Spider Cookies
Soft and chewy peanut butter cookies are transformed into adorable spiders! These spider cookies are easy to assemble and would be perfect for any upcoming Halloween parties.
If you’re looking for a fun, spooky treat to make for Halloween parties this year these adorable spider cookies are one recipe you have to try!
They’re similar to my classic peanut butter blossoms, but miniature peanut butter cups are pressed into the warm cookies instead of chocolate kisses. Melted chocolate is also drizzled along the sides to create the spider legs, and candy eyes are pressed onto the peanut butter cups to make the spider faces.
While there are a few extra steps, these cookies aren’t too difficult and they’re a huge hit every time I make them for Halloween. They can even be assembled a few days in advance because they stay perfectly soft for days!
What You Need
- Peanut Butter: I suggest using a creamy, no-stir peanut butter for this recipe like Jif or Skippy. Do not use a natural peanut butter because it will make the cookies greasy.
- Sugar: This recipe calls for both brown sugar and granulated sugar. The brown sugar adds moisture and flavor while the granulated sugar adds a little extra sweetness.
- All-Purpose Flour: This provides the structure for the cookies. As always, I recommend spooning the flour into your measuring cup and leveling it off with the back of a knife. You never want to scoop flour from the container because you will end up with too much and crumbly cookies. If you’re not familiar with the spoon and level method, I highly recommend reading through my post on how to measure flour correctly.
- Peanut Butter Cups: Be sure to use miniature peanut butter cups for this recipe! They’re the perfect size for the center of these cookies.
- Candy Eyeballs: You should be able to find these in the baking aisle at your local grocery store. If you can’t find any, a craft store like Michaels usually has them.
- Chocolate Chips: These are melted and piped onto the cookies to make the spider legs. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you may also use milk or dark chocolate chips.
- Shortening: This is optional, but I find that it makes the chocolate shinier and helps it hold up much better at room temperature. Feel free to use coconut oil instead, just keep in mind that the chocolate may not stay quite as firm.
How To Make Spider Cookies
Before getting started with the cookie dough, make sure to unwrap all of your miniature peanut butter cups, place them on a baking sheet, and put them in the freezer. The base of these cookies is also pretty simple and straightforward, but if you need a little more guidance feel free to read through my peanut butter cookie recipe.
- Make the cookie dough: Beat the butter until smooth, then add the sugars. Add your peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract and mix to combine. Then add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined.
- Scoop the cookie dough: I suggest scooping the cookie dough into 1.5-tablespoon balls (I use a cookie scoop to make this easier). Roll the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar before placing them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies: You’ll know they’re done when the tops are just set. The cookies will be soft, but they will continue to set up more as they cool.
- Gently press the mini peanut butter cups on top of the warm cookies: Once you’ve added all of the peanut butter cups on top, make sure to let the cookies cool completely before you move them. Once they’ve cooled, carefully transfer the baking sheets to the fridge so that the peanut butter cups can fully firm back up.
- Pipe on the chocolate spider legs: Once the cookies have cooled completely and the peanut butter cups have fully firmed up in the fridge, melt the chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave. Transfer the melted chocolate mixture to a piping bag or squeeze bottle, then pipe four legs onto each side of the cookies.
- Add the spider eyes: Working one cookie at a time, pipe a dot of melted chocolate onto the back of two candy eyeballs, then gently press them onto the miniature peanut butter cup. Repeat with all of the cookies and set aside until the chocolate has fully firmed up. If you want to speed up the process, you can place the cookies back in the fridge.
Get Creative!
- Use another nut butter. So long as you use a no-stir nut or seed butter, it should work just fine in this recipe. Try using cashew butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter if that’s what you keep on hand.
- Use another miniature nut butter cup. You can find so many different nut and seed butter cups at the store these days; use any variety of mini nut butter cup you like.
- Replace the candy eyes. If you don’t want to make another trip to the grocery store just to purchase the candy eyes, try using white chocolate chips to create the spider eyes instead.
- Skip the sugar coating. I prefer to roll the peanut butter cookie dough balls in granulated sugar before baking them for extra sweetness and a subtle crunch. However, this step can be skipped!
Baking Tips
- Make sure to unwrap and freeze the miniature peanut butter cups before getting started! This will ensure that they’re nice and cold and prevent them from melting all over the cookies.
- Once you add the peanut butter cups on top, do not move the baking sheet until the cookies have cooled all the way to room temperature. If the cookies are too warm, the peanut butter cups will slide around on top and won’t be as pretty.
- After the cookies have cooled for 30 minutes on the baking sheet, I like to place them in the fridge (still on the sheet!) to allow the peanut butter cups time to chill and fully harden.
- If you don’t have a piping bag or squeeze bottle, pour the melted chocolate into a sandwich-size zip-top bag and cut the corner to create a DIY piping bag.
Spider Cookies
Soft and chewy peanut butter cookies are transformed into adorable spiders! These spider cookies are easy to assemble and would be perfect for any upcoming Halloween parties.
Ingredients
Servings: 24 cookies
- 24 miniature peanut butter cups unwrapped
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (115 grams; 1 stick)
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar (100 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter (190 grams)
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled (190 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar optional (50 grams)
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (90 grams)
- 2 teaspoons shortening optional (8 grams)
- 48 candy eyeballs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- Line a separate small baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the unwrapped miniature peanut butter cups on the baking sheet, then place the baking sheet in the freezer.
- To make the cookie dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix together for 1 to 2 minutes or until well combined.
- Add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract and continue mixing until fully combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined.
- Place the ¼ cup (50 grams) of granulated sugar in a small bowl. Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough, roll into a ball, and coat in the granulated sugar. Place each ball of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave a little room between each one.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are set.
- Remove from the oven and remove the peanut butter cups from the freezer.
- To assemble the cookies: Gently press a miniature peanut butter cup upside down onto the center of each cookie. Don’t press it all the way down, just enough to stick!
- Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets for about 30 minutes. Do not try to transfer the cookies to a cooling rack, this will cause the melty peanut butter cups to slide and they won’t turn out very pretty!
- Once the cookies have cooled completely, carefully transfer the baking sheet with the cookies to the fridge and chill for 20 to 30 minutes or until the peanut butter cups have fully hardened. Make sure to keep the baking sheet completely flat, you don’t want the peanut butter cups to slide around on top of the cookies.
- Once the peanut butter cups has fully firmed up, remove the cookies from the fridge and set aside.
- Place the chocolate chips and shortening in a large microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. Microwave at 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring well after each increment, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag or squeeze bottle.
- Use the melted chocolate to pipe or squeeze four lines (legs) onto each side of the cookie (a total of eight per cookie). Repeat with the remaining cookies.
- Carefully pipe or squeeze a small drop onto the back of two candy eyeballs, then gently place the eyeballs onto the side of the peanut butter cup to help them stick. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
- Allow the chocolate to harden at room temperature or refrigerate until firm.
Notes
Storage Instructions: Cookies may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Freezing Instructions: Cookies will freeze well for 2 to 3 months. Thaw to room temperature before serving.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @livewellbakeoften on Instagram or tag #livewellbakeoften.
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Fun and festive! I melted Ghirardelli dark chocolate melts in the microwave and used a squeeze bottle for the legs for the second batch (it worked better for me than the piping bag I tried the first time). I just set the candy eyes on the bottom and that worked well. Love your recipes and the clear instructions!!
I made the spider cookies for my kids and their friends and they jumped with joy when they saw them. The cookies turned out just like the picture you show…so cute. Was a bit time consuming, but well worth the effort. My husband and I loved the texture of the peanut butter cookie. Soft and chewy. I’m thinking about making them again today!
So happy to hear that everyone loved the cookies, Gail!
Could you make these without peanut butter? I would like to bake them for school which is a nut free site
You couldn’t just omit the peanut butter from this cookie recipe, but you could use another cookie recipe to make something similar! My thumbprint cookie base and some kind of plain chocolate ball (that’s nut free) would be good alternatives. You could scoop out 1.5 tablespoon balls of the thumbprint cookie dough and bake until the tops are set. I’m not sure how well other options would hold up on a warm cookie so it may be best to press a small indentation into the cookies once they come out of the oven, let them cool, then use some melted chocolate to stick the chocolate ball onto the cookies. There are probably some nut free cup options out there you could use too, I just haven’t tried any that I could recommend.