Quinoa Sesame Brittle (芝麻糖)

This crispy, sweet, and nutty quinoa sesame brittle is addictive. Only 150 calories per serving, full of nutrition, and just 10 minutes of active cooking time. Isn’t it the perfect snack?

Chinese New Year is around the corner. Today I’m teaming up with 14 other amazing bloggers to throw this Chinese New Year Cookie Party and share 15 delicious Chinese cookie recipes with you to celebrate the holiday!

A few words about quinoa sesame brittle

Have you ever had sesame brittle? It’s a crunchy, nutty cookie that we love in China. Today I’m sharing a different version of sesame brittle adapted from the quinoa brittle by Minimalist Baker. It uses quinoa, caramelized candy, and mixed nuts to create an addictive crispy texture, just like that of potato chips. Compared to the traditional sesame brittle, this recipe is even healthier. It uses coconut oil and maple syrup to replace butter and sugar. Moreover, the total sugar content in this recipe is about half that of traditional brittle.

Cooking quinoa sesame brittle is a no-brainer. You just need to follow these three steps:

1. Mix the dry ingredients
2. Heat up and mix the liquid ingredients
3. Mix everything together and put it in the oven

That’s it!

This brittle stores very well at room temperature for a week, so you can wrap it as gift, too.

This recipe is very forgiving, so you can twist it with whatever varieties of nuts and sugar you have on hand. The only problem you might come across is judging the doneness of the candy. I have included a very thorough paragraph in the footnotes of the recipe to help you troubleshoot this.

To cook this quinoa sesame brittle now, scroll down the page and you’ll find the recipe!

Want more cookie ideas? Keep reading!

Chinese New Year Cookie Party

In my last post, I shared 25 Chinese New Year recipes. The list is heavily focused on savory food based on my family traditions.

Today, I’m sharing these wonderful sweets as an addition to your Chinese New Year feast! Let’s grab some cookies and a cup of tea, and read how people around the world celebrate Chinese New Year with their own traditions.

• Vegan Cornflake Cereal Cookies by Vermilion Roots
• Fried Red Bean Puffs by The Missing Lokness
• Chinese Peanut Cookies by Daily Cooking Quest
• Chocolate Almond Cookies by Curious Nut
• Tapioca cookies (kue bangkit) by Marvellina
• Red Bean & Strawberry Pinwheel Cookies by Butter & Type
• Pineapple Jam Tarts by Wok & Skillet
• Sesame Spiral Pie Cookies by Bam’s Kitchen
• Cherry Blossom Cookies by Brunch-n-Bites
• Mochi Stuffed Almond Cookies by Miss Hangrypants
• Melt-in-the-Mouth Chinese Gluten-Free Peanut Cookies by Foodie Baker
• Honey Almond Cookies by Hapa Nom Nom
• Browned Butter Chinese Walnut Cookies by Yummy Workshop
• Macau Almond Cookies by Thirsty for Tea

If you try this recipe or any of the other cookie recipes mentioned in this post, let us know! Tag your picture with #omnivorescookbook and #ChineseNewYearCookieParty on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with!

Quinoa Sesame Brittle

By Maggie Zhu

5 from 5 votes

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 10

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This crispy, sweet, and nutty quinoa sesame brittle is addictive. Only 150 calories per serving, full of nutrition, and just 10 minutes of active cooking time. Isn’t it the perfect snack?

Ingredients 

• 1 cup mixed nuts , chopped (I used almonds, walnuts, and pine nuts)
• 1/3 cup uncooked white quinoa
• 1/3 cup sesame seeds I used a mixture of black and white
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup I used medium amber color
• 4 tablespoons palm sugar (*see footnote 1)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 165 degrees C (325 F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Make sure you cover the entire surface and all the edges (to prevent spillover).
• Combine quinoa, mixed nuts, sesame seeds, and sea salt in a big bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside.
• Combine coconut oil, maple syrup, and palm sugar in a small saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir occasionally until the oil and maple syrup are well combined. It’s OK that the palm sugar is not completely dissolved at this point.
• Pour the syrup mixture onto the dry ingredients. Stir to combine and mix all the dry ingredients with the liquid.
• Pour everything onto the center of the parchment-lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer with a spatula. Try to get it as even as possible. The brittle sheet will expand into a thinner layer as it bakes.
• Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the pan (180 degrees) once to ensure even browning. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Watch carefully during the last 5 minutes to prevent burning. The brittle is done when it’s become deep golden brown in color. (*see footnote 2)
• Let cool completely. Break into bite-size pieces with your fingers.
• Store leftovers in a sealed bag or container at room temperature for 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

1. You can replace this with other type of sugar. Please read footnote 2 if using a different type or amount of sugar.
2. Troubleshooting:
   If you don’t bake the brittle long enough, it will stay soft and sticky. You won’t able to break it apart, even after cooling.

If you come across this problem, simply return the brittle to the oven and continue baking for another 5 to 10 minutes, until it reaches a dark color.

One way to determine the baking time is by observing the baking process. You will notice the brittle starts to bubble furiously after 15 minutes. The bubbles will gradually die down in another 10 to 15 minutes. When there are only a few bubbles here and there, and the color of the sugar has gotten much darker than it was at the beginning, it’s done.

The baking time will vary based on the sugar content, sugar type, and thickness of the brittle. If you use a very large and flat baking sheet, the brittle will expand and become a very thin sheet.

In this case, the baking time might be as short as 25 minutes.

On the other hand, if your pan is not perfectly flat (my baking sheet sinks a bit in the middle), the brittle will not expand entirely unless you spread it out really evenly from the beginning. In this case, it will require more time to bake (35 minutes).

When the brittle has cooled down, if you can only break off part of the brittle and the rest of the brittle will only bend (not break), the brittle is not completely cooked. To solve the problem, break off as much of the cooked brittle as you can. Return the pan to the oven and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Repeat this process until all the brittle is cooked through.

Nutrition

Serving: 35g, Calories: 151kcal, Carbohydrates: 16.9g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 8.7g, Saturated Fat: 2.8g, Sodium: 93mg, Potassium: 156mg, Fiber: 1.7g, Sugar: 8.7g, Calcium: 70mg, Iron: 1.6mg

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