Sesame Bullseye Munchies

Anyone who has been following this blog will know I like crunchy sesame cookies. This is another variation that is less "Biscotti" but more "cookie". The chocolate chunk that is baked into the cookie, makes that last bite (assuming you have carefully nibbled the edges first) the ultimate reward!

Ingredients

1 cup Durum Atta flour

1 cup all purpose flour

2 cups puffed cereal (millet, rice, quinoa, Kamu)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup white sugar

¼ cup water

¼ cup brown sugar, packed (I use either coconut sugar or Colombian Panela as they both have a very pronounced toffee taste)

1/2 cup almond butter

½ cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup sesame seeds

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate chunks (dark, semi-sweet or milk)

Directions

1.      Mix the flours, salt, baking soda, puffed cereal in a bowl. Set aside.

2.      Bring the brown sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Boil to thin syrup stage (about 212 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer). Set aside to cool. When cooled, add the vanilla and vinegar to this.

3.      Cream butters, white sugar until fluffy. Add 1 egg, mix well. Separate the other egg, adding the yolk to the butter mixture. Reserve the white for later use. Set aside.

4.      Mix in the flour mixture all at once. Add the sugar syrup mixture and mix until a dough forms.

5.      Pour half of the sesame seeds out in a dinner plate.

6.      Take about 1 tablespoon of the dough at a time and roll between your hands to form a ball. Roll the ball in the reserved egg white them press the ball down in the sesame seeds, flattening it so that it looks like a little sausage patty. Do this on both sides so that the seeds cover the flattened cookies.

7.      Place on a large baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. When the sheet is full, press a chocolate chunk in the center of each cookie.

8.      Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes. The cookies can be eaten like this but I double bake to make them crunchy. If you like more crunchy cookies, lower the oven temperature to 275 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake the cookies for another 20 minutes. Turn off oven after this time but leave cookies in with oven door closed. After the oven has cooled down, remove the cookies from oven and cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container.