Description
These Peanut Butter Spider Cookies are a fun and festive treat perfect for Halloween or any spooky occasion. Crispy on the edges and soft inside, each cookie is topped with a mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and decorated with chocolate legs and candy eyeballs to resemble adorable spiders. The combination of creamy peanut butter and rich chocolate makes these cookies irresistible.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (107g) brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (201g) creamy peanut butter, not natural
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (180g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
For Rolling
- Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies
Toppings and Decoration
- About 24 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- ½ cup (85g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, for melting
- Candy eyeballs
Instructions
- Prepare Reese’s Cups: Unwrap about 24 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and place them in a bowl. Put the bowl in the freezer to keep the cups firm when added to the warm cookies later.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC) to have it ready for baking the cookies.
- Mix Butter and Sugars: In a mixing bowl, combine the unsalted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
- Add Peanut Butter, Egg, and Vanilla: Add in the creamy peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat again for less than 1 minute until everything is well incorporated.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Mix in the all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt on low speed or fold in with a spatula just until combined. Avoid overmixing to keep cookies tender.
- Shape and Roll Cookies: Use a small cookie scoop or tablespoon to form tablespoon-sized balls of dough. Roll each ball between your hands to smooth it, then roll it in granulated sugar to coat. Place the cookie dough balls 2-3 inches apart on a silicone-lined baking sheet.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 11 minutes or until the edges are cracked and golden. The centers will be slightly soft but will firm up as they cool.
- Add Reese’s Cups: Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately press a mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup into the center of each cookie. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes to prevent the cups from sinking.
- Melt Chocolate: Place the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 50% power for 3 minutes, stirring after each minute until fully melted. Transfer the melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle or a sandwich bag with a small corner cut off.
- Decorate Cookies: Use the melted chocolate to draw four legs on each side of the cookie, creating spider legs. Use a small dab of melted chocolate on the back of candy eyeballs to attach them to the center Reese’s Cup. Allow the chocolate to set before serving or transferring the cookies.
Notes
- Freezing the mini Reese’s cups helps them keep their shape when placed on warm cookies.
- Be careful not to overmix the dough to avoid tough cookies.
- Roll cookies in granulated sugar before baking for an extra sweet and crisp texture on the outside.
- If you don’t have a squeeze bottle for chocolate, a sandwich bag with a small corner cut off works perfectly for piping.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before moving to a cooling rack to maintain the structure of the Reese’s cups.
- For extra festive fun, try using different colored candy eyeballs or seasonal decorations.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
