Description
These adorable peanut butter spider cookies are a quick and easy Halloween treat featuring a soft, chewy peanut butter base topped with chocolate candies and candy eyes. Perfect for parties or baking with kids, they’re as fun to decorate as they are to eat.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar (optional but recommended)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 18 chocolate candies (e.g., Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Minis or Lindt truffles)
- Mini chocolate chips (optional, for body detail)
- Candy eyes or white chocolate chips (for eyes)
- 1/3 cup chocolate icing or melted semisweet chocolate (for piping legs)
- Small piping bag or zip-top bag with corner snipped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar together until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Mix in creamy peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to wet ingredients, stirring on low until just combined.
- Scoop dough into balls about 1 tablespoon each. Place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, until edges are set but centers look slightly underdone.
- Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, press a chocolate candy gently into the center of each cookie. Let cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
- Once cookies are cool (about 20 minutes), fill a piping bag or zip-top bag with melted chocolate or chocolate icing. Pipe 4 legs on each side of the candy body.
- Dot a tiny bit of melted chocolate or icing on the candy and press on candy eyes or white chocolate chips.
- Let decorated cookies sit until chocolate legs are firm (about 15 minutes). For faster setting, refrigerate for 5 minutes.
Notes
For thicker, chewier cookies, chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking. Use creamy peanut butter for best results. Practice piping chocolate legs on parchment before decorating cookies. Cookies can be made gluten-free or nut-free with substitutions. Imperfect spiders add to the Halloween fun!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 10
- Sodium: 80
- Fat: 8
- Saturated Fat: 3
- Carbohydrates: 18
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 3
Keywords: Halloween, peanut butter cookies, spider cookies, kid-friendly, party treats, easy dessert, chocolate, holiday baking