Oatmeal Sesame Cookies

These cookies are another variation of low carb, low sugar snacks. They go well with a cup of coffee or tea, and one will be enough to satisfy that craving for something that's a little sweet but not too sweet! Any type of seed can be used in place of sesame seeds. It's also possible to substitute some of the sugar by using dried fruit  but I have not tried that. The butter may be substituted by using any of the nut butters you like. The cookies have very little cholesterol. They are very much like "digestive biscuits" one gets in Europe but not as buttery or sweet. Each cookie is listed at 176 cals, CHO 10.5g, Fiber 2.3g, and sugar 3.4g.

Ingredients

85g wholemeal flour

85g durum atta flour
85g Scottish oatmeal

85g Flax meal
75g cold butter, cut in cubes

75g Crisco shortening
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
70g dark brown sugar or Panela (Colombian Raw Sugar)
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tablespoons half and half
1/4 cup sesame seeds

2 tablespoons sesame seed paste (Tahini)
Method

1. Briefly pulse the dry ingredients in a food processor.

2. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse bread crumbs

3. Turn out into a bowl and add the half and half, sesame seed paste until a dough that sticks together is formed. Roll out to make a large log, about 8 inches long

4. Wrap in plastic wrap or greaseproof paper and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap and slice the log into 1/4" slices. Arrange slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Decrease oven temperature

to 275 degrees Fahrenheit and  return the cookies to the oven to bake for another 1 1/2 hours minutes. Turn off oven and leave cookies to dry out in the oven until cool. Cool completely on a rack and store in air tight container.

Crumbly Oatmeal Sesame Squares

The inspiration for these came from my desire to make an oatmeal cookie that was in-between a granola bar and a chewy oatmeal cookie. It also had to be low in sugar, trans fat and cholesterol. Naturally, it had to have seeds and flax meal. This is the result of all that planning. The cookies are not sweet, and although they are crumbly, hold together well. The nutritional information using one of the on line calculators show that each piece is 136 calories, Carbs 15.9g, Sugar 4.7g, and Fiber 2.8g.
Ingredients

6 Tablespoons shortening
1/4 cup panela or brown sugar, unpacked

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon golden syrup

1 tablespoon Sesame Seed paste (Tahini)
1 1/2 cups uncooked Scottish oatmeal

1/2 cup Sesame Seeds

1/2 cup flax meal

1/2 cup durum atta flour
¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Mix together all the dry ingredients
2. Melt shortening, and mix in the Tahini paste. Set aside. Add the sugar, and salt to the water and gently warm, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Add the golden syrup, molasses and vanilla, and allow this mixture to cool slightly. 
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well to form a dough.
4. Spread mixture evenly in 9 x 13 inch pan, lined with parchment paper. Make sure to cut the parchment paper larger than the baking pan so that the edges overhang.  Flatten using your hands and spread evenly using a wet spatula so that the mixture forms a slab (tiling skills come in useful here as it's almost like spreading thin set concrete for tiling).
5. Bake for 20 minutes. While warm, cut into 24 square pieces.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, and transfer the cookies to a baking sheet by lifting the parchment paper. Separate all the pieces and bake for another 1 1/2 hours until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before storing in an air tight container.