Yummy Sesame-Coconut bars!

Some years ago, while Austin and I were in Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival, we came across these sesame-coconut bars at the coop. They were tasty and chewy, and when accompanied by a bite of chocolate - how much bliss could fit in your mouth at once?! So, determined to make my own, I mined the internet for sesame-coconut bar recipes. Alas, none came anywhere close. The coop in Corvallis sells a sesame bar with peanut butter, but I'm not a fan of peanuts. So experimentation began. Here is the recipe I am now using:

1 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup coconut
4 or 5 fancy medjool dates, chopped
Put these together in a food processor to chop the dates into really fine pieces and blend it all well.
1/3 cup almond butter (or more)
Put almond butter in food processor and blend well.
Add a half cup (more or less, or none at all) chocolate chips (equal exchange is good). Blend lightly.
1 Tbs coconut oil
2 Tbs honey
Melt these together, then add to food processor.
Salt to taste.
Blend well.

This will make a crumbly bar, a little dry, and lots of folks love them that way. If you would like a bar that sticks together better, then add 4 Tbs coconut milk and blend well.

4 Tbs coconut milk (optional)
Blend well.

Put in a square baking pan lined with wax paper, press the mix together with a spatula, and bake at 325 for 23 minutes. (325 was a number picked out of the air. I know next to nothing about baking. At 23 minutes, it is turning a little brown on the edges.) They cut easier if chilled. So I put them in the freezer after the pan cools off, then turn the pan out on a cutting board to cut.

You could eat this raw, if you are into raw. I find that raw, I taste all the individual bits. When cooked, it gels into a whole different animal. The flavors mingle better.

I use them like energy bars between classes. They are also a nice gluten free dessert for friends who prefer gluten free.

If made without chocolate, I'm sure our parrot would be really appreciative of a bite!