Five Spice Sesame Granola Bark
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
Serves: 8
This Five Spice Sesame Granola Bark is a hybrid between granola and a cracker – you can keep it in big chunks, or break it apart into a seedy, nutty pile of crunchy granola. The whole thing cooks as a bark – thus the name – but I love chopping it up into crunchy bite-sized pieces to throw on skyr bowls, smoothie bowls, oatmeal, or really anything!
This recipe is great to have on hand and make on a Sunday so that you have fresh, delicious granola bark all week. It’s easy to make, uses pretty simple ingredients and will up your breakfast game! I love having this granola bark on hand throughout the work week as quick option for breakfasts. It pairs well with anything and keeps things interesting!
You’ve probably heard of Chinese Five Spice Powder (wǔxiāng fěn, 五香粉), which has been used in Chinese cooking for centuries. Though it is widely known, its origins are still a bit mysterious.
Five Spice Powder seems to have roots in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
It was believed that the mixture would foster internal harmony by uniting the five main flavors traditionally employed in Chinese cuisine: sweet, sour, pungent, bitter, and salty — which also happen to be the flavors of the 5 Elements in Chinese medicine! These have great influence in our treatments plans and herbal prescriptions.
The name Five Spice Powder is actually something of a misnomer, depending on the brand some of them have more than five spices but they always represent the five flavors. Most commonly, Five Spice Powder is a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns. However, many recipes may also include other ingredients, such as ginger, nutmeg, licorice, orange peel, and galangal.
The star anise tastes faintly of licorice, while the cinnamon and fennel offer warm and sweet notes. The Sichuan peppercorns have a floral, almost lemony flavor, while the cloves are strong, sweet, and slightly bitter.
A Song Dynasty (A.D. 930 to 1276) cookbook lists out the spice ingredients as "star anise (Hui Xiang), fennel (Xiao Hui Xiang), tsaoko fruit (Cao Guo), cinnamon (Rou Gui), costus root (Huo Xiang), aged-tangerine peel (Chen Pi), Sichuan peppercorns (Hua Jiao), dried shredded ginger (Gan Jiang), and almonds (Tian Xing Ren).
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
3/4 cup white sesame seeds
2 teaspoons Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon flaky salt or 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup warm water
INSTRUCTIONS
Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
In a large bowl, add the oats, almond flour, flaxseed meal, sesame seeds, five spice and salt. Whisk together.
Whisk together the maple syrup and water and pour into the bowl. Mix everything together with a spatula. It will be tacky, but not wet.
Spread out the mixture as thinly as possible on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place another piece of parchment paper on top and use a rolling pin to roll out the mixture until it is the same thickness, about half a centimeter thick, maybe a little less.
Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper.
Bake the granola bark for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and completely hardened. Let cool completely before breaking into pieces.
photo and recipe credits to Justine Snacks
