halloween Archives | Marisa's Italian Kitchen

These Mini Brownie Bites with Cream Cheese Frosting are a two bite marvel and an absolute delicious treat for Halloween. The swirl of orange tinted cream cheese frosting is dipped in a chocolate glaze and topped with sprinkles.

When it comes to Halloween baking, I’m not really much into the creepy, spooky or ghoulish treats. I’m more into something that has the cutesy factor.

These adorable mini brownie bites sure do and some! They’re rich, chocolaty and dense in texture without being overly sweet.

If you are fairly new to baking, you will find them delightfully easy to make. And if piping the frosting seems somewhat intimidating to you, simply give it a try by practicing first.

Set a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper on a counter. Fit any piping tip of your choice into a pastry bag and fill the bag with frosting.

Start piping directly onto your parchment lined cookie sheet. Then simply scrape off the frosting back into the pastry bag and you’re good to go. Easy right!

The brownie recipe comes from one of my favourite magazines, Better Homes and Garden.

I tweaked it somewhat, simply for personal taste, by using a luscious cream cheese frosting.

Then, I tinted the frosting with orange icing colour and switched it up to give it a Halloween flare. I just adore the chocolate and cream cheese combination!

You’ll need 3, 12 hole mini muffin pans to make this recipe. It’s a worthy investment as this recipe is one you’ll be making over and over again.

It’s super easy to make and totally fun! You can also adapt this recipe to suit any occasion of your choice!

How to make mini brownie bites

Place the flour and cocoa powder in a small mixing bowl.
Stir together and set aside while you beat the sugar with the eggs.

In a separate medium sized mixing bowl, add in the sugar and eggs.
Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until thick and pale yellow in colour, about 2 minutes.

Mix in the flour and cocoa mixture, just until smooth.
Add in 1/2 cup of melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared mini muffin tins. I used a 1 and a half inch cookie scoop but you can just as easily use teaspoons to measure out the batter.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F, for about 10 to 12 minutes.
Test for doneness by inserting a wooden skewer in the middle. If it comes out clean, then the brownies are ready.

Place the brownies on a cooling rack.
Allow the brownies to cool in the tins for about 5 minutes before gently releasing them.
Once removed from the baking tins, transfer them back to the rack to cool completely before frosting.

How to make coloured cream cheese frosting

To make the frosting you’ll need:

cream cheese
butter
powdered sugar
vanilla extract
Orange icing colour

Combine the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl and beat until combined.

Alternately, you can also use a food processor to mix the frosting ingredients together.

Tint the icing with orange icing colour. Colouring for frostings are sold in a gel form. Don’t use the liquid colourings as those are for cake batters.

A little goes a long way so start with a little bit at a time or, until you get the desired colour. I used approximately 1/8 of a teaspoon.

Use a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip to pipe the frosting onto each brownie. (I used the 1M tip from Wilton, not sponsored).

You’ll need to refrigerate the frosted brownies for 30 minutes. This will set the frosting and makes it easier to dip into the chocolate glaze which also helps set the glaze.

How to make chocolate dipping glaze

For the chocolate glaze, place 1/4 cup of cubed butter, 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate in a small sauce pot over low heat and stir until melted and smooth.

Then simply remove it from the heat and stir in the corn syrup.

Set it aside and let it cool for about 10 minutes.

Once cooled dip the top of each brownie, about 3 quarters in, into the chocolate glaze.

Sprinkle the mini brownies with nonpareils and refrigerate till the chocolate is set, for about 15 minutes.

These mini brownie bites with cream cheese frosting store very well in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 5 days.

They’re adorable, fun and oh so yummy!

Happy Baking!

Other Halloween treats you’ll love:

Ossi Di Morto Bones of the Dead

Chocolate Popcorn Halloween Cupcakes

This post was originally published Oct 29 2015 and republished Oct 29, 2020 with updated photos and content.

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5 from 1 vote

Mini Brownie Bites with Cream Cheese Frosting

These mini chocolate brownies topped with orange tinted cream cheese and dipped in melted chocolate are a delicious two bite marvel. They make a perfect Halloween treat topped with festive sprinkles.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time12 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Mini Brownie Bites with Cream Cheese Frosting

Servings: Mini Brownies

Calories: 150kcal

Equipment

Mini muffin tins

Ingredients

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter melted

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

125 grams cream cheese
1/2 cup cold butter
2½ cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon orange icing colour (optional) I used Wilton's gel colour

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

1/4 cup butter cubbed
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
4 teaspoons corn syrup light coloured
Halloween sprinkles optional

Instructions

MINI BROWNIES

Preheat ove to 350 degrees F.
Grease mini muffin pans or line with mini paper cups.
Place the flour and cocoa powder in a small bowl, stir and set aside.
Beat the sugar and eggs together in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes or until thick and pale yellow in colour.
Beat in the flour mixture just until smooth.
Add in 1/2 cup of melted butter and stir until combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tins.
Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let the brownies cool in the pan for about 5 minutes then carefully remove the brownies from the baking pan and transfer on a wire rack to cool completely.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Combine all the frosting ingredients in a medium bowl and beat until well combined.
Tint the frosting with the orange icing colour. A little goes a long way so start with a little bit at a time and stir till you get the desired shade of orange. I barley used 1/8 of a teaspoon.
Use a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip to pipe the frosting onto each brownie. I use the 1M tip from Wilton.
Refrigerate the frosted brownies for 30 minutes. This will set the frosting making it much easier to dip in the chocolate.

ChOCOLATE GLAZE

Place 1/4 cup of cubed butter and 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate in a small sauce pot.
On low heat, stir until the butter is melted and the chocolate mixture is smooth.
Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the corn syrup.
Ste the glaze aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
Once cooled, dip the top of each brownie into the chocolate glaze.
Top with the Halloween sprinkles and refrigerate until the chocolate sets. For about 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

These mini brownie bites with cream cheese frosting store very well in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

I’ve got a fun afternoon project involving cupcakes, frosting, popcorn and lots of sprinkles! Say hello to Chocolate Popcorn Halloween Cupcakes!

Who doesn’t love sprinkles, right! You can get right down funky with some Halloween sprinkles here by using as many or as little as you like.

If you are pressed for time, store bought cupcakes with frosting and even ready popped popcorn can be substituted in a pinch.

However if you prefer to prepare everything from scratch, here is a go to, no fail chocolate cupcake recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook…a wonderful cookbook allowing you a little peak into their irresistible bakery!

The cupcake itself is light, moist and gets a lovely dark color and chocolate kick from the cocoa powder. Also, I topped it with a fluffy chocolate frosting, simply because I believe one can never have enough chocolate!

I substituted the whole milk for almond milk in this recipe as I rarely have cow’s milk on hand and used a large egg instead of a medium sized one as stipulated in the cookbook, (I always bake with large eggs) which did not compromise the recipe at all. Absolutely delicious!

How to make Halloween popcorn

There is some serious sweet and salty happening here so let’s begin!

I used 1/2 cup of kernels which yielded approximately 8 cups of popcorn.

Once popped, toss the popcorn with a dash of salt and few tablespoons of slightly cooled candy melts.

Divide the popcorn between 2 prepared cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and spread them out into a single layer.

Drizzle some more of the melted chocolate over the popcorn layers until you achieve the desired shade of orange.

Sprinkle the popcorn generously with Halloween sprinkles and then set aside till the candy melts harden.

How to Decorate Popcorn Cupcakes

When the popcorn mixture set and dried, break off into small pieces and start topping the frosted cupcakes from the bottom outer layer while working your way up.

Any gaps are easily covered with smaller pieces of popcorn by dipping them first into a little of the melted candy. This acts as glue and easily fills the empty spaces.

Consequently, …you won’t need all 8 cups of Halloween popcorn but I am leaving it in because, and trust me on this, as you are assembling these Chocolate Popcorn Halloween Cupcakes, you will also be greedily munching away on the sweet and salty popcorn.

Helpful tips for making Cupcakes with Popcorn

The chocolate cupcakes with the frosting can be made ahead of time, however I would prepare and assemble the popcorn as close to serving time as possible because the popcorn is at its crunchiest when freshly popped.

I have used many different brands of candy melts and realized that they do not all have the same consistency once melted. Therefore if you find that your melted candy is too thick for drizzling, simply stir in some vegetable oil to thin it out.

These cupcakes with chocolate popcorn are so much fun to make! I know you’ll enjoy them!

Other Halloween treats you’ll love:

Mini Brownie Bites with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Ossi Di Morto Bones of the Dead

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Chocolate Popcorn Halloween Cupcakes

These moist and over the top delicious, Chocolate Popcorn Halloween Cupcakes are so incredibly fun and easy to put together. A perfect Halloween treat.

Course: Cupcake

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate, cupcakes, Halloween, popcorn

Servings:

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt I used fine sea salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
1/2 cup almond milk or whole milk
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
CHOCOLATE ICING
2 1/3 cups icing sugar sifted
6 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
2 tablespoons almond milk or whole milk
HALLOWEEN POPCORN
8 cups popped plain popcorn
Pink Himalayan Salt for sprinkling on popcorn
Halloween sprinkles.
340 grams or 12 oz of orange candy melts

Instructions

FOR THE CUPCAKES
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt and the softened butter in a large mixing bowl.
Start beating on low speed just until everything is combined. It will have the appearance of coarse sand.
In a small measuring bowl whisk together the milk, egg, and the vanilla together and then slowly pour half of this mixture into the flour mixture.
Beat on low speed till combined then increase the speed to high speed. This will get rid of any lumps.
Turn the mixer back down to slow speed and pour in the rest of the milk mixture.
Continue to mix for a couple of more minutes until the batter looks smooth. Do now over mix.
Scoop the batter in the prepared muffin pan, filling two thirds full.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the cupcake bounces back when lightly touched. You can also test to see if it's done by inserting a toothpick in the center and if it comes back clean then they are ready.
Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the pan then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely, before icing.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE ICING
In a large bowl, beat together the icing sugar, softened butter and cocoa powder on low speed, just until it comes together.
Add the milk, a couple of teaspoons at a time, while on low speed.
Once the milk is fully mixed in, switch to high speed and continue to mix until the icing is light and fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes.
The longer you mix the icing, you will note that the lighter and fluffier it becomes. YUMMY!
When ready spoon the icing over the cupcakes or simply use a piping bag if you prefer.
HALLOWEEN POPCORN
Prepare 2 cookie baking sheets with silpat baking mats or parchment paper and set aside.
Place the candy melts in a small microwaveable bowl or container.
Melt on 50% power for 1 minute and then stir the candy melts very well.
Return the candy melts to the microwave and continue to melt and stir at 15 to 20 second intervals.
Sprinkle a few pinches of salt over the popcorn. (you can use any salt you prefer)
Toss together the salted popcorn with a few tablespoons at a time of melted chocolate until you get the desired color. Make sure to toss very well.
Divide the popcorn between the 2 prepared cookie baking sheets and spread them out evenly in one single layer.
Drizzle more melted chocolate over the layers of popcorn and quickly sprinkle generously with your choice of Halloween sprinkles so that the sprinkles have a chance to adhere to the melted chocolate. (make sure to set aside a little of the melted chocolate to assemble the popcorn over the cupcakes)
Let set till the chocolate hardens.
Special note: You can thin the melted chocolate with vegetable oil, one teaspoon at a time, for easy drizzling.
ASSEMBLING THE POPCORN
Once the popcorn is set, break off into small pieces and strategically place over the iced cupcakes, starting at the outer part of the cupcake working yourself to the top.
You can fill in any gaps with smaller pieces of popcorn by dipping them first in a little bit of melted chocolate (this will act as a glue) and then insert into the gaps.

Notes

Partially adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook