No-bake sesame chocolate squares
September 30, 2021 at 9:48 pm (B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Brownies and bars, Granola & energy bars, Website / blog)
In one of my parenting groups someone was raving about these no-bake chocolate sesame squares from the book Sugarproof. I love sesame in desserts, and I love chocolate, so I had to try them.
The recipe is pretty simple, you just dump 8 oz of pitted dates in a food processor along with 3/4 cup sesame seeds, 1/3 cup tahini, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 2 Tbs. water, and a pinch of salt. You pulse it all until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the food processor and collect towards the center. My mixture didn’t pull away, even after quite a while. I had to add quite a bit more water to get it to congeal into a solid mass. But other than that the bars came out well. They remind me a lot of Lara bars, just sesame flavored. I’ve tried to make “halvah balls” before without so much success. These had a better texture, if less halvah-esque.
I gave one bar to Alma in her school snack and she told me it was very good. I’m going to freeze the rest and bring them out occasionally when we are in the mood for something sweet and chocolatey.
Also, one more note. A full 8oz of dates is a lot! I guess if you don’t use refined sweeteners you need a lot of dates to make it taste sweet like a dessert.
Update Jan 18, 2022: We finally finished the whole batch of frozen bars. Although Alma said they were very good on her first try, she never liked them after that. Oh well. I still really like them, especially when they have been sitting out for a while. Cold from the freezer they aren’t as gooey and chocolatey. I will definitely make these again for myself!
Raw fig and almond bars
July 11, 2010 at 11:10 pm (breakfast, Dessert, Granola & energy bars, unrated, Website / blog)
I felt like baking today, but it was way too hot to turn on the oven. (By 6pm it was about 93 degrees in my apartment.) In particular, I wanted to use up two small bags of figs and some cocoa nibs. The once-black figs had become a snowy white–they were covered with a fine, bloomy, powdery layer. I used to think it was mold but then one day I got brave and tasted it. If the white stuff is mold it’s a mold that’s a dead ringer for powdered sugar. I looked around online and eventually found a recipe for raw fig and cherry bars, which (based on the photo) I assume are supposed to be similar in texture and taste to a Lara bar. I like Lara bars a lot, so I decided to try the recipe, substituting ingredients for the ones I didn’t have. Read the rest of this entry »
Homemade Granola Bars
June 15, 2008 at 6:43 pm (101 cookbooks, B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), breakfast, Dessert, Grains, Granola & energy bars, My brain)
I’m trying to use up all the grains, nuts and seeds, and dried fruit in my pantry before I leave Montreal. Faced with a huge jar of rolled oats, I discovered this recipe on 101cookbooks for Big Sur Power Bars. I’ve always wanted to try to make granola bars / power bars of some sort, so despite the fact that I didn’t have all the ingredients, I decided to give it a try. Below is the recipe I made from what I found in my kitchen, based on Heidi Swanson’s recipe, and my memories of making hundreds of batches of granola back in my days as fast food chef at the House of Commons co-op. Read the rest of this entry »
The captious vegetarian 