A quick, from scratch, homemade sesame brittle. Just 4 ingredients and 20 minutes! An excellent food gift to ship. Plus, it can be made vegan!
Line an 8- or 9-inch metal pan (or a 7x11 or 9x13 pan) with foil or parchment, and spray with cooking spray. Set aside. Measure out your sesame seeds and place near your stovetop.
Combine butter, sugar, and salt in a heavy-bottomed 1.5 or 2-quart pot. Cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. It usually takes about 4 minutes for the butter and sugar to melt together. Continue to cook another minute or two, stirring occasionally, until the sugar mixture becomes a light amber color.
Place in a candy thermometer. (This may be difficult. You may need to tilt the pot to get the syrup high enough to take a reading.) When the syrup is between 290-300F, add the sesame seeds. This usually is 7-10 minutes after I put the pot on the stove.
Continue to stir and cook until the seeds take on a light amber color. This usually only takes an extra 2-3 minutes for me.
Immediately remove from heat and pour into the prepared pan. Let cool at least an hour before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container.
Candy syrup can heat drastically. Do not step away once you turn on the stove.
Do not use margarine.
Use raw sesame seeds here since they cook in the syrup.
To make this candy vegan, substitute 4 tablespoons coconut oil and 1 tablespoon water for the butter and cook as described. Do NOT use only oil as you need the water content to dissolve the sugar and get it to caramelize.
Recipe adapted from Homemade Candy from the editors of Farm Journal, 1970.