Date and Tahini Granola with Sesame

Name: Date and Tahini Granola with Sesame
Prep time: 19 min
Cook time: 32 min
Total time: 51 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 3 cups (270 g) old-fashioned rolled oats; 1 cup (140 g) raw whole almonds, roughly chopped into pieces about the size of a pea to a chickpea; ⅓ cup (50 g) raw white sesame seeds; 1½ tsp (4 g) ground cinnamon; ¾ tsp (4 g) fine sea salt; ½ cup (120 g) well-stirred tahini, at room temperature, stirred until smooth; ⅓ cup (80 ml) date syrup (silan or date molasses); 3 tbsp (45 ml) mild extra-virgin olive oil or neutral oil; 2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract; 6 whole (120 g) Medjool dates, pitted and chopped into ¼-inch (6 mm) pieces

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Big, nutty clusters of toasted oats and almonds, bound with tahini and date syrup and finished with chewy chopped dates. It's lightly salty, deeply toasty and not too sweet. It's great over yogurt.

Prep: 19 min
Cook: 32 min
Wait: 45 min
Total: 1 hr 36 min
Makes: About 6 cups (approx. 600 g), twelve ½-cup servings

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Steps

Before you start

Use old-fashioned rolled oats, not instant or steel-cut. Instant oats turn mushy and steel-cut oats stay hard.
Stir the tahini jar well before measuring, because the oil separates and settles at the top.
Plan on 45 minutes of undisturbed cooling after baking. This is what sets the clusters.
Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C) with a rack in the center.

1
Preheat and line panOven 325°F / 165°C
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325°F (160°C).
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper so the granola doesn't stick.
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Ready when: Oven reads 325°F (160°C).
Tip: Use a rimmed sheet. The edges keep loose pieces from sliding off when you rotate the pan.
2
Mix dry ingredients
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, chopped almonds, sesame seeds, cinnamon and salt until the cinnamon is evenly distributed with no clumps.
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Ready when: The mixture looks uniformly speckled with no pockets of cinnamon.
3
Warm the binder
- In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the tahini, date syrup, olive oil and vanilla.
- Whisk for 2 minutes, just until it is loose, glossy and pourable.
- Remove from the heat.
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Ready when: The mixture is smooth and runs off the whisk in a ribbon, with no streaks of separated oil.
Tip: Don't let it bubble. Overheated tahini turns bitter and thick.
4
Coat the oats
- Pour the warm tahini mixture over the oat mixture.
- Fold with a spatula, scraping the bottom of the bowl, for about 2 minutes.
- Keep going until every oat and nut looks lightly coated and no dry oats remain.
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Ready when: The mixture is evenly damp and clumps slightly when squeezed. No dry oats remain.
5
Spread and press
- Tip the mixture onto the lined sheet.
- Spread it into an even layer about ½ inch (1 cm) thick.
- Press down firmly with the back of the spatula, or with a second sheet of parchment, to compact it.
- This is what forms the clusters.
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Ready when: The layer is flat, compact and reaches close to the edges of the pan.
Tip: Press firmly now and don't stir during baking. Stirring breaks up the clusters.
6
First bakeOven 325°F / 165°C
- Bake at 325°F (160°C) for 20 minutes, until the edges are light golden and the kitchen smells toasty and nutty.
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Ready when: The edges are light golden and the center still looks pale and slightly soft.
7
Rotate and finish bakingOven 325°F / 165°C
- Rotate the pan 180 degrees without stirring.
- Bake for 10 to 14 minutes more, until the whole surface is deep golden brown and the sesame seeds look toasted.
- The granola will still feel slightly soft, and it crisps as it cools.
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Ready when: The surface is deep golden brown all over, including the center, and smells strongly of toasted sesame.
Tip: Watch closely in the last 4 minutes. Sesame and date syrup go from toasted to burnt quickly.
8
Cool without touching
- Set the pan on a wire rack and leave the granola completely untouched for 45 minutes, until it is fully cool and hard to the touch.
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Ready when: The slab is completely cool and snaps rather than bends when you press an edge.
Tip: Don't stir or break it while warm. The sugars set as they cool, and moving it early gives you loose crumbs.
9
Break up and add dates
- Break the cooled granola slab into clusters, from chunks the size of a walnut down to small crumbles.
- Toss gently with the chopped dates in a large bowl, separating any dates that stick together.
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Ready when: The dates are evenly scattered through the clusters.
Tip: Add the dates after baking. In the oven they turn hard and burn.

Good to know

Tips

Pressing the mixture firmly into an even layer and leaving it alone while it bakes and cools is the secret to large clusters.
Use a runny, pourable tahini. A stiff, dry tahini won't coat the oats evenly.
Pour it over plain Greek yogurt with fresh figs or sliced banana, or eat it by the handful as a snack.
If your date syrup is very thick, warm the jar in hot water for a few minutes before measuring.

Make ahead

Bake and cool the granola up to 1 week ahead. Wait to add the dates until serving or storing, as described in the last step.

Storage & reheating

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. It keeps in the fridge for up to 1 month, and in the freezer for up to 3 months. If it softens, spread it on a baking sheet and re-crisp at 300°F (150°C) for 5 to 8 minutes, then cool completely.

Substitutions

date syrup (silan or date molasses) → maple syrup or honey. The flavor is lighter and less molasses-like. Keep the same amount and watch the browning, since these brown faster.
raw whole almonds → pistachios or walnuts. Use the same weight. Chop the walnuts and pistachios into similar-sized pieces.
well-stirred tahini → smooth almond butter or peanut butter. The result is sweeter and less savory. Warm it the same way.
Medjool dates → chopped dried apricots or raisins. Use 120 g of either one.