Description
These Peanut Butter Spider Cookies are a fun and festive treat perfect for Halloween or any occasion. Soft peanut butter cookies are topped with a mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, decorated with melted chocolate legs and candy eyeballs to create adorable spider designs. Easy to make and delightfully delicious, they combine creamy peanut butter flavor with a chocolatey finish.
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
For Rolling and Decorating
- Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies
- About 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 Peanut Butter Cups and place them in a bowl in the freezer to help maintain their shape when added to the hot cookies.
- Preheat Oven: Set the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with silicone or parchment paper.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Mix in the creamy peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Beat again for less than 1 minute until well combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix Dry into Wet: Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix on low speed or fold in gently with a spatula just until combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Form Cookie Balls: Use a small cookie scoop or tablespoon to portion out tablespoon-sized balls of dough. Roll each ball between your hands for uniform shape, then roll in granulated sugar to coat.
- Place and Bake: Arrange the sugar-coated dough balls 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 11 minutes, or until the edges begin to crack and turn golden.
- Add Reese’s Cups: Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately press one chilled mini Reese’s Cup into the center of each cookie. Allow cookies to cool for 15-20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- 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.
- Decorate Legs: Transfer melted chocolate to a squeeze bottle or a sandwich bag with a corner cut off. Draw four legs on each side of the cookies to create spider legs.
- Attach Eyes: Use a small dab of melted chocolate on the back of the candy eyeballs to stick them onto the Reese’s Cup on each cookie. Let the chocolate set before serving.
Notes
- Freezing the mini Reese’s cups before use prevents them from melting into the warm cookies during baking.
- Rolling the dough balls in granulated sugar adds a nice crunch and sparkle to the cookies’ surface.
- Melt chocolate carefully at 50% power to avoid burning and ensure smooth consistency for decorating.
- Allow cookies to fully cool and the chocolate to set before moving to avoid damaging the spider decorations.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 210 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 135 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
