Tahini Blondies
The after-school treat you need, even if you aren't in school
The first week in September always feels a cruel shock. It’s the return-to-real-life thing that gets to me. While I know I can still buy fudgsicles after Labor Day, I know they won’t taste the same.
All the family dynamics were upheaved as well: Daughter went back to college and son had his last ‘first day’ of public school.
It doesn’t help that Acme, my local grocery, has embraced fall as if it were a long-lost lover. Heaps of pumpkins are piled next to rust and purple mums and look out of place in the 95-degree, midday glare of early September—that white intense light as if the heavens had installed fluorescent bulbs. The sickly odor of cinnamon-oil saturated pine cones assaults me in the parking lot, the scent travelling out the automatic doors on waves of thick humidity.
It was there at the Acme that I was first roiled by emotion, as I took my son to to get his requested protein-packed breakfast options. Somewhere near the good-god-so-expensive Gatorade breakfast bars, images of the 15 or so years of my kids’ first days of school grabbed hold of my brain. Somewhere further down aisle 8, I’d managed to stuff all those emotions into the lead-lined storage closet I keep in my brain somewhere near the neo-cortex.
No need to show emotion outwardly. No, no. I’m not an animal.
There are good things about early September. I go back to teaching, full of new thoughts to share. My zinnias and dahlias finally go bonkers and bust out all over. I harvested the one watermelon I grew. And when I get feeling blue, I buy (more) bulbs (than I need) for the garden.
But you are here for the recipe, and probably have your own September feelings that go this way and that. I quashed a lot of my thoughts by focusing on a recipe that I’ve been tweaking for a while: a tahini blonde brownie. I usually bake my mother’s blondies at the start of school, but what with my emotions a bit too close to the surface, I decided something new was in order.
Notes on the Making of Tahini Blonde Brownies
Many test recipes and tweaks later, I arrived at a brownie that was more fudgy than cakey. To ensure a similar outcome to mine, start checking for done-ness after 18 minutes, and then re-check every 2 minutes. The goal is to slightly undercook these. Thanks to the tahini, they can dry out quickly.
For efficiency’s sake, I melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave—the same one I plan to make the brownies in.
Unfortunately, the oiliness of tahini can vary from brand to brand. I used Joyva brand because it can be found reasonably easily. Whichever tahini you end up using, make sure you whisk it thoroughly, as the oil will have separated out of it.
I used Ghirardelli large chocolate chunks which created lush pools of molten chocolate—a perfect complement to the tahini.
Store them, well-wrapped on the counter for two days, or in the refrigerator for longer keeping. Of course the freeze well, wrapped in plastic wrap and sealed inside a freezer-safe plastic bag.
Quick fancy dessert? Serve a slab of the brownies with caramel ice cream and a drizzle of tahini over the top. Break up the beige with shavings of dark chocolate or an edible flower, such as a nasturtium
A parchment sling in a pan.
Tahini Blonde Brownies
Makes 1 8 x 8” pan
What You’ll Need:
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup (110 grams) dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup (120 grams) tahini (I used Joyva brand)
1 large egg
1 egg YOLK
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or to taste)
1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of semisweet chocolate chunks, chips or chopped up chocolate
What You’ll Do:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 8 x 8’ baking tin (preferably metal), and line with a parchment paper sling so you can lift the baked brownies out with ease.
In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar into the melted butter until smooth, about 1 minute.
Whisk in the honey, tahini, egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract until uniform.
Fold in the flour, salt and cinnamon, and chocolate chips until the last traces of flour disappear. Do not overmix.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, smooth the batter to the edges, and bake for 18 to 22 minutes. (See notes.)
Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Eat warm or at room temperature.
How is your September going? How are you keeping yourself afloat? And what is your favorite must-have school supply, even if you don’t go to school anymore?
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Re too many bulbs. Or if you want an excuse to buy more. Margaret Roach has a very nice article in the NY Times on how to force bulbs to have inside the house during winter. And she skipped amaryllis & paperwhites for less common bulbs
Not to be a drag but the ingredients list references honey but I don’t see where you are supposed to add it to the recipe. My blondies came out incredibly undercooked after twenty minutes, maybe because I didn’t use a metal pan? I don’t claim to understand baking so could be something else.