Halloween Brownies Recipe (With Video)

Prep Time:

45 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 15 mins

Servings:

24

Yield:

2 dozen

Trick out your treats this All Hallow's Eve and serve a platter of our Halloween brownies in two equally frightful designs, spooky webs and frightening mummies. Our scary classics start with an easy homemade brownie recipe that uses cocoa powder and caramel-y light-brown sugar to give them an intense chocolate flavor—and is easier than melting chocolate for the batter. While they’re cooling, whip up some royal icing so you can pipe the playful decorations that take these treats over the top.

We cut the brownies into squares for spooky webs, then frosted a web on each. The frightening mummies start with rectangular brownies, get frosted in a zig-zag bandage design, and finished with candy eyeballs. They're a crowd-pleasing dessert for kids and adults alike.

How to Make Halloween Brownies Ahead

These scary treats can be baked up to two days ahead and stored at room temperature. Wrap them well or keep them in an airtight container. The royal icing can also be made a day or two ahead, covered with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface and refrigerated.

If you prefer to make and ice the brownies ahead, store them at room temperature for up to two days.

Directions

Preheat oven and prep pan:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line bottom and long sides with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang. Butter and flour parchment, tapping out excess; set aside.
Whisk flour and salt; melt butter, add sugars, then cocoa:

Whisk together flour and salt. In a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pot of simmering water, melt butter. Remove from heat. Add both sugars; whisk to combine. Whisk in cocoa powder.
Add eggs to butter mixture, then vanilla, and flour mixture:

Add eggs, one at a time, and whisk until well combined and glossy. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until just combined (do not overmix).
Pour batter into pan and bake:

Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with a spatula. Bake until top is crackly and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Cool, remove from pan and cut:

Transfer pan to a wire rack. Let cool 30 minutes, then lift brownies out of pan using parchment overhang. Let cool completely on wire rack, then cut into 24 pieces (for spider webs, cut into squares; for mummies, cut into rectangles.)
Make royal icing:

While brownies are cooling, beat confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, and water with a mixer on low speed until fluffy but dense, 7 to 8 minutes.
Decorate brownies with spider webs:

Transfer icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (such as Ateco #3). Pipe long lines in corners of square brownies, then connect with icing to create a web shape.
Decorate brownies with mummies:

Transfer icing to a piping bag fitted with a small ribbon tip (such as Ateco #44.) Pipe ribbons of icing back and forth to create a mummy pattern, and decorate with candy eyeballs.