Whether they hold together without chilling is the open question.
- Dissolve the instant coffee in two tablespoons of hot water. Let it cool.
- Chop the dates as finely as you can, then keep going. You want paste.
- Work everything together in a bowl with the back of a spoon: dates, oats, peanut butter, cocoa, coffee liquid, salt and half the sesame.
- Press hard into a flat slab about 2 cm thick: a lidded container works. Press much harder than feels necessary; the pressure is what makes them hold.
- Remaining sesame pressed into the top. Cut into bars.
They firm up over several hours and are much better the next day. Somewhere cool helps but is not required.
Makes about 8 bars.