Description
Hocus Pocus Brownies are delightfully rich and fudgy brownies with a magical twist, decorated to look like spell books with candy eyeballs and intricate icing designs. Perfect for Halloween or any spooky occasion, these brownies combine the intense flavor of semi-sweet chocolate with a moist, dense texture that’s sure to enchant.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Brownie Batter
- 8 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
Decoration
- 12 candy eyeballs
- Black decorating icing or gel
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare the pan: Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C) and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking and for easy removal of the brownies.
- Melt chocolate: Place the 8 ounces of semi-sweet baking chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue microwaving in 15-second increments, stirring each time until the chocolate is fully melted and silky. Set aside to cool slightly, but do not let it harden.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, and salt until fully combined and free of lumps.
- Combine wet ingredients: In a separate small bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, water, and vanilla extract until fully blended.
- Combine wet and dry mixtures: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix gently just until no dry patches remain. Avoid overmixing to ensure tender brownies.
- Fold in melted chocolate: Carefully fold the melted chocolate into the batter until just combined, ensuring an even, rich chocolate distribution.
- Bake the brownies: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Cool the brownies: Allow the brownies to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes until they are just slightly warm to the touch. Then, remove them from the pan by lifting the parchment paper and transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Cut brownies: Once fully cooled, cut the brownies into 12 equal rectangles.
- Add decorative eyeballs: Press one candy eyeball into the right long side of each brownie approximately halfway down, leaving enough space around it to decorate.
- Create spell book designs: Using black decorating icing or gel, draw a circle around each candy eyeball to highlight it. On the opposite long side, draw short horizontal lines resembling a book seam. Add half circles at the top and bottom corners near the eye and decorate further with vertical lines or swirls to give each brownie the appearance of a magical spell book.
Notes
- Be careful not to overbake; brownies should be moist and fudgy.
- Allow the melted chocolate to cool slightly before folding into the batter to avoid cooking the eggs prematurely.
- Use parchment paper to easily lift brownies from the pan for neat cutting and decorating.
- For a gluten-free version, substitute all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend.
- Decorating icing gels are available in various colors if you want to customize your spell book designs further.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 brownie (approx. 1/12 of recipe)
- Calories: 380 kcal
- Sugar: 45 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
