Happy almost Valentine’s Day! Shall we celebrate with some chocolate? These easy tahini brownies are extra rich – you’ll LOVE them.
I’m confessing to you now that I’m going a little chocolate overboard for Valentine’s this year. I’m making no apologies – the day that also happens to be my half birthday is just made for indulgence and while I am still looking for someone to LIKE-me, like-me, I do love myself and that is worth celebrating.
So, in a way, this recipe is for all the single ladies.
And since Valentine’s happens to fall the day after Mardi Gras this year, if you’re doing the “giving up something for Lent,” and that something happens to be chocolate…well, I say go balls to the wall until midnight strikes on the 13th.
Am I justifying myself too much? Not sure why – I make no apologies to anyone in my daily life and I’m not about the start now.
Back to these brownies. The secret to these bad boys? Tahini take the place of butter, making them a little nutty and very rich.
What is tahini?
Tahini is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. You probably know it mostly from an ingredient in hummus or baba ganoush, but it can also be used in sweets (like halvah) or in these brownies!
What ingredients do I need to make easy tahini brownies?
- chocolate. I prefer to use a solid unsweetened chocolate (like Baker’s) rather than using cocoa powder + oil. I find it makes a richer brownie.
- tahini. can be found easily at most grocery stores
- flour, the all-purpose kind. Sifting is for the ambitious.
- eggs, large will do it
- vanilla and salt, for flava
- chopped chocolate for extra richness and the drizzle at the end. I prefer Trader Joe’s large semi- or dark- chocolate pound bars, chopped up. I don’t even use regular chocolate chips anymore!
Ok, enough talk. Let’s bake!
Easy Tahini Brownies
Equipment
- 1 8 x 8 square pan
Ingredients
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- ½ cup tahini
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips
- 1 TB tahini
- 2 TB bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8 x 8" pan with greased parchment paper, allowing enough paper to hang over the sides and coat the whole thing with sugar. Set aside.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and butter. Set aside to let cool a few minutes.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and eggs until pale and fluffy. Add the salt and vanilla, beat to combine. Fold in the melted chocolate by hand, careful not to deflate the eggs too much. Fold in the flour and chopped chocolate and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread around evenly. Drop the pan lightly onto a flat surface to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake 25-30 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then, using the parchment, remove the whole tray to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Once cool, melt the remaining 2TB chocolate + 1 TB tahini in the microwave. Mix until combined and drizzle over the brownies. If you need the chocolate to set quickly, you can place them in the fridge for a few minutes to help it along.
