Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
Soft and chewy peanut butter cookies topped with Reese's, melted chocolate, and candy eyes, these peanut butter spider cookies are both easy and fun to make. The perfect Halloween dessert for your next party!
Servings 24 Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Glass mixing bowl
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Cookie Sheet
- 1 Stand/hand electric mixer
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted butter 1 stick, room temperature
- 1/2 Cup Brown sugar
- 1/3 Cup Granulated sugar
- 3/4 Cup Creamy peanut butter (NOT natural)
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 Cups All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Granulated sugar For rolling the cookies
- 1 Bag Mini Reese's Peanut Butter cups (~10 oz) For the spider's body
- 1/2 Cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips for melting
- 1/2 tsp Vegetable oil for melting
- Candy eyeballs
Instructions
Ingredient Prep:
- Unwrap (if not unwrapped) about 24 mini Reese's cups, place in a bowl and put in the freezer. This helps them to maintain their shape once added to the hot cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute, until smooth and fluffy.
- Add in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract, beat again, less than 1 minute.
- Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, mixing on low or with a spatula just until combined.
- Use a small cookie scoop or tablespoon to form tablespoon sized balls from the dough. Roll the dough between your hands to form a uniform ball, then roll in granulated sugar.
Be careful not to over mix.
Baking:
- Place the cookies 2-3 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 8-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to crack and turn golden in color.
Cooling:
- Remove the cookies from the oven and press a mini Reese’s cup into the center of each cookie.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 15-20 minutes before moving to cooling rack.
- Moving the cookies while they are still warm can cause the Reese’s cup to sink, losing its shape.
Finishing Touches:
- Place the chocolate chips and oil if needed in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 3 minutes on 50% power, stirring after each minute. Continue to microwave until fully melted.
- Transfer the melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle or a sandwich bag with the corner cut off. Draw 4 legs on each side of the cookies.
- Use a small amount of melted chocolate on the back of the candy eye balls to attach them to the reese’s cup.
- Allow the chocolate to set before moving the cookies to a serving platter.