Black Widow Spider Brownies (Halloween Brownie Bites)

Directions

1. Start by setting your oven to 325°F. Give mini muffin cups a light spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In one bowl, whisk together the white sugar, all-purpose flour, dark cocoa powder, and salt.
3. In another bowl, combine the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour this wet mixture into the dry mix and stir until just combined.
4. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. This should yield about 36 brownie bites—you may need to bake in batches depending on your pan size. Let the filled cups sit for 10 minutes before baking.
5. Bake until the edges look browned and the centers are set, which takes roughly 12 to 13 minutes.
6. Allow the brownie bites to cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 3 minutes, then transfer them out of the pan onto the rack to cool fully before you add any frosting.
7. Tint your prepared or homemade frosting with black food coloring until you get the shade you like. Pour some black sugar sprinkles into a small dish. Flip each brownie bite upside down, frost the top and sides with the black frosting, then roll the frosted area in the sprinkles to coat completely. This creates the spider's body.
8. For the legs, break pretzel sticks in half. Use melted black candy melts to glue two halves together into a ^ shape. Place them on parchment or wax paper to dry and harden.
9. With melted red candy melts, pipe an hourglass shape onto the back of each spider. Also pipe two dots on the front and press on small candy eyeballs.
10. Finally, attach the pretzel legs to the brownie body. Since the brownies are soft, it helps to apply a dab of melted black candy melts on the parts of the pretzel that will stick into the spider body to keep them secure.