These somewhat savory Sesame Cashew Bars are from Anna Sortun’s new (and wonderful) cookbook Soframiz, but I first came across the recipe in in the Washington Post’s Holiday Cookies 2016 article (recipe here).

I thought this would be a good opportunity to use some of the benne seeds I recently got from Anson Mills – traditionally a cover crop and historically used medicinally in the South, benne are the nuttier, more flavorful predecessor to sesame seeds.

The bars are pretty simple to make – a shortbread crust with a nutty caramel filling, baked until bubbly. We liked them quite a bit. They’re definitely going into my regular rotation of sweet, portable snacks.

• Sesame Cashew Bars (Soframiz)