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If you know me, you know I’m crafty. I even have a separate blog just for my crafts. Halloween does something to me creatively each year. I don’t know what it is about Halloween, but I go on a crafting craze! Lately I am completely obsessed with making monsters. So when the fun folks over at General Mills offered up a challenge to several food bloggers I jumped at the chance! The challenge was to make a festively sweet treat for Halloween using some of their cereals. I knew right away what I would be making!
I give you Brownie Monster Treats! Because decorating these treats can be time consuming, I chose to use a boxed brownie mix. You can certainly use your favorite recipe or do the same. I used three cereals: Trix, Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs. To make things easier on myself and to make this kid friendly, I also used Betty Crocker decorating cookie icing. Pretty cool stuff, Royal Icing in a bag! They sell all the colors I needed, but my rinky dink grocery store only had red, green and white, so I used some gel food coloring to get what I wanted. The icing from the bag dried much smoother, so I would definitely recommend buying the colors you want over mixing it yourself.
Here’s something fun too. Because this is Royal icing, that means the frosting is dry (unless you use the gel like I did, that never dries LOL) so you can package them in cellophane gift baggies. While you are at it, be sure to make some bread tag monsters to close the treat bags with!
So now, on with the show!
Monster Brownie Treats
printable version
Boxed brownie mix
Betty Crocker Cookie Icing in desired colors
Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, and Trix cereals
Mini chocolate chips
Pretzel sticks
Red and black decorator gel
1/4 cup powdered sugar
milk
First prepare your brownies and allow them to cool. I refrigerated mine so that I could get nice clean cuts. When your brownies are ready to be cut, cut off the edges and eat them :) (you could share too, just sayin’) and cut the brownies into different sized rectangles and squares. I cut some of the odd shaped leftovers into triangles too.
Make the Eyes
It’s important to do this step first to allow adequate time for the glaze to dry. To make the eyes you’ll need any variety of Cheerios, some mini chocolate chips, powdered sugar and a little milk. Place the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Using a spoon, stir in some milk, a little bit at a time, until the consistency is good enough for dipping. Start with about a teaspoon and add a couple drops at a time until you get it where you want it.
Drop a few Cheerios into the glaze coating the cereal. Use a spoon to lift the cereal out of the glaze and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.
Place a mini chocolate chip, upside down, in the center of each glazed Cheerio. Gently press the mini chip to set. Set aside.
Icing Colors
You could certainly use your own recipe for Royal icing, I have one myself as well. However, because this is such a great recipe for kids to get involved in, using these prepackaged icings is an excellent alternative. They are available in all of the colors that I used by my store only had a few. Therefore, I added some gel food coloring to mix up my colors. This icing is great, squeezes right out of the tube and onto the brownie, love it!
If you have to mix, like I did, you might find the easiest way to apply the mixed icing is with a new paintbrush.
Decorating
Gently press Trix and Cocoa Puffs cereals into the frosted brownies for the monsters’ polka dots. Lift the eyes from the waxed paper using a toothpick and gently press onto the frosted brownie. You can use pretzel sticks for arms and legs, and add eyebrows, mouths and hair using decorator gel.
Then you eat them! Nom.
Here are some close ups to give you some monsterous ideas for decorating :)
More monster stuff from my craft blog :)
Monster Treat Bags
Bread Tag Monsters
Juice Box Monsters
Halloween Luminaries
(If you enjoyed this post, I’d truly appreciate a stumble, Digg, facebook share, whatever you like! :) )
SO creative! I love these!!
Que bonitos te han quedado. Geniales.
These are ADORABLE, Amanda! Love them! You've done it again:)
Thank you Maria, they were TOTALLY fun! :)
Thank you Jose, you always say such nice things :)
Thanks Sue! Coming from a master cookie decorator like yourself, I am honored by the compliment :)
Hi Amanda! What a great post! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your brownies!!! Thanks for sharing a how-to, so we can try them too!.. Have a great day! ~tina
so cute! found you from edible crafts (another fav)…will have to try these out…thx for sharing!
These are great! My kids would love them.
Really cute! These are going on my treat list! Thanks for sharing
Wicked cute!
These are so much fun! I definitely want to try these out with my kids. You have great ideas and are so creative. I love these.
Awesome! I love these. I will have to make them with the little one I watch :)
Those are so cute!
Love these, Amanda! GREAT job.
How cute! Great tips here as well! Loved this whole post! xxoo
These are super-fun, Amanda! It's such a joy to see what you come up with in recipes when you combine your great cooking with your uber-creative crafter chops.
These are so funny and cute Amanda!
So cute. I love them!
I love them! i love cute monsters! I am really bad at decorating though. I don't knOW if I could make them ):
Yours are so lovely! Thanks!
-Amalia
http://buttersweetmelody.wordpress.com
So very very cute!!!
Thank you! I've just been invited to a party where I'm supposed to bring something scary. This might be perfect.
So stinkin' adorable!!!!! I LOVE them!
http://www.makingmemorieswithyourkids.blogspot.com
These are so cute! I love this idea!
Corinna
Thanks so much everyone! These aren't only fun to make they taste great too. The kids "ate them up" so to speak :) Thanks!
Those are adorable. I'll have to give these a shot soon!!
Wow! These are awesome! We are having a Monster Mash party this year, and I'm so adding this to my ideas folder!
Seriously Adorable! I'm going to have to try this!
What a fun treat! That would be the perfect entry for our Halloween Recipe Contest! You can read all about it here. I hope you decide to enter it!
You guys are all so nice, thanks so much!
My kids will love them thank you for sharing.
http://www.couturiermommy.com
What a great idea for eyes!! My son is allergic to eggs and every edible eye I can find has egg whites. I may dip the cheerios in white chocolate…
Thank you Eva!
Heather – I thought about using white chocolate too, but the powdered sugar glaze is so easy and much less expensive. If you don't want to use milk in the glaze, you can use water with equally good results :)
Wow, Amanda! You've done it again. These are so cute and you're just the most creative person I know. Very cool idea!
I saw this on FoodGawker late last night when I was looking for a brownie recipe. They totally caught my attention. Super cute!
Amanda these are SO cute!!! I'm forwarding to my sister- who has 3 boys who would love these!
These are absolutely adorable, Amanda. You're super creative :)
Too cute!!!
These are awesome! So MONSTROUS!!!
Thanks you guys! Your comments all made me smile!! :)
Amanda, these are the cutest brownies ever. You should be the winner of the cereal contest, hands down!
Now those are too cute and fun to eat! I saw your post through Be Different…Act Normal.
http://embellishinglifeeveryday.blogspot.com/
Those look awesome! scary:)
Great job!
Christine
greatoakcircle.com
Those are really cute. I like how you made the eyes. That was really fun and a good idea.
I adore all your cute colorful playful fun SCARY monsters. THESE ARE SO DARN CUTE! LOVE THEM! Jen
these are so CUTE :) come on over and link up to MMM!!
These are so cute and look yummy!
They're spooktacular.
I hope you have stopped by and entered my Fab Fall French Giveaway.
I love your little monsters. I love your little monster bread tag idea even more. So clever!
These are soooo freakin cute Amanda!!!!
How FUN! I love this idea! Definitely trying it out!
I'd love for you to check out my giveaway going on now! http://alittleknickknack.blogspot.com/2010/10/felt-headband-giveaway.html
Have a great day!
Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments! :) :)
These are fantastic!!! Love all the colors! I think I know what we're going to have to do for my son's birthday treat…November 2nd is close enough to Halloween for monsters to still be applicable!! :)
Between these brownies and the monster cupcakes someone linked up last week – I feel a monster Halloween party coming on!
These are adorable! I read the title of this post and I'm just thinking "monster" as in "really big". Gee, how anti-Halloween am I? :)
I LOVE these. My little boy is sitting on my lap asking me to make these. Now I need to go through the rest of your blog AND visit your crafting blog…I sense some cooking a crafting fun coming. I love a good recipe blog AND I love a good recipe blog. SO excited.
Stop by sometime.
Just Another Day in Paradise
These ares adorable, fun to make an eat
Thank you guys! You are awesome!
Haha! OMG these are seriously THE best brownies I have ever seen!! Love them. One day when I have kids, I imagine making these for school parties and all the kids totally loving it.
So creative! Can't wait to make these cut monsters and bring them to the girls' school for Halloween :)
okay – these are SO stink'n cute! my boys would LOVE making them!
popp'n over from tutorial tuesday,
-heidi
holy cuteness!!!! I"m featuring these in a post tomorrow on crazydomestic.com. Feel free to grab our "I was featured" button, thanks for the SUPER cute idea!!!!
Oh, I just love these! Thanks for sharing.
You are so creative Amanda! Love these – I may steal it for my office party – I am dressing up as Paula Dean!
Hope all is well with you.
These are some of the cutest things I've seen all season – fabulous job!
I love it when your "crafty" carries over into your cooking. Those monsters are…umm…adorable?
These are amazing! WOW!! What a clever idea!!!! I love these monster brownies! Thanks for sharing!!!!!
Hello there. I am a new follower via Blog Hopping.Please visit @ http://www.mommiesandbeyond.com
Have a great weekend!
okay, ummmmmm, these are EPIC! i cannot believe how awesome this is… they are…these are…
for 2:30 AM, that sounds right.
my point simply is, when it is next NOT 2AM then i am going to make these. it's first on the list of things to do, these are great! thanks so much for posting them, love your blog!!
-m
http://clutzycooking.blogspot.com/
My boy and I have made these twice now! They are awesome!
Thanks everyone!!
I saw them Ruth, they were SO cute!
Really cute Amanda!! I don't have the patience anymore to do much cookie decorating. When my kids were little, we decorated cookies at holiday time, but I just don't have the patience to do it now.. blame it on "ole timer's" LOL
Love this idea, thank you!! We will be doing this next week for sure!
Clicked over from Living Locurto.
What fun. The kids loved making these brownies! You can see some pictures on my blog:
http://kimhindsphotography.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/monster-brownies-quick-run-and-hide/
Can't wait to try something else! thanks for the wonderful ideas AND the well written info. (funny stuff)
Amanda, I love that we are both on the Betty Crocker site for our cereal Halloween creations. Your treats are so freaking cute! xo
Thanks ladies!
Loved the brownie pics Anon! So cute!
marla – I know right, so fun to be on Betty Crocker! Loved yours too!
These are AWESOME! I didn't do you justice, but tried my hand this Halloween and blogged about it!
They were so cute Melinda!
[...] fun idea and this time from Amandas Cookin – MONSTER BROWNIES… I love brownies and I ADORE these Monster Brownies. Fun [...]
i LOVE those! I can’t wait to make them with my children!
Found you at Red Ted Art. xx
[...] amandascookin.com via Michelle on [...]
Hi, are the icings betty crocker available in canada. they are so nice brownies!!!!
I’m not sure Theresa, maybe check the Betty Crocker website?
Amanda these brownies are adorable! I have been wanting to make them forever, and I finally did this weekend! I posted about them {with a link back to you} here: http://the-wilson-world.blogspot.com/2011/10/monster-brownies-halloween-costumes.html Thanks for the awesome inspiration! My boys are going to love them at our Halloween party tonight:)
Too cute Kelli!!
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