Olive Oil Brownies

As seen in The Olive Oil & Vinegar Lover's Cookbook (page 65). 

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup Blood Orange fused olive oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp Espresso dark balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine the olive oil with the sugar. Add the eggs and balsamic, and stir just until blended. Sift the cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt into the oil/sugar mixture. Be careful not to overmix and beat in too much air- otherwise they'll turn out too dense and more like cake than brownie. 
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until the brownie just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool completely in the pan before cutting. 

Variations:

Feel free to drizzle these brownies with any aged dark balsamic vinegar to enhance your experience. Try either Espresso or Black Cherry dark balsamic - both are delicious. Also, if you don't have the Espresso dark balsamic on hand, you can substitute strong espresso coffee.