Note: I was provided with samples of GenZ Nutrition’s gourmet nut butter blends, but was not otherwise paid or compensated for this post.
You know what really hurts someone who loves to cook and write food? Food poisoning. That’s what happened to me on Sunday night, and I am just now able to lift my head and feel normal again. At first, I thought one of my kids brought home a cursed virus from one of their summer playdates. As the days passed and I continued to be the only man down in our house, I realized that it was probably something I ate.
The hubby tried to empathize. He rubbed my back while I groaned. “What do you think it was that you ate?”
“I dunno. If I tried to itemize to you the things I shovel into my gullet in an average day, you’d probably be really grossed out.”
“Honey, you have food poisoning. We’re already there.”
This morning, when I realized the storm had passed, I immediately fired up my laptop and discovered I hadn’t yet shared with you one of my recent favorite recipes — this cast iron almond butter swirl brownie. Ohhh yeaahhhh.
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Like I've said many times before, a good cast iron skillet is a must-have in any kitchen. It's affordable, and, once it's seasoned properly, its heat distribution is incomparable. I use my skillet for everything from appetizer through dessert. Seriously, just get one already.
For this recipe, I used a riff of this Food.com recipe and substituted peanut butter for my friend Michelle's GenZ Nutrition Honey Cocoa Nut Butter. I've been friends with Michelle since we were freshmen in college. Back then, we messed around with making chicken parmesan in our dorm kitchen using foil pans and a crappy tin skillet. Nowadays, Michelle is an accomplished medical professional who has started GenZ Nutrition using her own money and entrepreneurial spirit. When she asked me to try some of her homemade nut butters, I was happy to. I always love a good side hustle.
Michelle's Honey Cocoa Nut Butter tastes mostly like almond butter, so if you've got some laying around, I think that it'd work just fine for this recipe. Plus, this cast iron almond butter swirl brownie just looks way more impressive than the actual skill that's required. It's no different than a regular brownie, except that you dab spoonfuls of almond butter at the end and swirl a butter knife through the brownie batter. I served mine right out of the skillet, which actually resulted in folks just scooping out heaps of brownie and eating it straight out of the skillet. The end result is mouthfuls of gooey chocolate brownie mixed with a creamy nutty texture. It's a little bite of heaven, really.
I feel like maybe this is the way nature intended all brownies to be eaten. We're just slow to catch on.
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