Crunchy Puffed Millet and Sesame Squares

These are just wonderful very crisp and crunchy cookie squares. The Carbohydrate count comes back at about 18g per square with 6g of sugar. It's not bad compared to other recipes around but if you are watching the intake of either of these food items, then you will have to exercise some restraint and not gobble them all up at once. WARNING: It's very hard to just stop eating them! They can be made even more irresistible and decadent by dipping them in melted, caramel. butterscotch or dark chocolate!They are just crispy, crunchy, golden bites of wonderfulness! This recipe yields about 24 squares.
Ingredients

1 cup bread flour

1/2 cup durum flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter softened

4 tablespoons shortening

4 tablespoons coconut oil

2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup Raw brown sugar (Panela or Piloncillo), broken into small pieces

1/4 cup warm water

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, coarsely chopped in blender to bread crumb consistency

1 cup puffed millet

1/2 cup sesame seeds
Directions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. Make sure the parchment paper is cut large enough to hang over the sides of the pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Dissolve the Panela or Piloncillo in the warm water. Allow to cool to room temperature.
4. In a large bowl (of a stand mixer or with a handheld electric mixer), beat the butter, coconut oil, shortening, tahini, and granulated sugar together until just combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute longer.  Add the egg, and vanilla and beat on medium-low, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed. Add the flour mixture and mix at low speed. At this point add the water with the dissolved Panela or Piloncillo. Gradually add the oats, puffed millet and sesame seeds and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Pour the mixture into a 9 by 13 inch baking pan, lined with parchment paper that hangs over the edge of the pan. 
   
   Using a flexible spatula, press the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Intermittently moisten the spatula and smooth the mixture till it becomes like a firm slab in the baking pan.
   

6. Bake 20 minutes and remove from oven. Cut into squares in the pan, cool.

Lift out squares on parchment paper and put on a cookie sheet.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes then gently separate the squares. I find a large, flat sharp Chinese style cleaver works well for this.

Clean the cleaver as you go so that the blade has no batter caught on it. If batter is on the blade, the squares will not separate cleanly, and will break when you try to separate them.

Return the squares to oven that has been decreased to a temperature of 275 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another hour and forty five minutes until the squares feel dry to the touch and they are nicely browned.  Cool the squares completely on a rack. They will crisp up further as they cool.