I gather there are several versions of this out there in Internet-land, most of which resemble a cake. Well, we went a different route. This is not necessarily lowfat, but it is really tasty, and a nice change from granola or other cereals. Good with yogurt or on fruit. It also makes a great topping for a smoothie bowl or just in clumps from the container. No judgement.
Found this version on lottieanddoof.com, and I made a few adjustments. I do tend to use my scale when baking, so the measurements here are estimates. I've made it with almond flour subbed in for half of the flour, and that was tasty. Also, once I really wanted to make this, and had no polenta on hand, so made it with semolina and honestly, the boy herd preferred that version.
Sbrisolona
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups polenta (preferably whole grain) 1/2 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp salt 1 ½ tsp baking powder 1 Egg ½ Vanilla bean, scraped or 1 tsp vanilla Zest from ½ lemon Zest from ½ orange 1 1/8 cup unsalted butter, very cold
1 T toasted white sesame seeds
1/2 toasted slivered almonds
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, polenta, sugar, salt, baking powder, egg, vanilla beans scrapings, lemon zest, and orange zest and mix by hand.
In a food processor, combine the butter and polenta mixture and pulse until the butter is pea size; don't over pulse. Leaving chunks of butter is a good thing here. It will not come together as a dough; don't curse my name when it looks like a mess of crumbs! Prosper on! Mix in the sesame seeds and almonds.
Sprinkle the mixture out into an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, stir with a fork, and finish baking until lightly browned, about 12-20 minutes more.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for longer. The recipe makes a lot, but it is so delicious you’ll find yourself eating it on everything.