Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
Peanut Butter Spider Cookies are the classic peanut butter blossom cookie with a festive twist. Add whoppers, chocolate ganache legs and eyes for the perfect Halloween treat!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter not natural
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 44 whoppers
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 ounces)
- 1 small tube white cake decorating gel
- ¼ cup granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
For the Cookies
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Preheat Oven to 375°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
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In a medium bowl, mix together baking powder, baking soda and flour and set aside.
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In a separate bowl, cream butter. Add sugars and peanut butter and mix until well combined.Add the egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until fully combined.
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Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, scoop out batter and roll into balls. Roll them in sugar and then place them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8 -10 minutes.
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While the cookies are in the oven, open your package of malted milk balls and make a pile of 22 large and 22 small whoppers. The large ones will be the bodies of the spiders and the small ones will be the heads.
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Remove cookies from the oven and immediately press the malted milk balls into the tops of cookies, one next to the other. Let the cookies cool in the fridge for a few minutes until cool to the touch.
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In the meantime, pour chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second increments until melted, stirring in between each time. Once it starts to look melty, heat in 15 second increments, stirring in between. Do not overcook. (Heating in a double boiler is an alternative to the microwave for this step)Remove from microwave and allow it to cool for a couple minutes. Pour into a piping bag and use to make the spider legs.*
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Add little dots with the white cake decorating gel for the eyes and add a little black nonpareil sprinkle to the middle of each one.**
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Cool completely before serving.
Recipe Notes
Tips:
*It is easier to pipe the legs on if you think go them as Vs. The upper right is a V, the lower right is a V and so on. All points of the Vs go in the middle of the Whoppers.
**If you get the very tip of your finger just barely damp, then use it to pick up the tiny sprinkle, you can place it onto the center of the white eyeball that way. Alternatively, a tiny little dot of chocolate in the middle with either the piping bag or a toothpick would work as well. I have tried both and the sprinkles were much easier.
***You can let the cookies set up on the counter or I usually just pop them back in the fridge for a little bit to speed things along.