Italian Sesame Brittle

I was lucky enough to be able to take a trip to Italy in high school, and OF COURSE one of the best parts was the food. Little secret here: I could not fit in to any of my clothes when I got home. Oops! Too much gelato for me...

Anyway, I remember trying these and then buying a whole bag of them in an Italian candy shop, and then again in the Duty Free store at the Rome airport! They are great because they are sweet, but not too sweet. They have a subtlety to them that is unmatched in any other candy I've found. On top of everything else, they have a nice nutty tone from the sesame seeds.

I was super happy to find this recipe, from Great Italian Desserts Now, if I could only find a recipe to make the incredible little Italian Baci Balls

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup sesame seeds (I ended up throwing some black sesames in there for a little extra kick)
1 cup honey
1/3 cup sugar
Shake of cinnamon

1. In a thick saucepan, heat all ingredients together until temperature shows 160 degrees CELSIUS.

2. *Carefully* pour the hot mess of sugary goodness into a pan lined with wax paper (I used 9x5 inch pan).

3. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Once the mixture is hard enough to cut, but still warm enough to give without cracking, cut into rectangles, squares, or whatever shape you want. Dinosaur shaped? Yes.

***These are great with a REAL, strong Italian cappuccino.
Now, time for me to sit and reminisce...

Brigadeiros

These are bite sized Brazilian chocolate candies. Normally made with chocolate "jimmies" (or as we call them, sprinkles). I didn't have any, so I just sprinkled on some powdered sugar. They're very sweet and satisfy that oh-my-gosh-i-need-chocolate-NOW craving. One suggestion I would use for myself and for anyone else making these would be to make sure the cocoa is sifted, to avoid any clumps. Oh, ps, these are so easy and only have three ingredients!

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
-1 can sweetened condensed milk
-2 tbsp cocoa
-1 tbsp butter

1. Stir all ingredients together in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to low, continuing to stir.
When all ingredients are totally incorporated, take the pot off the heat.

2. Allow mixture to cool, until it's thick enough to mold.

3. Butter hands (yup, put butter allll over your hands!) and roll into balls. Top with sprinkles, powered sugar, coconut, etc.