100% Acorn Brownies

Ingredients

For the Brownies:

• 10 T butter, melted
• 1 1/4 c sugar
• 3/4 c plus 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup acorn flour (almond flour may be substituted)

For the swirl:

• 3 ounces goat chevre, room temperature
• 2 T sour cream
• 2 T sugar
• 1 T flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325 F and make a parchment paper sling for an 8″x8″ pan, so that the bottom and two sides are covered.  This makes it easer to remove the acorn brownies once they’ve finished baking.

In a large bowl, stir together the still-hot melted butter, sugar, cocoa and salt.

Beat in the vanilla and eggs until the batter looks shiny.  Then stir in the acorn flour.

Pour the acorn brownie batter into the prepared pan.

To make the swirl, in a bowl, beat the goat cheese, sour cream, and sugar with an electric mixer until they are smooth.  Add flour, egg, and vanilla and continue to beat until they are fully incorporated.

Drop a spoonful of the cheese mixture at nine points atop the brownie batter.  Drag a table knife through the brownies in swirl patterns to partially mix the cheese and brownie batter, making a pleasing marbled design.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.  Traditional brownies would bake for less time.  Acorn brownies need a bit longer so they don’t come out to the oven with the appearance of raw batter.  [note: it took my brownies a full 45 minutes to bake].  When cooked, a toothpick inserted 2/3 of the way to the center will come out clean.

Once cooled, you can lift the brownies out of the pan using their parchment sling (which I found to be a very effective trick), then cut them into 16 pieces.