Bats are gathering for Halloween night, and they’re deliciously scary. Bake these brownie cupcakes with chocolate frosting, and then decorate with chocolate candy kisses for the head, cinnamon candy eyes, almond ears, and cookie bat wings

Brownie Bat Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Batter:

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 1-ounce squares unsweetened baking chocolate

¾ cup unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Tip: Use standard measuring cups and spoons or scales for accurate measuring.

Chocolate Frosting: 

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups confectioners' (powdered) sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 to 5 tablespoons milk (preferably whole milk)

Bat Decorations:

Chocolate wafer cookies, such as Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers (for the wings)

¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (to ‘glue’ the nonpareils)

Orange nonpareils, or use an orange-black combination (for the wing decoration)

Chocolate Hershey Kiss candies, unwrapped (for the head)

Red or Black Decorating Gel (to ‘glue’ the eyes)

Red Cinnamon Candies (for the eyes)

Sliced unblanched almonds (for the ears)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two standard 12-cup muffin pans; line with paper cupcake liners.
   
   Batter:
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour and baking powder; sift or whisk together to mix. Set aside.
   
   
3. In top of a double boiler over hot water, Melt chocolate and butter; stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to combine. Remove from heat.

Tip: Create a double boiler by filling a saucepan with 2 inches of water and bringing it to a simmer. Turn the heat off and place a stainless steel, ceramic, or glass bowl on top of the simmering water, the upper pan should not touch the water.

4. Transfer chocolate mixture to a large bowl of an electric mixer or use a hand mixer. Add sugar; beat on medium speed until mixed. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the flour mixture; beat until well blended, about 1 more minute.
   
   
5. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners. Fill about 2/3 full, using about ¼ cup of batter per cup.
   

Tip: Avoid over-filling the liners which may cause the batter to run-over the sides when baking. It is better to bake any remaining batter separately after the first pan of cupcakes has finished baking.

Bake:

6. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick, wooden skewer, or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly in cupcake pan, and turn out of pan when cool enough to handle. Cool cupcakes completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.
   
   Chocolate Frosting:
7. In a medium mixing bowl add the butter, use an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon and beat the butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa; beat until smooth. Add the corn syrup, vanilla, and 4 tablespoons milk; beat until frosting is smooth and creamy. Add additional 1 tablespoon of milk if necessary to make a good spreading consistency, soft enough to spread easily.
   
   
8. Use a small offset spatula to frost the top of each cupcake, creating at least ½ inch of frosting to accommodate the bat decorations.
   
   Bat Decorations:
9. For the wings: Cut chocolate cookies in half with a sharp knife. Tip: The cookies tend to break easily. Use a sharp knife and gently ‘saw’ the cookie to help prevent breakage. If the corners break don’t worry as these can be covered with the nonpareils or insert the broken end into the frosting.
   
   
10. In top of a double boiler over hot water, melt chocolate. Or, place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, use 50% power and stir frequently just until the chocolate is melted; do not overheat as mixture will burn easily.
    
    
11. Use a small knife or rubber spatula and spread a small amount of the melted chocolate over the top edge of the cut end of each cookie half, covering about ¼ inch from the cut end. Sprinkle the nonpareils over the chocolate. Place on a baking sheet covered with wax paper and place in the refrigerator to harden the chocolate.
    
    
12. For the head and eyes: On each candy kiss, Place 2 drops of decorating gel where the eyes will be, and press a cinnamon candy onto the gel.
    

Tip: in place of decorating gel you can also use a small amount of the melted chocolate from the wing decoration.

Bat Assembly:

13. On each frosted cupcake, place one candy kiss at an angle, press lightly into the frosting. Press two sliced almonds into the frosting on each side of the head for the ears. Press 2 cookies halves in back of the head for the wings. Tip: Add the cookie wings just before serving; the moisture from the cupcakes and frosting will make the cookies soft and the wings will start to droop if added too far in advance.
    
    Makes 16 cupcakes
    
    TheBakingPan.com
    
    Inspired From: Land O Lakes
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