Greek Sesame Chocolate Honey Bars (Pasteli)

These sesame honey bars are soft, chewy and are perfectly sweet and salty.

I’ve been inspired to make this snack bars by pasteli, which is a Greek sesame and honey candy that’s been around since Ancient Greece. It’s the OG energy bar! It’s popular all throughout the Middle East and you can find many different versions. It often includes nuts, like almonds and pistachios and it’s sometimes flavored with lemon or orange zest and cinnamon.

Store-bought pasteli is usually harder because it’s made with sugar as well, but I find this classic version to be much better. The amount of honey in the recipe dictates how soft the bars will be. Less honey will lead to a harder bar, more honey will lead to a softer one.

I decided to add almonds and pumpkin seeds and to top it with dark chocolate and flakey salt!

BUT ENOUGH WITH THE TALKING, LET’S MAKE THEM!

To make these sesame honey bars you only need a few ingredients:

• Sesame Seeds + Honey: these are the star of the show.
• Nuts or seeds of choice
• Other flavorings: I used orange zest and cinnamon, then topped it with chocolate and flakey salt.

And making them couldn’t be easier! You only follow a few steps:

• Toasting the seeds/nuts: toast them in a 190°C/375°F oven for about 7 minutes. You can also do this in a frying pan and toast them until golden.
• Melt honey + flavorings: melt them in a saucepan until foamy. Then add the seeds and nuts.
• Let cool for 20 minutes, then cut with a wet and warm knife. Just run it under hot tap water before cutting.
• Drizzle with chocolate and sprinkle some flakey salt! Refrigerate until the chocolate has hardened.
• Store in the fridge for harder bars, at room temperature for softer chewier bars!

That’s it! And they’re so good, full of natural sweetness and energy! This recipe makes about 16 bars, but you can make them any shape or size you want.

Greek Sesame Chocolate Honey Bars (Pasteli)

Yield: 16

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

These sesame honey bars are soft, chewy and are perfectly sweet and salty. These Greek-inspired bars are the original energy bar, 100% natural!

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Ingredients

• 300g of sesame seeds (2 cups)
• 70g of raw almonds (1/2 cup)
• 70g of pumpkin seeds (1/2 cup)
• 250g of honey (9oz, 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• zest of half an orange
• a pinch of cinnamon
• 30g of dark chocolate (1oz, 1/4 cup)
• flakey salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°C. Put the sesame seeds and almonds onto a sheet tray and toast them for about 6-7 minutes. You can also do this in a pan over the stove.
2. Line a 20x30cm/9x13inch baking ban with parchment paper.
3. In a saucepan, put the honey, salt, orange zest and cinnamon. Melt over medium heat until foamy. Then remove from the stove and stir in the sesame seeds, almonds and pumpkin seeds.
4. Pour straight into the prepared baking pan and press it down into an even layer. Be careful, it's very hot. You can use a wet spatula or another sheet of parchment paper to press it down more easily. Let cool for 20 minutes.
5. In the meantime, melt the chocolate in the microwave.
6. After 20 minutes, cut the mixture into 16 bars (you can make more or less depending how big or small you want them). It's easier if you use a wet knife (just put it under hot tap water). Then drizzle with chocolate and sprinkle with flakey salt. Put in the refridgerator to let the chocolate harden, then cut them again and put them in an air-tigh container.
7. If you store them at room temperature, they'll be softer (my preferred choice). If you store them in the fridge, they'll be crunchier and harder.