HALLOWEEN BROWNIES

Halloween Brownies image

Provided by Martha Stewart

Time 1h15m

Yield Makes 2 dozen

Number Of Ingredients 12

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Candy eyeballs, for decorating
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons meringue powder
1/4 cup water

Steps:

Brownies: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line bottom and long sides with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang. Butter and flour parchment, tapping out excess; set aside.
Whisk together flour and salt. In a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pot of simmering water, melt butter. Remove from heat. Add both sugars; whisk to combine. Whisk in cocoa powder. Add eggs, one at a time, and whisk until well combined and glossy. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture; stir until just combined (do not overmix). Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with a spatula.
Bake until top is crackly and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack. Let cool 30 minutes, then lift brownies out of pan using parchment overhang. Let cool completely on wire rack, then cut into 24 pieces (for spider webs, cut into squares; for mummies, cut into rectangles.)
Royal Icing: While brownies are cooling, beat confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, and water with a mixer on low speed until fluffy but dense, 7 to 8 minutes.
To Decorate: To make spider webs, transfer icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (such as Ateco #3). Pipe long lines in corners of square brownies, then connect with icing to create a web shape.
To make mummies, transfer icing to a piping bag fitted with a small ribbon tip (such as Ateco #44.) Pipe ribbons of icing back and forth to create a mummy pattern, and decorate with candy eyeballs.