Name: Black Widow Spider Brownies (Halloween Brownie Bites)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 36
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups white sugar; 3/4 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup real, unsalted butter,* melted; 3 eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; Prepared or homemade** frosting; Black icing coloring or food coloring; Black sugar sprinkles or sanding sugar; Pretzel sticks; Black candy melts; Red candy melts; Small candy eyeballs

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These Halloween brownie bites are a variation on my classic foolproof brownies recipe, and I do believe it is the best brownie bites recipe (check them out in my 4th of July Brownie Bites Flag and Football Brownie Bites themes too). This version makes cute (and not-so-spooky) Black Widow Spider Brownies. If you’re looking for a different idea for a brownie spider, these Halloween themed brownies are a fun option! Get the full Halloween spider brownies recipe at the end of this post (you can also click the Jump to Recipe button above to go straight to it), or keep reading to see step-by-step photos and tips for making these Halloween mini brownie bites.

Black Widow Spider Brownies (Halloween brownie bites recipe)

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More brownie recipe variations like these spider brownies

What you need to make these Halloween themed brownies

Here’s what you’ll need to make this perfect-every-time, soft-on-the-inside brownie spider recipe:

Mini muffin pan (I love this 24-cup silicone mini muffin pan)
Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup real, unsalted butter, melted (Important Tip: In order to make these Halloween brownie bites foolproof, it’s important to use real butter, not margarine, for this recipe. I’ve tried it with margarine and it never turns out the right consistency.)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Wire cooling rack
Prepared or homemade* frosting
Black icing coloring or food coloring
Black sugar sprinkles or sanding sugar
Parchment or wax paper
Pretzel sticks
Black candy melts
Red candy melts
Small candy eyeballs
Icing bags (reusable or disposable) with a small round tip (I used the screw-on plastic one from this icing tip set with a plastic coupler in the bag). You can also use plastic zipper bags with a corner snipped off.

*To make your own frosting, mix a few cups of powdered sugar with about 1/2 cup of water or milk (adjusting to your desired consistency) with a hand mixer. Add about a teaspoon of black food dye, or as much as needed for your desired color.

How to make this black widow brownie spider recipe

The first step in making these Halloween themed brownies is to make the brownie bites, which will be the body of your spider brownies. Start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees F and spraying mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix sugar, flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a mixing bowl.

Then, mix butter (remember: it’s important to use real butter, not margarine, for this recipe), eggs, and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl, and add the butter mixture to the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until well mixed.

Spoon the brownie spider batter into mini muffin cups, filling them 3/4 of the way full (you should have enough batter for 36 brownie bites – you might need to work in batches depending on the size of your mini muffin pan). Let the batter sit in the cups for 10 minutes before baking. Why is it important to let it sit? Since Halloween mini brownie bites cook much faster than regular-sized brownies, you’ll need to let them sit for a bit before baking so that the flour can fully absorb into the batter and leave you with a more cocoa-y (as opposed to a more flour-y) taste.

Bake the Halloween brownie bites in the preheated oven for 12-13 minutes, or until the edges are brown and centers are set. Cool the brownie bites in the pan on a wire rack for at least 3 minutes, then remove them from the pan to cool on the rack completely before frosting.

We’re going to frost our Halloween spider brownies with black frosting next. To make a shortcut black frosting (you know I love my shortcuts – there ain’t no shame in the shortcut game), you can mix black food coloring or icing coloring into prepared buttercream or vanilla frosting. If you don’t have prepared frosting, or prefer to make it yourself, just mix a few cups of powdered sugar with about 1/2 cup of water or milk (adjusting to your desired consistency) with a hand mixer. Add about a teaspoon of black food dye (or as much as needed for your desired color), and mix well.

Flip the brownie bites upside down and frost the top and sides with black frosting. Add black sugar sprinkles to a small bowl, then roll the frosted surface of the Halloween mini brownie bites into the sugar sprinkles to coat completely. These will be the bodies for your Halloween spider brownies!

how to make spider brownies for Halloween

It wouldn’t be a brownie spider without some legs! To make them, break pretzel sticks in half. Use melted black candy melts to attach the two pretzel halves together in a ^ shape. Set on parchment or wax paper to dry and harden. While real spiders have 8 legs, I found that 4 legs was enough for the spider effect for these treats without 1) being too much extra work, and 2) making the legs too heavy to where it would break the spider body when trying to lift the spider brownie bites.

Halloween mini brownie bites shaped like black widow spiders

Since these are Black Widow Spider Brownies, you’re going to use melted red candy melts to pipe an hourglass shape onto the back of the spider. With the same piping bag, pipe two dots on the front and attach two candy eyeballs. Again, we’re not going for accuracy here. I know that spiders have more than two eyes, but if you just keep it at two, these Halloween spider brownies come out more cute and spooky than scary and phobia-inducing (making them great for kids or for class parties).

The final step for making these Halloween brownie bites is to add the pretzel legs to the body. Since the brownies will be soft (that’s part of what makes the brownie bites recipe so good), it’s helpful to use a little melted black candy melts on the parts of the pretzel that will stick into the brownie spider body to keep the legs secure.

These spider brownies for Halloween are cute AND yummy!

Halloween brownie bites: Black Widow Spider Brownie

Ideas for brownie bites Halloween: Black Widow Spider Brownies

Black Widow Spider Brownies (Halloween themed brownies)

These Halloween themed brownies are great for a kid-friendly or school Halloween party… but the grown-ups will love the taste, too!

Black Widow Spider Brownies (Halloween spider brownies)

Ready to make these Black Widow Spider Brownies? Here’s the Halloween brownie bites recipe!

Black Widow Spider Brownies (Halloween Brownie Bites)

Yield: 36 spider brownies

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

These Halloween brownie bites are a variation on my classic foolproof brownies recipe, and make the best, soft and gooey two-bite brownies. This variation makes cute (and not-so-spooky) Black Widow Spider Brownies. If you're looking for a different idea for a brownie spider, these Halloween themed brownies are a fun option!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup real, unsalted butter,* melted
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Prepared or homemade** frosting
Black icing coloring or food coloring
Black sugar sprinkles or sanding sugar
Pretzel sticks
Black candy melts
Red candy melts
Small candy eyeballs

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
Mix sugar, flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a mixing bowl.
Mix butter, eggs, and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl; add butter mixture to the bowl with the flour mixture and stir batter until well mixed.
Spoon the batter into mini muffin cups, filling them 3/4 of the way full (you should have enough batter for 36 brownie bites - you might need to work in batches depending on the size of your mini muffin pan). Let the batter sit in the cups for 10 minutes before baking.
Bake in the preheated oven for 12-13 minutes, or until edges are brown and centers are set.
Cool the brownie bites in the pan on a wire rack for at least 3 minutes, then remove from the pan to cool on the rack completely before frosting.
Mix prepared frosting (or homemade frosting**) with black food dye to reach your desired color. Add black sugar sprinkles to a small bowl. Flip the brownie bites upside down and frost the top and sides with black frosting before rolling the frosted surface into the sugar sprinkles to coat completely. This will be your spider's body.
Break pretzel sticks in half to create spider legs. Use melted black candy melts to attach the two pretzel halves together in a ^ shape. Set on parchment or wax paper to dry and harden.
Use melted red candy melts to pipe an hourglass shape onto the back of the spider. Pipe two dots on the front and attach two candy eyeballs.
Finally, add the pretzel legs to the body. Since the brownies will be soft, it will be helpful to use a little melted black candy melts on the parts of the pretzel that will stick into the brownie spider body to keep them secure.

Notes

Ingredient Tips:

*In order to make these brownie bites foolproof, it’s important to use real butter, not margarine, for this recipe. I’ve tried it with margarine and it never turns out the right consistency.

**To make your own frosting, mix a few cups of powdered sugar with about 1/2 cup of water or milk (adjusting to your desired consistency) with a hand mixer. Add about a teaspoon of black food dye (or as much as needed for your desired color), and mix well.