By Melissa Pette

Okay, so Halloween might not be a big thing here in Costa Rica, but let’s be real, the spooky vibes totally take over anyway. Restaurants get decked out, shops throw on their ghostly best, and you’ll even spot a few brave houses that go full haunted mansion. Love to see it.

Now, we’ve already had some fun with our mini Halloween series: remember those Batified Nachos, Jack-o’-Lantern Goodies, and that dangerously sippable Spooky Halloween Punch? Yeah, now it’s time to sweeten things up with these Gosh Spooky Brownies.

These are the kind of treats that’ll have your guests going, “Wait... are those eyeballs?” right before they grab another one. Scary good, my friend. Scary good.

And don’t worry, everything’s easy to find right here in Costa Rica.

• 200g butter.

• 200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped.

• 350g sugar.

• 100g all-purpose flour.

• 50g cocoa powder.

• 100g milk chocolate, chopped.

• 100g white chocolate, chopped.

• 12 chocolate cookies (like Oreos).

• 12 sugar-coated chocolates (M&Ms work great).

• Red and black food coloring.

Let’s get cookin’!

Let’s bake these monsters. Set your oven to 180°C (or 160°C fan/gas 4) and line a 24 x 20 cm brownie pan with parchment.

Pop your butter and dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir until smooth, glossy, and tempting. Then let it cool for about 10 minutes (if you can resist).

In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and pale,  we’re talking double the volume, cloud-like fluff. Gently pour in that cooled chocolate mixture.

Sift in flour and cocoa, toss in the milk chocolate chunks, and fold it all together. Try not to overmix,  we want fudgy, not cakey.

Pour into your tin and bake for 35–40 minutes, until just set and crackly on top.

Time for creepy eyeballs. Melt the white chocolate the same way (over simmering water). 

Dip each cookie to coat one side.

Stick a sugar-coated chocolate right in the center,  instant eyeball.

Once it’s set, grab your food coloring, use a thin brush or a toothpick and draw a little black pupil with some red “veins.” Gross? Yes. Awesome? Also yes.

When your brownies come out of the oven, immediately press those eyeballs gently into the top,  like they’re peeking out of the fudgy graveyard. Let it all cool completely, then slice into 12 squares of spooky perfection.

These boo-gosh brownies are a total crowd-pleaser,  rich, fudgy, creepy, and so fun to make with the fam. Warning: you probably won’t stop at just one. But it’s Halloween,  calories don’t count when there are monsters involved.

Have a Pura Vida Halloween!

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Feel free to share your own recipes by emailing a horizontal photo of your dish to food@amcostarica.com. You can find more tasty Costa Rican recipes over on the AM Costa Rica Food page.

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