Nuts and seeds - done to a crisp!

Well, I can't think of a name for these little chewy morsels.  They have nuts and they have seeds, and they are quite crisp with a touch of softness in the middle.  We were visiting our potter friend recently, and she handed us some little nibblies to chew on which were full of seedy goodness. (almost an oxymoron there - you know seedy in the sense of a bit unwell or shabby). They were delicious, and on leaving, she handed me the bag with the list of ingredients and said - "go forth and make some!"  So I thought I had better do just that. I checked out some recipes online, of which there are many for this sort of thing, and came across this one which pointed me in the direction I wanted to go.  I have ended up with something similar to this, but with a few tweaks of my own, and only half her quantity as I only had 2 cups of nuts/seeds! So here is my version of a very easy nutty/seedy/crisp/slice/thingy.  My version is sweet rather than savoury, but of course you can add herbs and spices if you are not after a sweet nibble.

ingredients: 

1 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/3 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup mixed nuts- I used cashews and walnuts
1/4 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup rice malt syrup
1 tbs honey
1 egg white
4-5 tbs water
extra cinnamon and mixed spice for dusting - perhaps a tsp of each; more if you like


Method:  

Throw everything into your food processor except the water and give it a good old blitzing
Pour in the water; try it with 4 tbs first and if you think it needs more, add the extra 1 tbs
It should be looking like a nice paste now, and the water brings it all together
You will end up with a very thick, moist paste
Grab yourself a lined baking tray - I used a 30cm x 20cm tray
Push the paste into the tray till you have a layer that is about 1 cm thick
Dust with the extra cinnamon and mixed spice
Score the top into diamond shapes
Place in a 180C oven for 20 mins
Turn the slice over, peel off the baking paper and put back into the tray so you now have the bottom on top!
Bake for a further 15 mins till golden brown
Leave to cool in the tray till cold
Break up into small pieces and eat!

Xmas nutcracker ready and waiting for duty

about to add the syrup and egg-white

ready for the blitz

blitzed to a seedy death!

pushing the paste into tray for baking 

dusting wth extra spice

scored and about to go into the oven

baked!

ready to eat!

This was a bit of an experiment, but I am really happy with how it turned out.  (Excuse the burnt edges, but they were still delish).  You could easily double the amounts to make 2 trays.  I had intended to do just that with the absolutely wonderful fresh pecans I bought from the farmer on our Sydney road trip.  Not even sure where we bought them, as it was the middle of the countryside north of Newcastle!  They are just the best nuts you will ever eat, but sadly they are not the easiest thing to shell, and I figured I would be there till 2015 shelling them!  So I made do with the nuts I already had in the house.  My Xmas nutcracker will have to wait till Christmas to get a good workout.
I had also been thinking of seeds lately as I am a temporary mum to my nephew's finches.  They are the cutest little things, and at night time they cuddle up together in their little house.  But they are messy little critters, and throw their seed around in a frenzy.  So it has been a seedy week chez Pickings!  These nutty bites will give you the energy to tackle any Christmas chore I am sure.  I know I am going slightly crazy with all my to-do lists!

the male on the left is giving his lady a good talking-to!