Peanut butter lovers, this is the Halloween cookie for you! These spider cookies are a classic peanut butter blossom cookie recipe topped with mini Reese's cups to make a spooky spider. They're easy to make and so delicious to eat!
This recipe was inspired by a classic cookie: Peanut Butter Blossoms! Or, as I knew them growing up, "Cyclops Cookies". Simply switch out the Hersheys kiss for a mini Reese's cup, add some candy eyes and chocolate legs and you've got yourself a spider cookie!
Spider Cookies are a Halloween dessert you'll want to make on repeat! If you're looking for more Halloween goodies, check out our Halloween Monster Cookies or try our Frankenstein Rice Krispie Treats!
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The oil from a natural peanut butter will increase the moisture in your cookie dough, so most of the time recipes will call for a processed peanut butter, like Skippy or Jif. But I'm happy to share that I've made this with a natural nut butter and it was a success!
👻 Tips for Using a Natural Peanut Butter
Here are my tips for using natural peanut butter to make these spider cookies:
- Drain out the oil layer from the jar before scooping the peanut butter out (make sure you save it and add the oil back into the jar!)
- Scoop deep into the peanut butter and try to take out as little oil with your peanut butter as possible.
- Omit one tablespoon of milk from the wet ingredients since the oil will be adding moisture to the dough that you wouldn't get from a processed peanut butter.
🎃 Chill Your Cookie Dough and Reese's Cups
Chill the Reese's cups when you chill the cookie dough!
This step is so important! Not only do you need to chill the cookie dough so that they don't spread in the oven, but you also need to chill the Reese's cups so that they don't melt when put on the warm cookies.
Pro Tip: Wait to unwrap the Reese's cups until after they've been chilled. A little chocolate comes off with the wrapper when you remove it, but less will come off if the candies are cold.
🕸 How to Decorate Spider Cookies
You can use any of your favorite chocolate candies to place in the center for the spider's body. I like to use Reese's cups, but you could also use Rolo's, or any round chocolate candy.
To draw on the legs, I like use store-bought black icing or gel. You can also pipe on melted chocolate with a pastry bag and small round piping tip.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup of peanut butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- 1 ¾ cups tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking poweder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 25 mini reese’s cups
- black cookie icing
- 25 pairs of candy eyes
Instructions
- Add the butter and peanut butter to a large mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat them together on medium speed until they’re mixed, about 30 seconds. Then, add in the brown and white sugar until mixed. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla extract and beat on a low speed until just combined.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Then, add the dry ingredients to wet. Mix on a slow speed for about 30 seconds and increase to a medium speed. Mix until there are no dry streaks of flour.
- Shape the cookie dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the cookie dough and the mini reese’s cups (still wrapped) in the refrigerator for one hour to chill.
- After the cookie dough has chilled for one hour, preheat the oven to 350℉ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Create 1.5-inch balls of dough and place them on the baking sheet about two inches apart. Bake each sheet of cookies one at a time one the middle rack for 10 minutes, just until the edges of the cookies firm up and the cookies begin to crack.. While the cookies bake, unwrap the reese’s cups and then keep in the refrigerator until it’s time to use them.
- As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, gently press a reese’s cup into the center of a cookie. Then, move the cookies to a cooling rack.
- Once the cookies are cool, pipe on the spider’s legs. Create eight legs by drawing four lines from the reese’s cup outward and down the cookie on each side. Dab two spots of icing to glue the eyes to the body of the reese’s cups.
Please note, Holiday Sweets N Treats isn't a professional nutritionist. Any and all nutritional information shared is an estimate. If you're following a specific diet or counting calories, we suggest you use the nutrition calculator of your choice. Calories can vary depending on the brands and products used.
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