My fun Halloween brownies are rich, fudgy, indulgent, and extra festive with some Halloween-colored ganache and sweet candies. They are easy to make, a perfect baking activity for the kids, and incredibly delicious. Serve these at your next Halloween party, and watch them disappear.
Try my Reese's Pieces Halloween cookies, Halloween baked cheese mummies, and Halloween crescent roll witch hats for more Halloween snacks.
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!
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🔪 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.
>>>See All Of My Recipes Here!<<<
💭 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
Absolutely! Simply swap out all of the peanut butter-based candies for your favorite peanut-free alternatives. Crushed cookies, pretzels, or festive sprinkles would still look great.
Using parchment paper to line your baking dish makes removing these brownies from the pan extra easy.
Make sure they are completely cool and then use a sharp knife that has been run under hot water and then dried with paper towels to slice the brownies. This will make perfectly clean edges that look the best.
I suggest slicing it into smaller squares to accomodate more guests. Serve on a festive Halloween-themed platter.
The possibilities are essentially endless. I wouldn't recommend using gummy candies, but chocolate, peanut butter, or crunchy sweets would work great. You could also just chop up your favorite chocolate bars and use that.
Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! Subscribe to the newsletter today (no spam, I promise)! Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!
📖 Recipe Card
Halloween Brownies
Ingredients
Brownie Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (melted, cooled)
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil (or preferred cooking oil)
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar (firmly packed)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1.55 oz chocolate bar (optional, milk chocolate or semi-sweet - grated, up to 2 ounces)
Ganache Ingredients
- ¼ cup black melting wafers
- ¼ cup orange melting wafers
- ¼ cup white melting wafers
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream (divided)
Topping Ingredients
- ¼ cup Reese’s Pieces
- ¼ cup mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- ¼ cup Reese’s peanut butter chips
- orange sanding sugar
- candy eyes (various sizes)
Instructions
Mix The Brownie Batter
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) and lightly spritz a 9x13 baking dish with some non-stick cooking spray. If desired, you could also line the pan with some overhanging parchment paper.
- Using your stand mixer or a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup butter, 2 tablespoon coconut oil, 1¼ cups sugar, 1 cup light brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Add the 4 large eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Using a sieve placed over the bowl, sift your 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder directly into the wet ingredients. Then, use a silicone spatula to fold everything together, without overmixing the batter.
- If using the optional 1.55 oz chocolate bar, fold it into the batter with your spatula.
Bake The Brownies
- Transfer the baking dish 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.
- Remove your fudge brownies from the oven and let them cool for at least 15 minutes before you transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Prepare The Ganache
- Place each color of melting wafers into a separate bowl (¼ cup black melting wafers, ¼ cup orange melting wafers, ¼ cup white melting wafers).
- Heat your ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream in the microwave until it only just starts to bubble.
- 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.
- Let the combination sit for 1 minute and then stir each color until the wafers have fully melted.
- Add dollops of the various colors of ganache over the top of the cooled brownies. You can leave this design as-is, or use a toothpick to gently swirl the colors together.
Add The Topping
- Scatter your ¼ cup Reese’s Pieces, ¼ cup mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, ¼ cup Reese’s peanut butter chips, orange sanding sugar, and candy eyes over the top of the brownies.
- Let the ganache finish setting and then slice and serve.
Notes
- For an extra fudgy brownie, bake them for only about 30 minutes. Make sure to give them plenty of time to cool so that they finish setting up.
- If you want a more cake-like brownie, up the cooking time to closer to 40 minutes.
- Feel free to add any of your favorite Halloween candy as a topping! Pretzels, sprinkles, or crushed cookies would also be a great choice!
- When placing the candy eyes, make sure your hands are completely dry or else the black part of the eyes will smear.
- Store these tasty brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Comments
No Comments