Greek Recipes
Homemade Sesame Snaps (Greek Pasteli or Sesame Seed Bars)
Prep
5 minutes
Cook
20 minutes
Yield
14 -18 bars
These easy Homemade Sesame Snaps are also known as Greek Pasteli and are made of just 2 simple ingredients. Although sweet, they're also packed with nutrients!
Greek Pasteli is the ancient Greek version of the “power bar”. Legend has it that the combination of sesame and honey makes these Sesame Snaps little power houses packed with nutrients, antioxidants and antibacterial qualities. These delicious bars are so easy to make with only two simple ingredients.
❤️ Why You’ll Love Sesame Snaps
- 2-Ingredients: All you need to make these Sesame Snaps are honey and sesame seeds
- Delicious: Honestly, these are SO good. Nothing beats the nutty flavor of sesame seeds combined with the delicious sweetness of honey
- Easy: You can literally prep these in only 5 minutes
🍲 Ingredients
Sesame Seeds – Sesame seeds are SO good for you. They are a great source of fiber, they’re a good plant protein, full of B vitamins, and great for lower cholesterol, blood pressure, supporting healthy bones, and reducing inflammation in your body. Bet you didn’t know these little seeds were so power packed! ⚡
Honey 🍯 – Honey is said to have so many antidepressant and anti-anxiety benefits. It’s been known to help with memory disorders, used topically for a variety of reasons, and is rich in nutrients and antioxidants.
👩🍳 How to Make Sesame Snaps
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease it with a bit of olive oil or cooking spray, set aside.
- Toast the sesame seeds: Put a frying pan over medium heat and add the sesame seeds. Toast them for 4-5 minutes or until golden (not too dark), moving them around with a spoon every minute or so. Set the sesame seeds aside.
- Heat the honey: Add the honey to a medium pot and heat over medium-high until it starts to bubble. Turn the heat down to medium and let the honey simmer until it reaches about 250 F (125 C), using a thermometer to measure the temperature. TIP: If you don’t have a thermometer, keep your eye on the honey until it’s quite liquidy. Then, set aside a bowl of cold water and use a spoon to drip in about a teaspoon of the honey syrup. Let it cool in the water for a few seconds and then use your fingers to shape the honey into a small ball in the water. Then, take the small honey ball out of the water and drop it on a cutting board or countertop. If it sounds like its a solid ball, your honey syrup is done and you can move to the next step.
- When the honey has come to temperature, keep on the heat and pour in the sesame seeds. Turn the heat to low and stir / cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Remove from the heat, pour the mixture onto the greased pan, press down to ¼-½ inch thickness using a spatula OR grease another sheet of parchment paper, place on top and roll to desired thickness using a rolling pin. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on half of the mixture, pressing the chocolate chips into the sesame seeds a bit with the back of a spoon and let them sit for 15-20 minutes.
- After 15-20 minutes, Cut into bars with a sharp knife and then let the bars fully cool before storing in an airtight container.
🗒 Variations
Make these plain or add-in a few favourite toppings like 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, dried cherries or dried apricots. These can be stirred in when you remove the honey-sesame seed mixture off the heat.
🗒 Best served with
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Keep these Sesame Snaps in an airtight container for up to a week. They are so good though that they’ll hardly last a few days!
🤔 Common Questions
Greek Pasteli is enjoyed as a dessert because of the sweetness but it’s actually healthy and nutritional. Full of nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and more important nutrients.
Pasteli means brittle. These sesame seed bars sort of resemble peanut brittle with the crunch but with very different ingredients.
Homemade Sesame Snaps (Greek Pasteli or Sesame Seed Bars)
Your Greek mommy that is. 😍 Step into my kitchen to learn how to make yummy Greek food. 🍽️💃
Ingredients
- 2 cups sesame seeds
- 1 cup liquid honey
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease it with a bit of olive oil or cooking spray, set aside.
- Toast the sesame seeds: Put a frying pan over medium heat and add the sesame seeds. Toast them for 4-5 minutes or until golden (not too dark), moving them around with a spoon every minute or so. Set the sesame seeds aside.
- Heat the honey: Add the honey to a medium pot and heat over medium-high until it starts to bubble. Turn the heat down to medium and let the honey simmer until it reaches about 250 F (125 C), using a thermometer to measure the temperature. TIP: If you don't have a thermometer, keep your eye on the honey until it's quite liquidy. Then, set aside a bowl of cold water and use a spoon to drip in about a teaspoon of the honey syrup. Let it cool in the water for a few seconds and then use your fingers to shape the honey into a small ball in the water. Then, take the small honey ball out of the water and drop it on a cutting board or countertop. If it sounds like its a solid ball, your honey syrup is done and you can move to the next step.
- When the honey has come to temperature, keep on the heat and pour in the sesame seeds. Turn the heat to low and stir / cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Remove from the heat, pour the mixture onto the greased pan, press down to ¼-½ inch thickness using a spatula OR grease another sheet of parchment paper, place on top and roll to desired thickness using a rolling pin. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on half of the mixture, pressing the chocolate chips into the sesame seeds a bit with the back of a spoon and let them sit for 15-20 minutes.
- After 15-20 minutes, Cut into bars with a sharp knife and then let the bars fully cool before storing in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
- Make these plain or add-in a few favourite toppings like 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, dried cherries or dried apricots. These can be stirred in when you remove the honey-sesame seed mixture off the heat.
- Keep in an airtight container for up to a week.
If I could give this recipe 10 stars I would! I grew up eating the packaged sesame snaps so this recipe hit home. It is just so so much better. Sweet, chewy, crunchy.. simple and delicious.
Thank you so much, Karson!!!
If I could give these a rating of 10 stars I would! Growing up eating the packaged sesame snaps, these really hit home. The recipe here is just so so so much better. Sweet, chewy, sesame.. simple and delicious. That is all.