Halloween Brownies

I'm always looking for spooky treats that kids can help out with. These brownies fit the bill perfectly.

They are rich, chewy, and easy to decorate in whatever way you like. I had so much fun with this colorful ganache and candy eyes, but the possibilities are endless.

🥘 Ingredients

Brownie Ingredients

• Butter - Melt your butter, then let it cool slightly.
• Coconut Oil - My preferred cooking oil for baking is coconut oil, but any neutral-flavored oil would work.
• Sugar - Granulated white sugar for sweetness and a great chewy fudge brownie texture.
• Brown Sugar - The addition of brown sugar deepens the flavor and keeps brownies moist and tender.
• Eggs - Let your eggs come up to room temperature before getting started.
• Vanilla - Pure vanilla always has the best flavor.
• Flour - Regular, all-purpose flour will make up the base of your brownies.
• Cocoa Powder - You can't have brownies without making them chocolate. Regular unsweetened cocoa powder is all you need.
• Chocolate Bar (optional) - For an extra hit of chocolate, you can grate a milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate bar to be folded into the batter.

Ganache Ingredients

• Melting Wafers - You will need black, orange, and white melting wafers. These colors should be relatively easy to find around Halloween on the baking aisle. If you can't find them, order them online or use white melting wafers and add food coloring.
• Heavy Whipping Cream - Heavy cream is heated and combined with your melting wafers to make the ganache. See my guide on heavy cream substitutes if needed.

Candy Topping Ingredients

• Reese's Pieces - Some Reese's Pieces for a hint of peanut butter.
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - I used mini Reese's Peanut Butter cups, but you could chop up the full-size version, too. The small packages of unwrapped peanut butter cups are ideal.
• Peanut Butter Chips - They'll be located next to the chocolate chips.
• Orange Sanding Sugar - For some extra decoration.
• Candy Eyes - Grab some candy eyes in various sizes for a little spooky effect!

🔪 How To Make Halloween Brownies

There are 3 parts to whipping up these delicious brownies: the brownies themselves, the colorful ganache, and the candy topping. All of these are pretty quick and simple to do, you can even let the kids help out.

You will need a 9x13 baking dish, measuring utensils, mixing bowls, a sieve, and a silicone spatula. One batch of these Halloween brownies can be cut into 18 bars, but feel free to make them as large or small as you want.

Mix The Brownie Batter

Step 1: Preheat. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) and lightly spritz a 9x13 baking dish with some non-stick cooking spray. You could also line the pan with some overhanging parchment paper if desired.

Step 2: Mix. Using your stand mixer or a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup (227 grams) of butter, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, 1¼ cups (250 grams) of sugar, 1 cup (220 grams) of light brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon of salt (photo 1).

Step 3: Combine. Add the 4 large eggs (200 grams) and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract (photo 2) and stir until thoroughly combined.

Step 4: Add dry ingredients. Using a sieve over the bowl, sift 1 cup (125 grams) of all-purpose flour and 1 cup (86 grams) of unsweetened cocoa powder directly into your bowl of wet ingredients (photo 3). Then, use a silicone spatula to fold everything together without overmixing the batter.

Step 5: Add chocolate. If using the optional 1.55-ounce (44 grams) chocolate bar, fold it into the batter with your spatula.

Bake The Brownies

Step 6: Bake. Move the baking pan to the oven and bake at 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick can be poked into the center and removed without any wet batter on it (photo 5).

Step 7: Cool. Take your brownies out of the oven and let them cool for at least 15 minutes before you move them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare The Ganache

Step 8: Prepare. Place each color of the candy melting wafers into a separate bowl. Use ¼ cup (56.5 grams) each of black melting wafers, orange melting wafers, and white melting wafers.

Step 9: Heat. Heat your ⅓ cup (79 milliliters) of heavy whipping cream in the microwave until it only just starts to bubble.

Step 10: Pour. Divide the heavy whipping cream into 3 equal portions (1 tablespoon + 1¼ teaspoon each) and add it to each of the bowls with the melting wafers (photo 6).

Step 11: Melt. Let the combination sit for 1 minute, and then stir each color until the wafers have fully melted (photo 7).

Step 12: Swirl. Add dollops of the various colors of ganache over the top of the cooled brownies (photo 8). You can leave this design as-is or use a toothpick to gently swirl the colors together (photo 9).

Add The Topping

Step 13: Decorate. Scatter your ¼ cup each of Reese’s Pieces, mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Reese’s peanut butter chips, as well as orange sanding sugar and candy eyes over the top of the brownies (photo 10).

Step 14: Serve. Let the ganache finish setting, and then slice and serve.

💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Notes

• Enjoy a fudgy texture. Bake them for only about 30 minutes for a fudgier brownie. Make sure to give them plenty of time to cool so that they finish setting up.
• Bake longer for a cakey brownie. If you want a more cake-like brownie, increase the cooking time to 40 minutes.
• Customize your candy. Feel free to add any of your favorite Halloween candy as a topping. Pretzels, sprinkles, or crushed cookies would also be a great choice.
• Use dry hands. When placing the candy eyes, make sure your hands are completely dry, or the black part of the eyes will smear.

🥄 Make Ahead Options

You can prepare these brownies as directed and then let them cool completely. Place them into the fridge in a sealed container (with parchment paper separating any layers) for up to 2 days if needed. 

🥡 Storing

You'll want to store these tasty brownies at room temperature for up to 4 days, but make sure they are in an airtight container.

If you are having an outdoor event where you will be serving these brownies, go ahead and keep them in a cooler until ready to serve. If you let them sit out in the hot sun, the ganache and candies can start to melt.

❓ Halloween Brownies Recipe FAQ's

📖 Recipe Card