Halloween is the perfect time to try these fun Kitchen Sink Brownies. Bags of candy are readily available for the anticipated trick-or-treaters, so there’ll be no shortage of great ingredients to add. These colorful brownies will also make a great addition to your annual Halloween BOO-ffet, with minimal prep time.

The Flying Monkey Patisserie, located in the famous Reading Terminal Market in Downtown Philadelphia, specializes in sweets. Unlike many bakeries, the treats are beautiful and they are delicious; in fact, they actually taste homemade. Rebecca Michaels, the chef and owner uses lots of creativity in her long list of sweets, and it’s obvious at first bite that high quality ingredients go into these decadent treats.

On a recent visit to the Flying Monkey I noticed some very unique bars called Kitchen Sink Brownies. I would have been crazy to pass up these incredible-looking treats, so I purchased one, devoured it, and went to work on finding a quick way to duplicate it.

Since most of us are busy and certainly have better things to do than prepare brownies from scratch, my version of Kitchen Sink brownies starts with Mom’s Brownie Mix, which saves a lot of time. In fact, hands-on time is only 10-15 minutes, depending on how long it takes you to gather everything in your kitchen (or out of your child’s trick-or-treat bag) that might be good in a brownie. Baking time is about 25 minutes, during which time you can be doing something else.

Since the Flying Monkey Kitchen Sink Brownies are darker and more intensely chocolate than ordinary brownies, I’ve added some extra dark cocoa (available at specialty stores) to the brownie mix before adding the eggs. If you don’t have time to shop for dark cocoa, you can add a little more regular cocoa – or not – according to your taste and time parameters.

The recipe below includes the ingredients I used in my version (pictured); of course your signature batch can include any combination of pretzel pieces, Oreo or other cookies, animal crackers, potato chips, candy bar pieces, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, marbled chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, toffee chips, any kind of salted nuts, chocolate covered nuts or fruits, marshmallows, Hershey’s kisses, M&M’s – almost anything goes!

Copycat Kitchen Sink Brownies

32 Brownies

5 cups Mom's Brownie Mix
1/4 cup extra dark cocoa, or use regular cocoa, (optional)
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla

20 potato chips, left whole
8 Oreo cookies
1/2 cup mini pretzels, broken
1/2 cup animal crackers
1/4 cup M & M's Candies, (plain or peanut)
8 miniature peanut butter cups, quartered
1/4 cup semi-sweet and white chocolate chips

1. Mix the brownie mix and cocoa; add the eggs and vanilla and stir until smooth.
2. Spread in a parchment-lined (or greased and floured ) 9 x 13" baking pan.
3. Press the potato chips over the batter, pressing down slightly.
4. Gently press the Oreo cookies evenly over the batter, then the animal crackers.
5. Sprinkle the M & M's, peanut butter cup pieces, and chocolate chips over all.
6. Bake in a preheated at 350° oven for 25-30 minutes or until the brownies are set.
7. Remove from the oven and cool before cutting into 32 squares.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 179 Calories from Fat 70
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 39% Protein 5% Carb. 56%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 8 g
Saturated Fat 2 g
Cholesterol 29 mg
Sodium 135 mg
Total Carbohydrate 25 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 2 g

Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 1% Calcium 0% Iron 2%