You need more tahini in your life. I’m telling you this as a friend who cares about your well-being.
Ok, great. Now that you are fully trusting my advice without question you’re probably wondering a few things…
1. What is tahini? Oh, wow! Great question. It’s ground up sesame with oil, turned into a paste or sauce. It’s like peanut butter’s sophisticated cousin.
2. You’ve offended me. I know what tahini is. Weird flex, but ok.
3. Please focus and stop using day-old memes. How can I get more tahini in my life? Right, yeah, of course. These ^^^ chocolate tahini swirl brownies ^^^ are a great start. It’s a perfect blend of sweet and savory, since the tahini brings a smooth nutty flavor. It's not nearly as sweet as peanut butter, but I think it's a nice balance to the chocolate . Bonus, this recipe is gluten-free (using cornstarch to make it super fudgy) and it swirls rull pretty for Instagram.
So you need more tahini in your life. If you’re looking for it at the store, it’s probably stocked somewhere next to the olives and pasta, because grocery stores don’t have aisle markers that say “TAHINI OVER HERE KRISTIN YOU’LL NEVER FIND IT AND NEITHER WILL THE GUY SHELVING THIS PLACE KEEPING LOOKING UNTIL YOU’VE PACED THE ‘ITALIAN’ AISLE FIVE TIMES EVEN THOUGH THIS STUFF ISN’T ITALIAN WE’RE DOING OUR BEST OK ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ”
Don’t even get me started on the time I asked for feta in brine…
Tahini. Get more of it in your life and your brownies.
(P.S. If the folks over at Tahini Inc. LLC are looking for a slogan, I think I’ve found one. I only ask for 10% in royalties.)
Chocolate Tahini Swirl Brownies
Ingredients
3 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tbsp. grapeseed or other neutral oil
4 tbsp. tahini, divided
2 large eggs
⅓ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. maple syrup
Directions
Preheat oven to 350° and grease an 8x8 baking dish.
Whisk cornstarch and cocoa powder in a small bowl until no lumps remain.
Heat chocolate, oil, and 1 Tbsp. tahini in a small saucepan over low, stirring, until melted and smooth.
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl until light, smooth, and doubled in volume, 3–4 minutes.
Beat in salt and vanilla to combine, then beat in chocolate mixture, scraping down sides as needed, until incorporated.
Beat in cornstarch mixture, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is thick and holds its shape, about 30 seconds.
Stir syrup and remaining 3 Tbsp. tahini in a small bowl.
Scrape batter into prepared baking dish and smooth top. Dollop syrup/tahini mixture over and swirl into top of batter with a skewer or toothpick. (I found you really had to mix in the tahini to get it to swirl and look marbleized.)
Bake brownies until sides are puffed, top is browned, and a tester inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 22–26 minutes.
Let cool before removing from pan and cut into squares.
Test Kitchen Notes
The original recipe calls for virgin coconut oil, but I didn’t have that. I used grapeseed oil instead, which is a neutral oil. You can use canola or vegetable, too, if that’s what you have.
The original recipe also calls for agave syrup, and – you guessed it – I don’t have that. I’m also just not a fan of agave. I swapped it for pure maple syrup and liked the way it turned out.
Here’s a fun story. I was on the phone with my sister while making these. (First mistake was dividing my attention…) I don’t have a true electric mixer or stand mixer, so I grabbed the next best thing: my Kitchen Aid hand blender with a whisk attachment. It’s effective, but if you’re not careful and not concentrating, the bowl will spin out of control. Well, I was yammering away and before I knew it the blender had spun the bowl sideways, popped the attachment off the blender, broke my nail and spewed chocolate batter ALL. OVER. THE KITCHEN. It even flung onto the cabinets seven feet behind me. I used some choice words and told my sister I had to call her back. Lesson learned – just focus on the task at hand when you’re making these. Or invest in a stand mixer.