Haunted House Cookie Bars Recipe
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup Halloween-themed sprinkles
- Black, purple, and orange royal icing or decorating gel
- Edible candy eyeballs
- Miniature chocolate bars or biscuits (for roof shapes)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang on the sides. This will make it easy to lift the bars out once they have cooled.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until the mixture is smooth and well combined. Ensure there are no large lumps of sugar remaining.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Whisk vigorously for about one minute. This helps create that sought-after crackly top on your cookie bars.
- Gently fold in the flour, baking powder, and salt using a spatula. Mix just until the white streaks of flour disappear. Over-mixing can make the bars tough, so wire it light.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and half of your Halloween sprinkles. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top with your spatula.
- Place the pan in the center rack of the oven and bake for 22 to 25 minutes. The edges should be golden brown and the center should be set. Do not overbake, as they will continue to firm up as they cool.
- Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan. Once cool, use the parchment paper to lift the block out. Cut the block into 12 rectangular bars to serve as the “house” bases.
- Using the decorating icing, draw a “roof” on the top of each bar. Use the icing as glue to attach candy eyeballs or mini chocolate bars. Add “doors” and “windows” with different colors of icing to complete the haunted house look.