Monster Brownies

These adorable monster brownies are tricked out with loads of treats from frosting to edible cereal eyeballs!

Why this recipe works

Since monster brownies are a kid-friendly Halloween recipe, as well as one where most of the effort should go into the decorating process, we took quite a few shortcuts to make them easier to prepare.

A brownie box mix, prepackaged cookie icing, and decorator gel make them a lot more manageable. Monster brownies are a fun Halloween dessert that kids can have full creative freedom over. Set up a station with all sorts of goodies to choose from and see what they come up with!

Ingredients you will need

Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.

Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions

BROWNIES – I kept the brownie prep nice and simple by using a box mix, as most of the work will be put into decorating. Here I used Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix. You can of course make homemade fudge brownies if preferred!

EYES – The eyeballs on these monster brownies are made with white chocolate dipped cereal topped with a mini chocolate chip. You can just as easily substitute with candy eyeballs to make the process quicker.

ICING – Again, to make things quicker, I used cookie icing, which you can typically find in the baking aisle at the grocery store. Or, substitute with homemade royal icing if you are willing to put in the effort! To add fine lines, such as hair, eyebrows, or smiles, use black decorator gel.

DECORATIONS – Get creative with the edible decorations here! I used various cereals to decorate – Cocoa Puffs, Cheerios, Captain Crunch All Berries, and Oreo Puffs. Pretzels, cookies, nuts, or assorted candies are also great options to decorate with.

How to Make Monster Brownies

These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.

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, slice off the edges. 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 (after preparing the brownies) 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.

Decorate the Brownies

Use an icing spatula, a rubber spatula, or the back of a spoon to spread the royal icing over the top of each brownie.
Gently press assorted cereals into the frosted brownies for the monsters’ polka dots. Do so while the frosting is still wet so that your decorations stick.
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.

Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips

I can’t find the frosting colors I need, what should I do?

If you can’t find the prepackaged royal icing colors you are looking for, but are able to get your hands on the white icing, you can simply color it yourself with a bit of gel food coloring. The icing from the bag dried much smoother, so I would definitely recommend buying the colors you want over mixing it yourself. Alternatively, you can use the frosting method I use in my easy decorated sugar cookies recipe by simply warming up a tub of store bought frosting until it’s thinned enough to spread. This method won’t harden, however, so keep that in mind.

How do you store monster brownies?

Store your brownies in an air-tight container, seperated by layers of parchment paper. Keep at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Monster Brownies resting on a spiderweb tablecloth

Serving Suggestions

I think these monster brownies would be extra adorable wrapped in cellophane gift baggies and tied with a Halloween ribbon to use as party favors.

Wrapping them in cellophane will work well if you use royal icing (such as the Betty crocker icing listed in the recipe card), as it hardens when dry. If you also use the decorator gel, do note that it does not harden, so you may want to place the brownie in a pastry box instead.

More Halloween Recipes

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Amanda Davis

President at Amanda's Creative Studio, Inc.

Amanda Davis is the entrepreneurial mom of four grown children and four step children. She and her husband, Chef Antoine, love to cook together creating recipes for this blog. Amanda also make kid's crafts and creates decorative items for her home. She is a crafting expert and guru in the kitchen and has appeared online and in print publications many times over the years. She is also a craft book author five times over and product developer as well as the owner of FunFamilyCrafts.com. You can find her on social media by using the buttons to the left!