Coconut- Date- Sesame Fudge Bars

I recently came across a recipe for Raw Fudge Brownies, that a friend from school, Reshma, made and posted on the blog she writes for healthy eating & living. Her recipe got me all excited about using dates in desserts, since they're not only gooey and deliciously fudge- y  but packed with several key nutrients like Vitamins, Calcium, Iron,Potassium and Magnesium. They're an excellent source of fiber and help maintain top-notch digestive and cardiac health.
I had a LOT of dessicated coconut in my freezer from last weeks coconut cupcake, so I decided to experiment a little... and since I was looking to make this healthy, I added some Oat cereal and Cornflakes.
So, well, here it goes, my Date-Coconut-Sesame fudge... sticky, gooey, yummy ... and healthy :)


Ingredients:
2 cups seedless Dates (khajoor), roughly chopped
5-6 dried Apricots (optional), roughly chopped
1 cup unsweetened Dessicated coconut
1 cup breakfast Cereal - Cornflakes / Oat cereal (either or both)
1/2 cup Pine nuts / Or / roughly chopped Almonds
1/2 tsp Honey
3-4 tbsp Sesame seeds

Method:
1.) Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Toast the Cornflakes and/or Oat cereal for 5-6 mins till they're super crunchy. Alternatively, heat a non-stick pan on medium heat. Toast the cereal stirring occasionally till its crisp. Set aside in a dry bowl to Cool.

2.) Toast the Pine nuts/ or / chopped almonds. Add to the bowl with the toasted Cereal.

3.) Now, toast the dessicated coconut till it begins to turn slightly golden. Switch off heat immediately or it will brown too much.

4.) Transfer the toasted Cereal and Nuts into a mixer / food processor. Pulse till coarsely powdered. Start adding the dates, about 1/4 cup at a time, and pulse till combined after each addition. As you pulse, the stickiness of the dates will begin to bind the mixture together.

5.) Add the toasted dessicated Coconut to the date mixture 1/4 cup at a time, and pulse again till well combined. Although it binds extremely well, this mixture is surprisingly non-sticky,and pulls away from the sides of the mixer very easily.

6.) Line a baking tray/ glass casserole with grease-proof paper or aluminum foil. Turn out the mixture into the bowl. Using your fingers , apply pressure on the mixture, and flatten into the bowl to form a layer which is uniformly thick (about 1/2" thick).



7.) Cover with a lid or foil and chill in the refrigerator for about 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, toast the Sesame seeds and cool. Brush the honey lightly, over the top of the set fudge. Lightly pat the toasted Sesame seeds onto the fudge using slight pressure from your fingers to stick.
Holding the foil, extract the fudge from the bowl. Using a sharp knife, divide into 2" x 2" squares ( or 1" x 3" rectangles).

Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Should keep well for about 7-8 days, but that's IF it lasts that long! :)