You guys, we need to talk about these Double Chocolate Tahini Brownies. I love brownies. Love, love, love. They’re super easy to make, and not only do they satiate my untimely chocolate come dessert cravings, but they also take me back to my childhood and all those Betty Crocker baking sessions my sister and I engaged in at 1 a.m. on weekends because growing up in Jeddah meant no real bedtime on weekends.

Over the last month, I’ve made nearly a dozen batches of brownies (and eaten all of them, *wailing*), in an effort to find the perfect, fudgy, chewy, ooey-gooey brownie recipe that is the lowest on the artery-clogging potential heart-attack scale, and well- doesn’t come in a Betty Crocker box. Alas, I mastered the perfect, grain-free, oil and butter-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free Double Chocolate Tahini Brownies recipe.

Tahini is basically a sesame seed paste, which is extremely popular in the Middle East. Besides tasting absolutely divine, it plays the perfect substitute for oil, butter and dairy when it comes to brownies. The consistency is that of a thick sauce or runny paste, and they give the brownies a bit of a toasted nutty, rich and smokey taste (which I LOVE). These brownies are absolutely delicious, and don’t taste peculiar at all!

These Double Chocolate Tahini Brownies are grain-free, and use only a tablespoon of coconut flour! While tahini itself is not exactly low-calorie, it’s a much healthier form of calories than butter or oil, as sesame seeds naturally contain a lot of oil. It’s high in heathy fats and amino acids, a great source of vitamins and minerals, helps regulate blood pressure and cholesterol, boosts nutrient absorption and can also help regulate hormones. PMS’s best friend, is that you, Dear Brownies??

These Double Chocolate Tahini Brownies are are refined sugar-free, and only have a wee bit of pure maple syrup, and coconut palm sugar. The best part? They don’t taste healthy at all! These brownies are sure to taste exactly like the indulgent treat you want them to be! Deceptive, is what they are.

This recipe was inspired by ambitiouskitchen.com :

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs (refrigerated) . Can use 2 flax eggs instead too.
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup tahini paste
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 Tbsp coconut flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 tsp baking powder (you can skip this altogether if you like them more dense and fudgey)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 Celcius
2. Line a 6- inch cast iron skillet with cooking spray, or with parchment paper
3. In a large bowl, whisk tahini, coconut sugar, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla extract until well-combined.
4. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, and then gently fold them into the wet ingredients until the batter is smooth. Do not over-mix.
5. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter, and then spread it evenly into the cast iron skillet.
6. Bake for 22-30 minutes. Stick a skewer in the center, and it should come out relatively clean, with only some crumbs attached. Do not over-bake! If you’re going to be baking these in a regular baking pan, then bake only for 15 minutes.
7. Let it rest for 10 minutes, and serve while still hot, with ice-cream or dairy-free coconut ice-cream.

I’ve also made a matcha version of these brownies, which you can find here!