the sides at either end (there will be overhang at both ends). Spray the foil or parchment with additional nonstick cooking spray and set the pan aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon to mix well. In a smaller bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla and sesame oil until well blended. In a food processor, process the oats and whole apricots until they're finely chopped and well mixed, then transfer the apricot mixture to a large bowl and mix in the sesame seeds. In the food processor, process the butter and brown sugar until uniform, stopping as necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg mixture and process, again scraping bowl as necessary, until well blended, then add the flour mixture in the same manner. Finally, add the apricot-oats mixture and the chopped apricots and pulse to process into a stiff, sticky, uniform dough. Turn the dough into the baking pan, then wet your hands and gently spread the dough out evenly, taking care not to compress it. Bake until the surface is golden brown and the edges have pulled away from the pan, about 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack, cool for about 20 minutes, and use the ends of the foil or parchment as handles to lift the loaf out of the pan and place it on the rack. Cool to room temperature, then peel off and discard the foil or parchment and, using a sharp chef's knife, cut off and discard the very edges of the loaf. Cut the loaf in half lengthwise, then cut each half crosswise into 12 bars. Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

APRICOT SESAME ENERGY BARS

Steps:

• Line an 8-inch square baking dish with aluminum foil leaving a 6-inch overhang on 2 opposite sides.
• Pulse the apricots in the bowl of a food processor until fine and crumbly. Add the wheat germ and hemp seeds and pulse until the mixture sticks together. Add the tahini and pulse until combined. Sprinkle in the sesame seeds and pulse just until evenly dispersed.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan. Using the foil overhang flaps, press the mixture firmly and evenly into the baking pan. Chill until set, about 2 hours. Lift the mixture out of the pan by the aluminum foil and invert onto a cutting board. Carefully peel off the aluminum foil and slice in half vertically and then into fourths horizontally making eight equal pieces. Wrap the bars individually in parchment paper and store for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

SESAME COCONUT BARS

Steps:

• Make the cookie base. Butter a 9-by-13-inch pan and line with parchment. Butter the parchment.
• Cream the butter with the salt and sugar. Add the sifted flour and blend together. Using your hands, press out the dough over the bottom of the parchment-lined pan in an even layer. Using a fork, make holes all over the surface of the dough (this is called docking). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Bake the cookie base for 20 minutes, until it is just beginning to brown. Remove from the heat and cool for at least 5 minutes before topping.
• Sift together the flour and baking powder. Beat the eggs with an electric mixer or whisk until light and thick. Add the honey and vanilla and beat until well blended. Add the flour and baking powder and beat to blend. Add the coconut and sesame seeds and stir together. Spread in an even layer over the cookie base, scraping out every last bit with a rubber spatula. Place in the oven and bake 20 minutes, until the surface is just beginning to color. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before cutting into squares.

SESAME OAT BARS

Steps:

• Stir butter, sugar & honey over a low heat and stir until sugar dissolves, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
• Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl, gradually stir in cooled honey mixture and mix thoroughly.
• Press mixture down very firmly into a foil-lined 28cm x 18cm baking tray and bake at 180.C for 20 mins or until golden brown.
• Cool in tin, then cut into bars and store in an airtight container.

CHOCOLATE-SESAME CRUNCH BARS

Steps:

• Line a rimmed 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment or wax paper.
• In a food processor, pulse cereal until just broken into bits; do not process into a powder. Transfer to a large bowl.
• In the top of a double boiler, combine chocolate and tahini. Stir over simmering water until melted and smooth. Alternatively, melt in the microwave, using short bursts of low heat.
• Pour chocolate mixture over cereal and stir together quickly.
• For bars, spread mixture in the prepared pan. It should be about 1/2-inch thick; you may need to push the mixture toward one end and level it if it does not quite fill the pan. For rounds, drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto prepared pan and use the back of the spoon to form into circles. Refrigerate until hardened, about 2 hours.
• To serve, cut into bars or squares, or serve rounds as cookies. Any extras can be crumbled and used as an ice cream topping. Store in the refrigerator.

CRUNCHY CASHEW-SESAME BARS

Steps:

• Coat 8x8" baking pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray; line with parchment, leaving overhang on all sides. Toast 1 1/2 cups cashews, 6 tablespoons raw sesame seeds, and 5 tablespoons flaxseed in separate areas on a rimmed baking sheet in a 350° oven, stirring occasionally (but not mixing), until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Let cool. Set aside 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon flaxseed. Process cashews and remaining seeds with 1/4 cup wheat bran, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom in a food processor until mostly finely chopped. Place in a medium bowl. Bring 1/2 cup pure maple syrup and 1 tablespoon coconut oil to a boil in a small saucepan; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Pour over cashew mixture and stir to coat. Press mixture firmly into prepared pan with wet hands (it will be sticky). Top with reserved seeds; press to adhere. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Let cool, then cut into bars.

SESAME BARS

Steps:

• Mix all dry ingredients together first, then add maple syrup, and stir till everything is well coated. The mixture will not stick together, but remain pretty loose. Then using a regular tablespoon (not a measuring spoon), I form a mounded up oval of the mix on a Teflon sheet. Place in the dehydrator at 100 degrees and they are done in an hour. If you don't have a dehydrator, place on a cookie sheet and allow to set out overnight. These are really yummy and they are nice and dry, not sticky. You could eliminate some of the ingredients and still have a good, healthy, snack food.