Tahini Swirl Brownies

I was invited to a last-minute barbecue the other day, and with nothing in the house to contribute I was forced to scramble for a dessert idea! A quick survey of my fridge revealed a mostly-used can of tahini, and as luck would have it I had a decent-sized chunk left from a Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bar of dark chocolate. Clearly, brownies were in order.

I did a search online and found a frequently-lauded recipe for tahini-swirled brownies from Milk Street Magazine. I lifted the recipe in its entirety, though I admit to making a careless error and accidentally using 4 oz. of butter rather than 4 tablespoons of butter! Oops! Luckily it didn’t seem to hurt the recipe any– the interior of the brownie was moist and plushy in a way I’ve never seen in brownies before, and I really liked it. I’m tempted to keep the revision, but I’ve printed the recipe below as written so you can try the original. You’ll have to tell me how it turns out for you!

The flavor profile on these really is excellent– the slight bitterness of the dark chocolate sets off the toasty earthiness of the sesame, making for a distinctly grown-up dessert. These would probably go equally well with a cup of coffee, a dark beer, or a tall glass of milk!

Tahini Swirl Brownies (from Milk Street Magazine, via Roni Loves Cooking)

4 tbs. butter

4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

3 tbs. cocoa powder

3 eggs

1 cup plus 2 tbs. sugar

1 tbs. vanilla

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup tahini

1/2 cup flour

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9″ square baking pan with foil and spray with baking spray.

2. In a small saucepan, melt your butter. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder and chopped chocolate until melted and smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and sugar until well-incorporated. Add vanilla, salt, and tahini, and stir until smooth (this may take a while if your tahini is lumpy).

4. Add flour to the egg-tahini mixture, and stir until just incorporated. Set aside 1/2 cup of this mixture.

5. Add chocolate mixture to the remainder of the egg-tahini mixture, and stir until smooth.

6. Pour chocolate batter into pan and dollop with the reserved egg-tahini batter. Swirl with the tip of a knife.

7. Bake about 30-35 minutes, until edges are set but center is still moist.

8. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then lift foil out of pan and cool the brownies on the rack for another 30 minutes before slicing. Be sure to wipe down your knife with a wet towel in between cuts, or your slices won’t be clean.

These are very rich, so cut them in small (2″) squares to avoid overwhelming your palate!

 

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