Sesame Hemp Pasteli (& Pasteli Protein Bars)

As a kid, I loved Sesame Snaps. They were one of the few storebought sweet treats that my mom would purchase without my sister and I having to make all kinds of chore-based promises that we were unlikely to keep. A recipe for sesame pasteli popped up in one of my feeds recently and it occured to me that I could totally make a vegan keto version of this and boost the protein by adding hemp hearts. These little bars are a nutritonal powerhouse, rich in not only protein, but also calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc. This pasteli is the soft and chewy type and is best kept refrigerated to maintain it's structure. This recipe is a quick version that uses the microwave. If you try to make it more authentically on the stovetop, please let us know how it turns out. ​And if you're looking for a tasty homemade protein bar, check out the variation below the recipe.
Yield: 8 servings of 1 bar each, totaling 8 bars ✎
Macros (per serving): 120 calories | 5g protein | 9.5g fat | 1.5g net carbs
Prep: 10 minutes | Cool: 1 hour
Storage: refrigerated for up to a week. See note about change in texture over time. If stacking in a storage container, separate with pieces of parchment to prevent bars from sticking together. ✎
Ingredients:
  • ​¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (75g) granulated allulose ​✎
  • ​2 teaspoons water
  • 1 teaspoon sugar-free vanilla extract (optional)​
  • 1 tablespoon (20g) thick sugar-free "honey" or maple syrup ✎
  • ½ cup (80g) hemp hearts
  • ½ cup (72g) toasted brown or black sesame seeds ✎
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt​​
Directions:
  1. Put the allulose, water, and vanilla extract in a small microwave-safe mixing bowl. Microwave for 90 seconds. Pause to whisk after 30ish seconds. Monitor to make sure it doesn't bubble over or burn. If you have a more powerful microwave, you may wish to reduce this time. The contents of the bowl will be scalding hot, so be careful.
  2. Whisk the honey into the allulose mixture.
  3. Add the seeds and salt and mix with a silicone spatula or spoon. The mixture will be very sticky.
  4. Line a 6-inch (15cm) square pan with parchment and oil the parchment. I use spray oil for this.
  5. Transfer the seed mixture to the pan and press it into an even layer. This is a bit challenging because the mixture is so sticky. You can use well-oiled hands or an oiled "pusher" from a ring mold kit. I find the latter more effective.
  6. Place the pan in the freezer and chill for an hour.
  7. Cut into 8 bars and enjoy cold. ✎
Pasteli Protein Bars (or Balls): this variation requires blending seeds to a flour. I use my bullet blender for this ✎. Place half of the hemp hearts and toasted sesame seeds, along with ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (42g) plain pea or soy protein powder, in the cup of your bullet blender and blend to a flour. This will only take a few seconds. If you've toasted your sesame seeds on the stovetop yourself, allow them to cool before doing this. Make the allulose syrup and mix in the honey as per steps 1 and 2 above. Then, add the other half of the seeds, salt, and flour mixture to the bowl and mix until no dry patches remain. Form the dough into 6 bars (about 47g each). This can be done by hand on parchment or a silicone mat, or the dough can be pressed into a 6-inch (15cm) square pan and then cut into bars once cooled. Alternatively, the dough could be rolled into 12 balls (2 balls per serving). Allow the bars to cool and set for at least and 30 minutes. Can be enjoyed chilled (firmer) or at room temperature (softer). 
Macros ​(per bar): 190 calories | 12g protein | 13g fat | 2g net carbs
✎ Notes:
  • Allulose melts into a syrup, but then over time, it returns to it's hardened form. What this means here is that your bars will start out quite soft and become a bit firmer over time. I've found that the addition of the thick syrup helps prevent the allulose from eventually re-crystalizing. See more about the sweeteners used in the following 2 bullet points.
  • At this time, I have only made this recipe with allulose. I suspect this recipe would also work with BochaSweet and may work with xylitol. I don't think it would work with erythritol. It definitely would not work with pure monk fruit or stevia. If you try the recipe with another sweetener and it works out, please let us know in the comments. I plan to try the recipe with other sweeteners in the future and will update this recipe page as needed.
  • For syrup, I am using ChocZero honey, which is very thick and contains no water in the ingredient list. The main ingredient is resistant dextrin. Some keto syrups are very watery and I don't know how this would impact the recipe.
  • I prefer to use unhulled brown/black sesame seeds as they are more crunchy and have the added fiber and nutrients in their hulls. These are a little harder to find than white hulled seeds, which can often be found among the spices in the grocery stores. For this recipe, I'm using pre-toasted ones produced by Kevala (in the US). If you can't by pre-toasted seeds, you can toss them in a hot pan on the stovetop to toast them. If you can't get unhulled seeds at all, an equal weight of white hulled ones should work fine, but will create a higher calorie/fat bar.
  • When brought up to room temperature, these bars don't stay together very well, but can still be eaten with a fork. It's possible that making these on the stovetop where you have more control over simmering the allulose until it's a candy-like consistency without burning it would create bars that are sturdier at room temperature. I will update the recipe if I try this in the future. If you try it and they hold up better at room temperature, please let us know. To make these less sticky for handheld eating and storage, I sometimes coat them in plain pea protein powder. 
  • Seed flours can be made in larger countertop blenders, but in the case of this recipe, there isn't a lot of content. Depending on the size of your carafe, you may be able to made the flour in your countertop blender. If in doubt, you could double the recipe to have more content in the carafe.
  • Macros for this recipes are calculated with American national nutritional data (i.e. NCCDB & USDA entries in Cronometer) for all ingredients apart from the honey (ChocZero), hemp hearts (Manitoba Harvest), and the protein powder in the variation (Now Foods plain pea).
  • Macro numbers are rounded. Numbers equal to or greater than 10g are rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g. 10g, 11g, 12g, etc.) and numbers below 10g are rounded to the nearest 0.5g (0.5g, 1g, 1.5g ... 9g, 9.5g). Any numbers below 0.5g are given as is (e.g. 0.1g, 0.2g, etc.). Calories are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.