This delicious sesame candy will keep for several weeks!
Recipe by Lisa Lin on October 4, 2018
Prep time: PT5M
Cook time: PT15M
Total time: PT20M
Rating
4.84 stars (24 reviews)
Keywords
sesame candy
Ingredients
1/2 cup black sesame seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup sugar
2 silicone mats
rolling pin
Categories
Sweet
Cuisine
Chinese
Steps
Lay a silicone mat on your work surface. You will use this for rolling out the sesame candy.
Pour the black sesame seeds into a large pan and toast them on medium-high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Because of their black color, it may be difficult to tell when the sesame seeds are done toasting. The sesame seeds usually release a faint aroma when they are ready. You can also see wisps of smoke coming from the sides of the pan. Turn off the heat and transfer the sesame seeds to a bowl.
Next, toast the plain sesame seeds for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the toasted seeds to the bowl with the black sesame seeds. Mix the two types of seeds together.
In a large stainless steel pan, add the oil, honey, and sugar over medium heat. Stir everything together and wait for the sugar to dissolve completely. This will take several minutes, and the syrup should be runny. Make sure to stir frequently to keep the sugar from burning.
Once the sugar dissolves, turn off the heat. Add the sesame seeds and stir to coat the seeds with the syrup.
Working quickly, pour the sesame seeds onto the silicone mat. Try to pile all the seeds into one mass. Lay the other silicone mat over the seeds and press down gently. Use a rolling pin to roll out the sesame candy. You want to make sure to be quick here so that you can roll out the candy into a thin layer.
Lift up the top silicone mat. Lay a chopping board over the candy. Carefully flip the candy onto the chopping board. Remove the silicone mat.
Use a sharp knife to trim the sides of the sheet of sesame candy so that you get straight edges. Cut the candy sheet into 1-inch strips of candy. Cut each strip into candies about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long. Don't worry if your candy isn't uniform in size. Mine are never perfect.
You can enjoy the candy immediately. The candy will continue to harden as it cools to room temperature. Once cooled, store the candy in an airtight container for several weeks.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 127 kcal
Carbohydrates: 17 g
Protein: 3.2 g
Fat: 9.8 g
Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
Sodium: 2.3 mg
Sugar: 12.7 g
Reviews
Sydney on 2026-02-04 (4 stars): I wasn't able to get black sesame seed unfortunately, so I used all regular. Loved the recipe BUT mine stick to the silicone mats, so next time I will give them a light spray of cooking oil. Otherwise really no complaint, they taste great, fast to make although MESSY I ended up with sesame seeds everywhere. I will make them again for sure, hopefully I'll find some black sesame seeds for the next time!
Yui on 2025-04-19 (5 stars): Thank you for the recipe. Just made my first batch, some areas slightly thicker than others but would call it a success. Thank you for the video tutorial. Was just wondering, is there a way to make it less sweet? Do you just reduce the amount of sugar ?
Linh on 2024-06-16 (5 stars): So easy yet delicious. The amount of sweetness is perfect. Thank you so much for sharing!
Karen on 2023-06-14 (5 stars): Loved the video! The sesame candy I buy at local stores have tapioca syrup in the ingredients list. I bought tapioca starch to mix with water (to make "syrup") and am wondering how to incorporate it into this recipe. I made sesame candy once, but it came out way too hard and I like mine a little softer. I use both sugar and honey.
E.C. on 2023-06-14 (5 stars): I love the speed and ease of this recipe. I was craving sesame candy and most recipes I found were more involved. However, mine didn’t hold its shape At All. I substituted brown sugar; could that be it? I used the same sugar-honey ratio—but by volume, so maybe if it wasn’t packed into the cup, I was actually using less sugar? Hard to imagine it any sweeter!
Had to give it 5 stars bc I assume the failure was due to my swap (and it still tastes great). Curious if you have any insights!
P.s. other comments asked about parchment. I liked both sheets first and it worked perfectly.
Karen on 2023-05-07 (5 stars): Dana, mine doesn't seem to be setting up as much as I'd like. How long and at what temp should I bake it to harden it up? Thanks in advance.
Karen on 2023-05-07 (5 stars): I wouldn't use wax paper, as the wax can melt into the candy. I use oiled parchment paper to line the pan. Works great, and no leaching into your finished product.
Dana on 2022-12-25 (5 stars): I don’t do much sugar so I made this with Allulose. Turned out great after I rebaked at 319 in my combi oven after spreading in a pan. The Allulose needed longer to caramelize and harden.
Elena Ulev on 2022-04-12 (4 stars): These were delicious, however they didn't harden as they cooled. They're good chewy too but I wonder how to get them harden.
The sea salt was a nice addition, as someone suggested.
