These crunchy sesame seed bars (also known as kozinaki) are made with toasted sesame seeds bound in a hot honey and sugar syrup, then pressed thin and cut into bars that snap when you bite them. It’s a traditional Georgian sweet with only four ingredients, and it tastes like a nutty, golden brittle.

They’re a great homemade snack for lunchboxes, a crunchy addition to holiday cookie tins, and a good gift that keeps for weeks. I like to wrap a few in parchment and pack them alongside treats from these homemade Christmas candy recipes.

If you like homemade candy and crunchy snacks, these are worth bookmarking too:

Crunchy Sesame Seed Bars (Kozinaki Bars)

Ingredients You’ll Need

Hulled white sesame seeds toast to a deep golden color and give the cleanest flavor. The honey and sugar together create a syrup that sets hard without getting sticky.

Ingredients

2 cups (280 g) hulled white sesame seeds
1/2 cup (170 g) honey
1/3 cup (65 g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon neutral oil, for greasing

Directions

Line a baking sheet with parchment and lightly oil it.
Lightly oil a second sheet of parchment the same size and a rolling pin too.
Have everything ready before you start, because the hot mixture needs to be shaped quickly.
Toast the sesame seeds in a large dry skillet over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly.
You want them a light, even golden color with a nutty smell.
They go from golden to burnt very quickly, so don’t step away (burnt sesame tastes bitter and there’s no saving it).
Pour the toasted seeds into a bowl right away so they stop cooking, since the hot pan keeps toasting them.
In the same skillet or a heavy saucepan, combine the honey, sugar, and salt.
Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture bubbles.
Rub a little syrup between two fingers once it cools slightly on the spoon, and if it feels gritty, the sugar still needs another minute.
Let the syrup boil gently for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it turns a deep amber and reaches 300°F (hard crack stage) on a candy thermometer.
No thermometer? Drop a bit into cold water, and it’s ready when it hardens instantly and snaps.
Stir in the lemon juice, which keeps the syrup from crystallizing.
Take the pan off the heat and immediately stir in all the sesame seeds.
Mix quickly until every seed is coated in syrup.
It’ll thicken fast, so this step takes maybe 30 seconds.
A sturdy silicone spatula is easier than a wooden spoon here, since the mixture doesn’t cling to it as much.
Scrape the mixture onto the oiled parchment, cover with the second oiled sheet, and roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick.
Use the edge of a ruler or bench scraper to square up the sides.
Careful, since the syrup is extremely hot.
If it starts to harden before it’s thin enough, slide the whole tray into a 250°F oven for 2 minutes to soften it again.
Peel off the top parchment and score the slab into bars while it’s still warm with an oiled sharp knife.
If you wait until it’s cool, it’ll shatter instead of cutting cleanly.
Let it cool completely for 30 to 40 minutes, then break along the score lines.
Stack on a plate or wrap for gifting and enjoy!

Important Recipe Notes

Toast low and slow. Sesame seeds burn fast. Medium-low heat and constant stirring give you an even golden color with no bitter spots.
Get the syrup hot enough. Undercooked syrup leaves you with chewy, sticky bars. It needs to reach hard crack (300°F) for that clean snap.
Work quickly. The mixture sets in a few minutes. Have your parchment and rolling pin oiled and ready before the syrup goes on the stove.
Score while warm. Once fully cooled, kozinaki shatters into random shards. Scoring while it’s warm gives you neat bars.
Use a heavy pan. Thin pans have hot spots that scorch honey. A heavy-bottomed saucepan heats the syrup evenly.
Honest note. This one takes a bit of practice with the syrup the first time. Once you’ve done it once, the whole thing takes under 30 minutes.
Measure everything first. Candy making moves fast once the syrup is ready. Measure the seeds, honey, sugar, and lemon juice before you turn on the stove so you’re never scrambling.
Keep the bars thin. Thinner bars, around 1/4 inch, are crunchier and easier to bite. Thick slabs can be hard on your teeth and take longer to set.
Clean up easily. Fill the sticky pan with water and bring it to a simmer. The hardened syrup dissolves right off.
Storage. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks, with parchment between layers. Humidity makes them sticky, so seal them well.

How to Serve, Store & Customize This Recipe

Serving Serve the sesame bars at room temperature on a dessert board, with tea or coffee, or packed into lunchboxes. They pair well with dried fruit and nuts for a simple snack plate. For gifts, wrap each bar in parchment and tie with string.

Storing Keep the bars in a tightly sealed tin or container in a cool, dry place for up to 3 weeks. Don’t refrigerate them, since the fridge adds moisture and makes them tacky. If they do get sticky, crisp them in a 300°F oven for 5 minutes and let them cool.

Customizing Swap half the sesame seeds for chopped walnuts, which is the most traditional Georgian version. Add sunflower or pumpkin seeds for a mixed seed bar. A pinch of cinnamon or a few drops of vanilla in the syrup adds warmth.