Halloween is all about costumes, candies, and themed decorations. Let’s get creative by baking this Halloween brownie! The brownie is decorated with lots of colorful cookies and is perfect to bring to parties.
I love themed food, and Halloween is the perfect occasion to make them. I know candies are the main snack on Halloween but since I’m not so crazy about eating them, I decided to have some fun with brownies.
If you have Halloween-themed cookie cutters laying around, this is the perfect time to bring them out. They will turn the ordinary brownie into a spooktacular dessert 😉
In this recipe, I used a box of brownie mix to cut back on some work, but if you have your favorite brownie recipe, that will make this Halloween brownie even better!
Ingredients
For the cookies
- unsalted butter, cubed
- granulated sugar
- egg
- all-purpose flour
- cornstarch
- kosher salt
- vanilla extract
- Gel food coloring of your choice
For the brownie
- a box of brownie mix
- any ingredients requested on the brownie mix box (oil, eggs, etc.)
Or, you can use your favorite brownie recipe to make this Halloween brownie!
Make your store bought brownie mix better
Vegetable oil can be swapped for an equal amount of melted butter. Water can be swapped for an equal amount of milk. Swapping these ingredients will elevate flavors!
For the black icing
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- powdered sugar
- hot water
- vanilla extract
- Black gel food coloring
Instructions
Preparation
Line 8” x 8” baking dish with parchment paper and lightly grease. You can also use a larger container for thinner brownies.
For the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375F (190C), and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar, just until smooth and combined.
3. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract until incorporated.
4. Add the flour, cornstarch, and salt, and mix until the mixture will gather itself into a ball and pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
5. Divide the cookie dough into three, about 180 grams each. Add food coloring to each dough and knead until reaching the desired colors.
For mine, I added 2 drops of orange and 1 drop of red to create the deep orange for the pumpkin cookies and 3 drops of violet and 1 drop of red to create the purple color for the witch hat. I left one of them as plain for ghost cookies.
6. Roll each dough out between 2 sheets of saran wrap, to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Using a rolling pin is helpful.
7. Rest the dough sheets in a refrigerator for at least an hour. If you are in a hurry, you can also rest them in a freezer for 30 min. This process makes it easier to work with soft buttery dough.
8. Take the dough sheets out and cut them into shapes while they are still cold. Once the dough warms up, it may stick to cookie cutters. If this happens, put the sheet back in a refrigerator or a freezer and repeat the process.
9. Bake cut-out cookie dough for 5 minutes (for approximately. 2-inch cookie). When baked, the cookie surface should be dry but should not have developed a golden color.
10. Cool completely and set them aside.
For the brownies (if using brownie mix)
- Follow the instruction of your brownie mix to combine all required ingredients.
2. Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared baking dish and set aside.
For the assembly
- Preheat the oven following the instruction on your brownie mix box or your custom brownie recipe.
- On a flat surface, plan how you’d like to lay cookies on the brownie.
3. Rearrange cookies on top of the uncooked brownie mixture in the baking dish.
4. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
5. For an 8″x8″ brownie, bake it covered for an hour then uncover and bake more in 10 minutes increments until it passes the “toothpick test” – a few moist crumbs sticking to the toothpick after it comes out. *The baking time varies depending on the thickness of the brownie. Please reference your boxed brownie mix instruction and check often to avoid burnt cookies.
6. Cool completely.
For the decoration
- Whisk the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, hot water, and vanilla. If needed, add 1/8 teaspoon of water at a time to get to the consistency you want. (I recommend medium consistency)
- Add some black food coloring with a toothpick and mix until well combined.
- Place the icing in a piping bag and snip off a tiny amount (about ⅛-inch) at the corner.
- Pipe details on each cookie on the brownie
If you like this Halloween Brownie idea, you may also like:
- Nightmare Before Christmas Cookies
- Halloween Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake – Decorated as Pumpkins
Halloween Brownie
Equipment
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Large bowls
- Saran wrap
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie cutters
- 8×8 baking pan or other size baking pan
- Whisk
- Aluminum foil
- Piping Bags
Ingredients
For the cookies
- ½ cups unsalted butter cubed
- ½ cups granulated sugar 105g
- 1 egg large
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour 225g, plus more for dusting
- ¼ cups cornstarch 35g
- ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- gel food coloring of your choice
For the brownie (if using a box of brownie mix)
- 1 box Pillsbury 18.4 ounce chocolate fudge brownie mix Or any brownie mix of your choice
- Any ingredients requested on the brownie mix box (oil, eggs, etc.) *See Note
For the black icing
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 heaping cup powdered sugar 125g
- 2 – 3 tablespoons hot water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- black gel food coloring
Instructions
For the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375F (190C), and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar, just until smooth and combined.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract until incorporated.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, and salt, and mix until the mixture will gather itself into a ball and pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
- Divide the cookie dough into three, about 180 grams each. Add food coloring to each dough and knead until reaching the desired colors.For mine, I added 2 drops of orange and 1 drop of red to create the deep orange for the pumpkin cookies and 3 drops of violet and 1 drop of red to create the purple color for the witch hat. I left one of them as plain for ghost cookies.
- Roll each dough out between 2 sheets of saran wrap, to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Using a rolling pin is helpful.
- Rest the dough sheets in a refrigerator for at least an hour. If you are in a hurry, you can also rest them in a freezer for 30 min. This process makes it easier to work with soft buttery dough.
- Take the dough sheets out and cut them into shapes while they are still cold. Once the dough warms up, it may stick to cookie cutters. If this happens, put the sheet back in a refrigerator or a freezer and repeat the process.
- Bake cut-out cookie dough for 5 minutes (for approximately. 2-inch cookie). When baked, the cookie surface should be dry but should not have developed a golden color.
- Cool completely and set them aside.
For the brownie (if using a box of brownie mix)
- Follow the instruction of your brownie mix to combine all required ingredients.
- Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared baking dish and set aside.
For the assembly
- Preheat the oven following the instruction on your brownie mix box or your custom brownie recipe.
- On a flat surface, plan how you’d like to lay cookies on the brownie.
- Rearrange cookies on top of the uncooked brownie mixture in the baking dish.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
- For an 8"x8" brownie, bake covered for an hour then uncover and bake more in 10 minutes increments until it passes the “toothpick test” – a few moist crumbs sticking to the toothpick after it comes out. *The baking time varies depending on the thickness of the brownie. Please reference your boxed brownie mix instruction and check often to avoid burnt cookies.
- Cool completely.
For the decoration
- Whisk the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, hot water, and vanilla. If needed, add 1/8 teaspoon of water at a time to get to the consistency you want. (I recommend medium consistency)
- Add some black food coloring with a toothpick and mix until well combined.
- Place the icing in a piping bag and snip off a tiny amount (about ⅛-inch) at the corner.
- Pipe details on each cookie on the brownie
