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I can’t tell you how excited I am to be finally sharing these Hocus Pocus Spellbook Brownies.
If you guys haven’t already noticed, I kind of have a thing for Halloween treats. Something about Halloween season just makes me feel like a kid again, and I love that! In real life I’m a little too focused, a little too serious, and sometimes I just need to like, relax and have fun. Halloween (and really holidays) always take me back to my younger self.
Plus, who could not love a day devoted to dressing up and eating candy?
It’s genius.
Now that I’m older, and probably haven’t dressed up for Halloween since I was in sixth grade, I’ve found other ways to enjoy the holiday. One of my favorite things to do is to create “spooky” recipes…and apparently cocktails too. I have so much fun with it, like so much. It’s so dorky, but I just can’t help loving it.
A couple of weeks back, little Asher was over one night just chatting my ear off like she often does…
I was watching her for a bit and we decided to kill time by browsing through Pinterest and brainstorming Halloween recipe ideas. If there’s one thing I’ve passed down to Asher, it’s a love for holidays. In fact, the girl might just love them more than me. And Halloween…she LOVES it. She’ll start watching Halloween movies mid July. Her favorites are Harry Potter (obviously), all the Halloweentown movies (I used to love these as a kid…still do actually), Twitches, and Hocus Pocus.
I turned her onto Hocus Pocus last October, and she has been obsessed with it ever since. So when we came across a few Hocus Pocus inspired desserts, she declared that I HAD to recreate the Hocus Pocus Spellbook, but in dessert form.
So you have Asher to thank for theses delicious and extra cute hocus pocus brownies.
For real though, aren’t they adorable? I couldn’t believe how well they turned out for how easy they were to make. Typically I’ll find that creating holiday desserts are kind of a “pull your hair out” task, but these brownies are easy. Trust me, you can easily make them. then you and any kids you can round up will have a ton of fun decorating the “books”!
Start out by making a batch of my favorite one bowl brownies in a large mixing bowl. Cut the brownies into nine squares, dip through chocolate, add a jumbo candy eye, and then decorate with some lines of frosting.
Simple as that.
A little tip? I like to freeze the brownies for a bit to make dipping them through the chocolate a faster and easier process. Working with a cold brownie allows the chocolate to harden faster.
Also? Instead of black food dye for the frosting, I like use activated charcoal so I can stay away from the store-bought food dyes (they freak me out).
And? I used jumbo candy eyes, which I bought via Amazon since I have not seen them in the grocery stores or at Target, at least not where I live. The smaller candy eyes will work, but I love the jumbo ones. They made the books look so similar to the one used in Hocus Pocus.
The best part? Even though these brownies are cute, they also taste delicious! What could not be good about a chocolate covered brownie?
It’s almost too good.
Thinking our weekend plans need to include a round of brownie baking and decorating…followed by a marathon Halloween movie night.
Sounds pretty amazing to me…who’s in?
On thing though, brownie making must come before movies. I mean all good movie marathon nights need a yummy snack…of course.
Hocus Pocus Spellbook Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
- 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, (optional)
- 16 ounces semi-sweet or milk chocolate, chopped
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons activated charcoal or black food dye
- large candy eyes, for decorating
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper. 2. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs until combined. Add the cocoa powder, flour, and coffee and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the brownies are just set. Let cool and then cut into 9 bars. Freeze for 15 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate and coconut oil. Microwave on high for 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted. Let cool 10 minutes. Dip each frozen brownie into the melted chocolate, using a fork to toss the brownie in the chocolate to coat. Remove and allow any excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining brownies. Freeze for 10 minutes. 4. In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, black dye (or charcoal), and 1 tablespoon water until combined, adding water if needed to thin. Add the frosting to a ziplock bag and snip a small portion of the corner off the bag. Remove the brownies from the freezer. Add a dot of frosting to each brownie and attach a candy eye. Decorate the spell books as desired. Let the frosting dry and then serve, or keep in and airtight container in a cool place for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
ps. look really close at that photo up there…something is lurking in the distance…when witches are around a black cat is always sure to follow.
Omg! I love these so much! I can practically hear Winnie singing, “Boooook!”
haha yes! Thank you Jenna!
Too Cute!! Instead of charcoal for the darker color, how about using really dark chocolate, melted? Love a simple idea that looks like it took a lot of time but didn’t.
Hey Penny! Dark chocolate is a great idea and sounds delicious! Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this recipe! 🙂
Omg these are so cute. I think you do Halloween right. Some of the Halloween treats out there are a bit too literal for me. I prefer the types of treats you make haha.
Thank you Natasha! So happy you love my Halloween treat ideas!
Not seeing chocolate chips in the ingredient list, Teagan…???
Sorry about that. recipe is fixed. Let me know if you have questions and I hope you love recipe! 🙂
What a clever idea!
Thank you!
how did you get the eyelashes on the eyes? The jumbo eyes linked don’t look quite like the ones you used. Did you use an edible pen?
Hi Brittany, sadly the eyes I bought seem to be sold out. Mine had lashes on them. I think an edible pen would work great however. Let me know if you have questions and I hope you love recipe! 🙂
You are the patron goddess of Halloween desserts!! I’m still in awe of your butterbeer cake masterpiece last year. And these look amazing too!
Thank you Molly! Just love Halloween haha! I hope you love these!
BoooooOOOOK! Omg I love these so much. Now I need to go watch the movie. You always have the cutest ideas!!
Awh thank you Morgan! So happy you’re loving these!
Tieghan, these are super cute. I love them! I’ve never made any Halloween recipes for my blog but this year I made three for a freelance job and my kids were beside themselves!
I bet! I am loving the Halloween recipes! Thank you Julia!
You never cease to amaze me with your creativity! These are way too cute! Seriously amazing. My kids would love this, perfect for Halloween parties, they’re sure to be the talk of the classrooms too!
Thank you Neyssa! I hope you love these!
These are adorable!! Love this idea 🙂
Thank you Kristen!
Oh my gosh Tieghan. You make the most awesome Halloween themed treats! These look so cute. And your brownie recipes never disappoint! Happy Friday!
Thank you Leanne!!
THey’re really really cute, and they look very delicious!!
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Thank you Ruth!!
AHHHH I love Hocus Pocus! These brownies are perfect.
Me too! Thank you Liz!
These look amazing, and I’m so jealous you can get those candy eyes! I’m all over the place at the moment so mail order is not an option, whatever kitchen I put together my Halloween treats in this year I’m going to have to pipe my own!
Thank you so much Rachel! I am so glad you like these!