
My talented, award-winning travel writer/food blogger, virtually adopted Australian daughter Lorraine, Not Quite Nigella, loves Halloween. Every year she hosts a fabulous Halloween party complete with costumes and spooky food.
This year she posted Rat Plague Brownie Bites! Such a creepy, fun and delicious idea.
The current Forever Nigella blogging challenge is Forever Nigella: Halloween Horrors. I was looking for a fun way to add a Halloween twist to a Nigella recipe, so when I saw Lorraine’s rats it seemed like a match made in heaven. Or should I say some place spookier?
I used Nigella’s Everyday Brownie recipe to make Not Quite Nigella’s Rats! Dark chocolate brownies are dipped in chocolate and dressed up with eyes, ears, nose, whiskers, and a tail.
It was a fun, but frustrating project. Frustrating because the brownies were a bit dry and didn’t want to squish together to form the rat shape. (I probably overcooked them.) So I resorted to adding a bit of water while I was shaping the brownies. It didn’t work perfectly but good enough to get a few creepy looking rats.
I’m serving these rats tonight when my new grandson comes trick or treating at grandma’s house for the first time. I’m also serving Ghost of Monte Cristo sandwiches for dinner. I’m hoping to get some fun picture of the sandwiches and my grandson. I’ll try and update my post tomorrow with additional pictures.
Update: Here’s the pics from tonight. The sandwiches were fun, but just alright. Having my grandson stop by to trick or treat priceless!!
More fun Halloween posts you’ll enjoy:
Fun Halloween Recipes & Crafts, Cookin’ Canuck
NQN’s Hellish Halloween Party, Not Quite Nigella
Halloween Cupcakes:Monsters, Mummies & Ghosts, Hoosier Homemade
Halloween Ideas for the ‘kid’ in all of us, The Changeable Table
Giveway Winners: The winners of the Taste of Home Baking Cookbooks are Janette Griffin and Ambika. Please contact me within 48 hours with your mailing address to claim your prize. Congratulations!! Thanks to everyone that entered, for your sweet comments, and welcome to all the new followers!
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I love to bake, especially cookies, cakes, and pies. I’ll post my adventures in the kitchen, my favorite new recipes, as well as our family favorites.




















How sweet!
Mum they look fantastic!!! I’m so pleased that you made them and honored too! Sorry to hear that they were dry- I haven’t used Nigellas everyday brownie recipe. My little ratties were moist so thankfully stuck together easily. I think also using soft chocolate frosting might be good? But they look perfect!! Happy Halloween mum! Xxx
Thanks Lorraine! Using frosting would have been a brilliant idea. Of course anyone making them should probably just use your recipe. So glad you liked my post.
Super cute! Have fun on your first Halloween with your new grandson!
Thanks for including the Monster Cupcakes!
~Liz
Very cute, Barbara, and deliciuos! I’m afraid they are too cute to be spooky
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Oh, what adorable little mice!! I’m glad they’re not scary looking, cause I don’t like scary for Halloween. Hubby and I are into cute pumpkins, scarecrows and gourds, but not the goulish stuff. Hope you have a super Halloween:)
Love these-they are super cute and perfect for the kids. I always hate when I get into a food project and get tired of doing it but I think they turned out terrific! I bet your going to have a wonderful time with your grandson. Hope you have a great day!
Very cute! Happy Halloween.
Cheers,
Rosa
Lorraine’s got so much talent! I wanted to do a fun Halloween dinner but everyone’s diets made me reconsider. Sigh.
So cute!..yes please post pics tomorrow!
I would have just eaten the brownies–I’m an inpatient soul!
But they are cute, in a creepy way.
Happy Halloween.
They don’t frighten me, they just make me hungry! GREG
These look so fun! Happy Halloween!
Too cute, even though I don’t like mice.
De bien craquantes petites bestioles Halloween
Je te souhaite une bonne soirée
Valérie.
These rats are cute and spooky at the same time. So creative.
Have a great time with your Grandkids! Happy Halloween!
–Sooooooo Adorable.
))
Love Not Quite Nigella!
And this blog, too
What a great idea! They look amazing!
They look super! No sign of them misbehaving! And I love that you combined a Nigella recipe with an NQN one!
Thanks for joining in with Hallowe’en Horrors for Forever Nigella! xx
These are adorable and Happy Halloween!
They look frighteningly fantastic. Well done Barbara!
Nice to see another fan of Lorraine’s. I’m so glad someone else made her cute rats too. Great job.
So fun and sweet pictures! I’ll bet that little guy just ate those rats up.
They are too cute to eat!
Way too cute! I saw these on Lorraine’s blog too, eating the bloodied arm, he he. Great work even though the brownies didn’t want to co-operate at first. And your grandson is just the cutest little pumpkin
Love your grandson’s pumpkin outfit and his little bib! He’s a honey for sure.
Lorraine’s little mice are the perfect treat for trickers on Halloween.
Your grandson is precious! Love your little rats.
that baby boy is amazingly adorable!!!!! what a fun halloween “treat” for you, grandma
also… the rats??? awesome! my dad calls “K” a rat so i’d have loved to do these!!! we made him a chocolate/peanut butter rat from a candy mold
she wrote… “from the RAT!!!”
Your little grandson is absolutely adorable. Truly – he is a beautiful little baby! I’ll bet he will enjoy all of his grandma’s awesome treats as he is growing up. These Halloween rats are really fun.
Those little mice brownies are adorable! I love their little almond ears
they look fantastic and the baby it’s adorable! many kisses dear Barbara!
have a wonderful day!
The rat brownie bites are adorable but your grandson takes the cake!
How fun for you.
Awww, the mice are so cute. Er, I mean, they’re horrifying, ahhhh!
I am scared of rats yet still I am tempted to give your chocolate rats a try. Besides, I think your chocolate rats look delicious. Wow, your grandson is so cute and it is his first Halloween. I am so happy for him.
Barbara! I thought these were the cutest things I’ve ever seen… Until I scrolled down to see your adorable Grandbaby. Too cute!
Your rats look MUCH cuter and tastier than the real thing! I bet you had fun with you new little pumpkin at your house!
XO
So cute! We make a version of these for Christmas using half of an oreo, maraschino cherries with stems and Chocolate Kisses, melted chocolate, sliced almonds and red and green icing gel.
I’m late to the Halloween party, but I love these! Lorraine is awesome, as are you, and these brownie rats are creepy and lovely at the same time! Your grandson is just precious!
Oh Barbara, your grandson is fabulous and gorgeous! Oh boy you must be proud, thrilled and all over him! Adorable! Congratulations again, Grandma! And I saw these rats on Lorraine’s blog and think they are too funny! Or should they be scary? And I love Lorraine and hope one day to attend one of her glorious, infamous Halloween Parties!
Awww GF, the little lad is so cute! Love Lorraines little brownie rats; great idea. And I do love your spooky sandwiches too. What fun!! xoxo