It’s October and you know what that means…. SPOOKY SEASON is HERE! I have to admit, I’m not a huge Halloween person. This always seems to shock people, especially back in my wardrobe styling days, because costumes are supposed to be LIFE. I truly would rather decorate some tasty treats than myself but hey that’s just me! I am, however, a sucker for themed shoots and Hocus Pocus, so when I had the opportunity to develop a Halloween themed recipe for Color Kitchen, I knew exactly where I was going to pull the inspiration from. My all time favorite Halloween movie (and the BEST Halloween movie if you ask anyone who knows anything, amirite?!)
Speaking of Color Kitchen, if you’re not already familiar with them I highly suggest you check them out as soon as you’re done reading this. You’ll want to snag some of their artificial dye free, plant based, gluten free food coloring + sprinkles first in order to complete this project.
Although this may LOOK complicated, I assure you they are probably the easiest recipe project I have worked on to date. Partially because I already had the brownie recipe nailed down pat and partially because, well they were so much fun to make! And usually when something is fun to make, it just feels so easy. I promise you’ll have a blast making AND eating these low FODMAP friendly, grain free brownies. Made with tapioca flour, real chocolate, and low glycemic friendly sweeteners, these brownies are a treat. No tricks here!
Did you make these Low FODMAP friendly Hocus Pocus Spellbook Brownies?! Don’t forget to let me know what you think in the comments and tag your recipes #PDLrecipes on Facebook and Instagram when you make them!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post, but rest assured these are all products I personally use and very highly recommend. I will never link to anything on this site unless it is something I love!
Ingredients
For the Brownies
6 tbsp tapioca flour
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
12 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 tbsp coconut oil
4 large eggs
⅔ cup granulated monk fruit sweetener
½ cup coconut sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Frosting
⅓ cup butter or vegan butter
3 cups Paleo powdered sugar**
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp plant based milk
½ Color Kitchen Pink + ½ Color Kitchen Blue Packets
**You can use confectioner’s sugar or DIY your own Paleo sugar if on a reduced sugar diet. Simply add 3 cups of granulated sweetener of choice (I use monk fruit) to a blender and pulse for 30-40 seconds)
***You also can feel free to use your favorite pre-made frosting as well. Just be sure to choose vanilla so you can color it 😉
Additional Decorations
Equipment Needed
Electric Hand or Stand Mixer preferable
Small round + small star piping tips
Make the Brownies
Pre-heat oven to 350°. Line an 8×8″ baking dish with parchment paper (easiest if you use 2 pieces of parchment that overlap and leave a 3” overhang on the sides)
Whisk tapioca flour and cocoa powder in a medium bowl until no lumps remain.
Heat chocolate and coconut oil in a small saucepan over low, stirring, until melted and smooth. DO NOT bring to a boil!
Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat eggs, granulated monk fruit, and coconut sugar in a large bowl until light + smooth, about 3–4 minutes.
Beat in salt and vanilla to combine, then beat in chocolate mixture, scraping down sides as needed, until incorporated.
Beat in tapioca flour mixture, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is thick and holds its shape, about 30 seconds.
Pour into parchment lined baking pan + bake until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, approximately 20-25 minutes.
Make the Frosting
Prepare the frosting while the brownies bake.
In a medium bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar and vanilla on medium until fully incorporated. Add milk 1 tbsp at a time until frosting texture is thick + creamy. You do not want to add too much milk as your frosting will be soupy.
Divide frosting into two bowls. Using separate spoons, fold in coloring packets, mixing to fully combine.
Grab your piping bags and make a snip on each end about ¼” up from the bottom. Insert the small round tip in one bag and the small star tip in the other.
Add orange frosting to the piping bag with the small round tip by spooning it into the bag and gently squeezing until frosting is able to make its way through the tip.
Repeat for the purple frosting.
Once brownies have finished baking, allow them to fully cool before decorating. Place on a cooling rack in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to speed up the process.
When brownies are fully cooled, slice into 9 squares and prepare to decorate!
Decorate the Brownies
Take one candy eye and pipe a small dollop of orange frosting on the back. Press candy eye onto brownie. It’s ok if you push down a bit to help it stay secure. If you have tweezers, they will be helpful for this step but they are not necessary.
Next, take your orange piping bag + pipe out two loops, almost like a pretzel shape, on the top and bottom right hand corners.
Along the left side, pipe two parallel lines of orange, then a squiggle down the middle. This doesn’t have to look perfect, make sure you’re having fun!
Then, take your purple piping bag and pipe a circle around the eye.
Add two dots of purple frosting to the center of each “pretzel” shape + a few more dots around the surface of the “book”. To make this simpler, but gentle pressure on the piping bag, press down lightly into the brownie, and pull straight up.
Lastly, just for fun, add some sprinkles to the “spine” of the book and voila! You have made Hocus Pocus Spellbook Brownies!
Low FODMAP Friendly Hocus Pocus Spellbook Brownies
Equipment
- 8×8 Brownie Pan
- Cooling Rack
- Electric or Stand Mixer preferable
- 2 clear piping bags
- Small round + small star piping tips
Ingredients
For the Brownies
- 6 tbsp tapioca flour
- 4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
- 12 oz dark chocolate coarsely chopped
- 6 tbsp coconut oil
- 4 large eggs
- ⅔ cup granulated monk fruit sweetener
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Frosting
- ⅓ cup butter or vegan butter
- 3 cups Paleo powdered sugar**
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp plant based milk
- 1 Color Kitchen Orange Packet
- ½ Color Kitchen Pink + ½ Color Kitchen Blue Packets
Additional Decorations
- Edible candy eyes
- Color Kitchen Sprinkles
Instructions
Make the Brownies
- Pre-heat oven to 350°. Line an 8×8″ baking dish with parchment paper (easiest if you use 2 pieces of parchment that overlap and leave a 3” overhang on the sides)
- Whisk tapioca flour and cocoa powder in a medium bowl until no lumps remain.
- Heat chocolate and coconut oil in a small saucepan over low, stirring, until melted and smooth. DO NOT bring to a boil!
- Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat eggs, granulated monk fruit, and coconut sugar in a large bowl until light + smooth, about 3–4 minutes.
- Beat in salt and vanilla to combine, then beat in chocolate mixture, scraping down sides as needed, until incorporated.
- Beat in tapioca flour mixture, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is thick and holds its shape, about 30 seconds.
- Pour into parchment lined baking pan + bake until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, approximately 20-25 minutes.
Make the Frosting
- Prepare the frosting while the brownies bake.
- In a medium bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar and vanilla on medium until fully incorporated. Add milk 1 tbsp at a time until frosting texture is thick + creamy. You do not want to add too much milk as your frosting will be soupy.
- Divide frosting into two bowls. Using separate spoons, fold in coloring packets, mixing to fully combine.
- Grab your piping bags and make a snip on each end about ¼” up from the bottom. Insert the small round tip in one bag and the small star tip in the other.
- Add orange frosting to the piping bag with the small round tip by spooning it into the bag and gently squeezing until frosting is able to make its way through the tip.
- Repeat for the purple frosting.
- Once brownies have finished baking, allow them to fully cool before decorating. Place on a cooling rack in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to speed up the process.
- When brownies are fully cooled, slice into 9 squares and prepare to decorate!
Decorate the Brownies
- Take one candy eye and pipe a small dollop of orange frosting on the back. Press candy eye onto brownie. It’s ok if you push down a bit to help it stay secure. If you have tweezers, they will be helpful for this step but they are not necessary.
- Next, take your orange piping bag + pipe out two loops, almost like a pretzel shape, on the top and bottom right hand corners.
- Along the left side, pipe two parallel lines of orange, then a squiggle down the middle. This doesn’t have to look perfect, make sure you’re having fun!
- Then, take your purple piping bag and pipe a circle around the eye.
- Add two dots of purple frosting to the center of each “pretzel” shape + a few more dots around the surface of the “book”. To make this simpler, but gentle pressure on the piping bag, press down lightly into the brownie, and pull straight up.
- Lastly, just for fun, add some sprinkles to the “spine” of the book and voila! You have made Hocus Pocus Spellbook Brownies!
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