Fistkieh / Peanut Sticky Bars

Recipe By Hadia's Cuisine

A great nostalgic sweet that satisfies a sweet tooth! When I was a child, I remember my aunt (my mom’s sister) would visit us with a package of these sticky bars in her hands. I could never resist biting them, and years later I feel no different

A vegan snack with no added oil or hydrogenated fats. Fistkieh bars are simply made with raw, shelled toasted peanuts and sugar syrup to bind the nuts together. These sticky bars can be easily found in almost all oriental sweet shops in Lebanon and there are so many options – sesame seeds, almonds, pistachios and cashews – but my favorite ones are the sesame and peanuts bars!

I tested the recipe twice for best results! In my first attempt, I only added lemon juice to the sugar syrup. The result was quite o.k but a bit harder than the store-bought variety. The second time I added a pinch of baking soda to the syrup and was glad that it came out just the way it should be. With few ingredients and a pretty simple method, you will have a gorgeous sweet that can be eaten as a dessert or snack.

Ingredients:

5 cups peanuts, shelled and toasted
1/3 cup water
21/4 cups sugar
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Grease a 35×27 cm / 14x 10.5 inches baking sheet with a cooking spray or lightly grease with some oil.

2. Place the sugar, water and lemon juice in a large pot, stir and bring to a boil! Reduce heat to very low and simmer (uncovered) for 9 minutes. Remove from heat and directly add the baking soda;stir well.You will notice that the syrup will foam up a bit. Add the peanuts and stir well. Be fast to spread the fistkieh in the pan and level it with a metal spatula. Allow to cool down completely and cut into medium sized squares. Enjoy!