When you think of Halloween immediately the colors of Black and Orange come to mind. Am I right? These fun easy brownies are perfect for celebrating the holiday. Cream Cheese Brownies colored orange topped with crumbled Oreo sandwich cookies and holiday Goul Mix M&M bring this tasty treat to life for the best Halloween Brownies you can imagine!
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This post and recipe was created for #HalloweenTreatsWeek! I was sent samples by some of the sponsor companies but as always opinions are 100% mine.
These brownies are thick and fudgy topped with a cream cheese mixture baked right in. It's a fun easy recipe based on my Best Brownie Recipe. This recipe will make a 9x9in pan or an 8x8in pan. It's easily doubled and the brownies will freeze perfectly. So make them ahead of time and save yourself the trouble of needing a last minute treat. I've got you covered.
There is no need to add any additional toppings any more than what I suggest in the recipe. It's deliciously sweet and chocolatey on it's own. But the fun part is the bright Orange and black colors that come from this brownie recipe. Using Dutch Process Cocoa will turn brownies dark and almost black which is so fun for these holiday recipes.
Shopping List for Halloween Brownies
The ingredients needed for this recipe are pretty typical and standard in a kitchen so I'll highlight the few that you may not have on hand.
- Cream Cheese ~ Philly all the way, nothing but the best here
- Oreo Sandwich Cookies - you will need about 8-10 cookies
- M&M Goul Mix - These are plain M&M in bright fun colors of green, purple and orange.
- Dutch Process Cocoa - You can substitute regular cocoa but you won't get that dark rich color and it will taste a little different too. But it still works nicely.
- Semisweet Chocolate Chips - There should be no question when I recommend Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips. They melt perfectly and are delicious. Milk Chocolate could also be substituted for a sweeter brownie taste.
How to make Cream Cheese Holiday Brownies for Halloween
This recipe is very easy but gives a great WOW factor when finished. It's also very tasty and I just love it. You will need a couple of large mixing bowls and a hand mixer.
Gather all the ingredients needed and weigh and measure for accuracy. It's always a great idea to weigh flour and sugars for best results. I'm always amazed at how much more is in a measuring cup than what is really needed when weighed. Don't believe me? Test it out for yourself and see. The standard measuring cups will be off by a tablespoon or two which means you could end up with dry baked goods.
In a large mixing bowl melt butter and semisweet chocolate chips and stir together until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix all together.
Combine dry ingredients together in a smaller bowl and then gradually add to wet ingredients hand stirring until combined. There is no need to over mix batter.
Line a 9x9in or 8x8in baking pan with parchment paper and spread brownie batter evenly in pan and set aside.
In a separate bowl using a hand mixing combine room temperature cream cheese, 1 egg and ¼ cup of sugar and blend until smooth. Add food coloring to reach a bright orange color. Pour cream cheese mixture on top of brownie batter. You can swirl with a knife but there is no need.
Crush Oreo Cookies and sprinkle evenly on top of orange cream cheese mixture and top with Halloween M&M candies. Doesn't it look pretty? Wait until it's baked and the Orange will be even more vibrant!
Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting. Store leftover brownies in a sealed container in refrigerator.
Fun treats for the Fam!
I love to surprise my little ghost and goblins with fun treats, so make sure to check out this fun Cinnamon Roll Intestines. It's a great spoof for a weekend breakfast and you will love all the laughs and giggles that come from it. It's also fun to make Candy Corn Poke Cake too and take to a party or work event. I also enjoy making a simple Candy Corn Marshmallow. It's fun to enjoy as is or put in a cup of hot cocoa and watch it melt.
Dixie Crystals Sugar
I grew up being taught that Store Brands were less expensive and the same. As I’ve spent more and more time in the kitchen I’ve found that quality products make big differences and using Dixie Crystals Sugar is a new favorite find. This sugar is very fine and gives my recipes a burst of texture that I love. In this recipe I used both granulated sugar as well as brown sugar from Dixie Crystals.
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Make sure to take a peek at these other fun and spooky recipes for Halloween Treats Week
Check out all of these great #HalloweenTreatsWeek recipes for today
- Pumpkin Piñata Cookies from Big Bear’s Wife
- Blood Splatter Cakesicles from Semi Homemade Recipes
- Jalapeno Mummy Poppers from Jen Around the World
- Halloween Brownies from Devour Dinner
- Candy Coated Strawberry Witches from The Redhead Baker
- Mummy Macarons from 4 Sons ‘R’ Us
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Trifles from Cookaholic Wife
- Monster Mix from House of Nash Eats
- Candy Corn Carmel Thumbprint Cookies from Sweet ReciPEAs
- Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Candy Corn Popcorn Balls from Sweet Beginnings
- Deviled Corn from Pastry Chef Online
- Mini Halloween Oreo Cheesecakes from Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Hocus Pocus Billy's Grave Pudding Cups from I am a Honey Bee
- Hocus Pocus Hot Chocolate from For the Love of Food
Halloween Brownies
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Butter
- ¼ Cup Chocolate Chips - Semisweet
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 eggs - large
- ¾ Cup Flour - 94g
- ½ Cup Sugar - 100g
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar - 100g
- ⅓ Cup Dutch Process Cocoa - 33g
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Cream Cheese Mixture
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese
- 1 Egg
- ¼ cup Sugar
Topping
- 8-10 Oreo Cookies - Broken and crumbled
- ½ Cup Halloween M&M Goul Mix - Orange, Purple and Green M&M's
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl melt butter and chocolate chips in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and melt for 30 seconds more. Stir until butter is fully melted
- In a smaller bowl combine flour, brown sugar, white sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Mix to combine.
- Mix eggs and vanilla to butter and chocolate mixture until thoroughly combined.
- Hand stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until fully combined.
- Bake in a 9x9in baking pan lined with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray
Cream Cheese Mixture Topping
- In a separate bowl mix together softened cream cheese with egg and sugar until smooth. Add food coloring until bright orange color is made.
- Spread mixture on top of brownie batter in 9x9in pan. Top with broken Oreo Cookies and M&M Goul mix.
- Bake at 350F Degrees for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean
- Allow to cool in pan for 5 mins before lifting brownies out using parchment paper and allow to fully cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- Milk Chocolate Chips for Semisweet Chocolate Chips
- Baking Cocoa Powder for Dutch Process Cocoa
- Adding an extra egg will result in cake-like brownies
Nutrition Disclaimer
All nutrition values are approximate and calculated by a plugin and are provided as a courtesy. Adding or subtracting ingredients will change the nutritional value.
Nutrition
Welcome!!! It is almost Halloween which means it is time for this year's #HalloweenTreatsWeek recipe and giveaway event!!
#HalloweenTreatsWeek is a yearly Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife & its a creepy and haunting week-long event is filled with some amazingly wicked Halloween treats, recipes and some frightfully fun giveaways.
“When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers ‘tis near Halloween.”
For the 4th annual #HalloweenTreatsWeek event we have 28 hauntingly talented bloggers that are sharing their favorite Halloween recipes throughout the week!
Follow the hashtag #HalloweenTreatsWeek on social media and look at the bottom of each post to see all of the Halloween recipes that we’re sharing!
Prize #1 from Dixie Crystals
41 Pieces Silicone Bakeware Set
3 Piece Halloween Silicone Spatula Set
Nordic Ware Haunted Skull Cakelet Pan
Giveaway open to US Residents 18 years or older. All entries will be verified. No PO Boxes Please. Prizes will be sent directly from sponsor to winner, bloggers are not responsible for prizes. This giveaway runs from October 11th - October 15th at 11:59PM EST. Winners will be selected soon afterward and contacted by e-mail. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. There are a total of 1 (ONE) prize pack and therefore we will have a total of 1 (ONE) winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.
Disclaimer: These posts and recipes are part of the week-long event, #HalloweenTreatsWeek but all opinions are 100% mine! We would like to Thank our amazing brand sponsors: Dixie Crystals that provided a prize pack for our giveaways and also sent some samples and products to the #HalloweenTreatsWeek bloggers to use in their recipes.
Jennifer
That looks like the perfect Halloween desert!
Jenni
So cute! Perfect for a Halloween party or to use up leftover Halloween candy, too!
Karen
These are so cute!! I love the colors and the add ins on top. Definitely need to make them!