Happy October!
Just in time for Halloween, here’s a post about some Halloween-themes skillet slutty brownies.
Halloween is one of Minhan’s favorite times of year. She goes all out by decorating the front of our house, coming home relatively early to pass out candy, and having us dress up. Here are some of our favorite costumes:
And here are the wonderful pumpkin carvings Minhan has done over the past few years:
Aren’t those pumpkin carvings great? I don’t know how she does it!
Alright, back to these skillet slutty brownies.
Skillets for Baking
I love using cast iron skillets for baking. My favorite is a 10″ circular skillet that I got at Target during Black Friday for under $10 (I know right? Who buys a skillet on Black Friday?). It heats quickly and evenly, is easy to clean, and makes some great desserts.
One of the main reasons I like using this skillet for baking is that I can get the edges of whatever I’m baking to have a firm texture while leaving the middle gooey. This works especially well for us because I like my desserts with a bit of bite, and Minhan likes her desserts just barely cooked through. It’s a great compromise!
The Prep
A slutty brownie typically consists of a cookie dough, some sandwich cookies, and a brownie batter in layers. Here are all of the components:
The Cookie Dough
One note about the cookie dough is that this recipe can result in a “short” texture. This means that the dough can crumble if overmixed, so I suggest using a spatula to gently mix the ingredients only until the dough is homogeneous.
The Sandwich Cookies
Since it’s October, I figured that I would use some Halloween-themed sandwich cookies. I went to Trader Joe’s and picked up their Halloween-themed Joe Joe’s. I’ve made this recipe with other sandwich cookies to alter the taste. Mint Oreos are also pretty good!
The Brownie Batter
One of the great things about baking in a skillet, or any container for that matter, is that you can sometimes get away with a more liquid batter. That really helps when making these skillet slutty brownies because you’re able to really fill in the gaps between the sandwich cookies.
The Bake
One of the tricky things about baking in a skillet is that the toothpick method for checking if the bake is done doesn’t strictly apply. This is because cast iron retains heat and continues to cook even after it is removed from the oven. Because of that, I had to mess around with baking times and found that exactly 22min gave a moist center. I actually tried 23min and found it a little dry after it cooled all the way.
I suggest putting the skillet on a rack and fanning it with a cookie sheet for a few minutes to cool it quicker. Afterwards, feel free to take a slice!
Look at that face – these skillet slutty brownies didn’t stand a chance!
Materials:
Cookie dough:
- 100g virgin coconut oil
- 75g maple syrup
- 1 tsp molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- 1 tsp butter extract
- 1 egg
- 175g whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use 60-72% cacao)
Brownie batter:
- 45g virgin coconut oil
- 190g chocolate chips (I use 60-72% cacao)
- 100g maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp blackstrap molasses
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 egg
- 80g whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Halloween Joe-Joe’s (or any other type of sandwich cookie)
Methods
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- First make the cookie dough (NOTE: This dough can become “short” fast. Don’t over mix! Suggestion: use a spatula):
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt coconut oil.
- Add maple syrup, molasses, vanilla extract, butter extract, almond milk, and egg.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt and add to the liquids.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Next, make the brownie batter: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt coconut oil and chocolate chips in 30sec intervals. Add maple syrup, vanilla extract, molasses, water, and then the egg and mix. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking soda, and add to the liquids and mix until smooth.
- Pour cookie dough into a 10″ cast iron skillet, and spread evenly using an angled spatula.
- Add a single layer of Joe-Joe’s.
- Pour the brownie batter on top of the Joe-Joe’s, using the angled spatula to fill in the gaps and smooth the top.
- Bake for 22min and cool on a rack.
A Bit of History of the Slutty Brownie, Halloween, and Trick-or-Treating
Here’s a triple: history about the slutty brownie, Halloween, and trick-or-treating!
History of Slutty Brownies
First, the slutty brownie. The first time the recipe was posted online was back in 2011 by Kevin & Amanda. They didn’t even call them “slutty brownies”. Instead, they called them the “Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie N’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar”, which is a very accurate title! But doesn’t “slutty brownies” just flow off the tongue a bit better? One month after Kevin & Amanda posted their recipe, The Londoner posted a similar recipe and described the slutty brownies as “oh so easy, and more than a little bit filthy” – a fitting description!
History of Halloween
Next, Halloween. It originated with the ancient Celtic Samhain festival over 2000 years ago. People would dress up and dance around a fire to ward off ghosts. The Celts believed that the ghosts returned to earth on October 31st and damaged crops. However, they also believed that these spirits made it easier for the Celtic priests, or “Druids”, to make predictions about the future. These predictions offered people comfort during the cold, dark winter. During the Samhain festival, the Druids would wear costumes of animal heads and skins and tried to predict each other’s fortunes.
After most of the Celtic territories were conquered by the Romans in 43 AD, two days were combined with Samhain. Feralia, a Roman day in late October associated with the passing of the dead, and another late-October day honoring Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. Since the apple was the symbol of Pomona, this might explain why bobbing for apples is prominent in some Halloween celebrations today!
In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III declared the new year, on November 1st since that was the new harvest, as a day to praise all saints. The new year celebration incorporated some aspects of the Samhain festival. A couple centuries later, the Christian church named November 2nd “All Souls’ Day”, a day to honor the dead. Many people believe that this was the church’s attempt at replacing Samhain with a church-sanctioned holiday as they had most of the same rituals. The All Saints Day (November 1st) was also called “All-hallows”, and the night before became known as “All Hallows Eve”, and eventually Halloween.
History of Trick-or-Treating
So how did trick-or-treating come about? When Halloween came to America, the first celebrations included the coming of the harvest, where people would share stories, tell fortunes, dance, and sing. Colonial festivities also included mischief-making and telling ghost stories. However, it wasn’t until the second half of the 19th century when Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine arrived in America that Halloween started getting nationally popularized. Irish and American traditions mixed, and Americans began donning costumes and visiting houses asking for money or food, which is the basis of modern-day trick-or-treating!
Modern-day trick-or-treating also has roots in the All Souls’ Day parades, where poor citizens would beg for food. They were often given “soul cakes” and asked to pray for the dead relatives of the people who gave these pastries. People would also leave food outside their doors to appease spirits and prevent them from entering the house.
Do you have any Halloween traditions? I’d love to hear them in the comments! As we are starting a family, I would love to get ideas of Halloween traditions to try out!
Yum! These Slutty Brownies look delicious. Love the Halloween costumes and the pumpkin carving too!
Thanks so much! I don’t know how Minhan carves so well!