Description
These Peanut Butter Spider Cookies are a fun and festive treat perfect for Halloween. Soft, chewy peanut butter cookies are topped with mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and decorated with melted chocolate legs and candy eyeballs to create a spooky spider effect. Easy to make and irresistible, they’re great for parties or a seasonal snack.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, 1 stick, 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
Coating and Decorations
- Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies
- 24 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- ½ cup (85g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, for melting
- Candy eyeballs
Instructions
- Freeze Reese’s Cups: Unwrap about 24 mini Reese’s cups and place them in a bowl. Put the bowl in the freezer to help the candies maintain their shape when added to the hot cookies later.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC) and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- 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 the creamy peanut butter, the large egg, and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat again for less than 1 minute until fully combined.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed or fold with a spatula just until combined to avoid overmixing.
- Form and Roll Dough Balls: Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon, form tablespoon-sized balls of dough. Roll them between your hands to create uniform balls, then roll each ball in granulated sugar.
- Bake Cookies: Place the dough balls 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-11 minutes or until the edges begin to crack and turn golden.
- Add Reese’s Cups: Remove cookies from the oven and immediately press one frozen mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup into the center of each cookie. Let cookies cool for 15-20 minutes to set before moving to a cooling rack, ensuring the cup maintains its shape.
- Melt Chocolate Chips: 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 to a squeeze bottle or sandwich bag with a small corner cut off.
- Decorate Spiders: Use the melted chocolate to draw four legs on each side of the Reese’s cup on the cookies.
- Attach Candy Eyes: Use a small dab of melted chocolate on the back of each candy eyeball to stick them onto the Reese’s cups. Allow the chocolate to set completely before serving.
Notes
- Freezing the mini Reese’s cups before adding them to the hot cookies prevents melting and helps them keep their shape.
- Be careful not to overmix the dough once flour is added to keep the cookies tender.
- Rolling the cookie dough in granulated sugar adds a nice crunchy texture on the outside.
- You can substitute candy eyeballs with small chocolate chips or drawn eyes with melted chocolate if unavailable.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 140mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
