For anyone familiar with Halvah, adding tahini to brownies is a no-brainer, in fact, what took us so long???  And if Halvah is good enough for Suleiman the Magnificent who are we to question it?

For those unfamiliar, it brilliantly transforms what can be a cloyingly-sweet dessert into something more nuanced and adult.  (Not to shade the brownies we’re all used to; I grew up on the box mix and often crave that exact thing.  Nobody can adult 365, amiright?)

But Milk Street is all about disrupting our palates and shaking up our expectations.  And also adding Middle Eastern ingredients to anything that doesn’t run away.

I served these to my book group and the consensus was: thumbs up.  In addition to offering an interesting and unusual twist on something familiar, they are also just damn good brownies — moist and chocolaty and deeply satisfying; the tahini perhaps suggesting peanut butter, but without the added sugar.  Plus anything you get to swirl is fun and pretty.

See for yourself, the recipe is here courtesy of some friends in Portland.