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

adapted from Happy Days with the Naked Chef 

~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).

I am also sharing this post with: