Peanut Butter Spider Cookies

These Peanut Butter Spider Cookies are a cute and chocolatey Halloween treat! Recipe with step-by-step photos.

peanut butter spider cookies on metal tray with baking paper

Peanut Butter Spider Cookies

I was scrolling through Pinterest one evening, looking for Halloween baking ideas, when I came across these awfully cute Peanut Butter Spider Cookies from A Spicy Perspective. Not only are they adorably sweet, but they combine two of my favourite loves – peanut butter cookies and Lindt Lindor chocolate truffles.

peanut butter spider cookies on baking tray

How to Make Spider Cookies

I have adapted the recipe slightly by using my favourite recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies, as well as changing the method a little.

Bake the peanut butter cookies as per normal, but take them out of the oven after 12 minutes or so in order to press an indent in the cookies. To do this, I use the end of a pestle, but any similar instrument would work.

You just want to create an indent which will be big enough for the Lindor chocolate truffles to sit inside.

lindt lindor balls on peanut butter cookies

Once the cookies have cooled, simply stick the Lindor chocolate truffles onto the cookies by dotting a small amount of melted chocolate into the cavity of each cookie.

Use the same melted chocolate to also stick the candy eyes to the chocolate truffles, and to also draw the legs.

candy eyes on lindt lindor chocolate balls on peanut butter cookies

It was only once I was photographing the cookies that I noticed that there were little dimples at the bottom of the Lindor chocolate truffles; a randomly placed truffle revealed that these dimples could serve as mouths!

peanut butter spider cookies on baking tray with melted chocolate in background

Thankfully, I had two tiny volunteers who were willing to eat my first batch of Lindor chocolate truffles (complete with googely eyes) so that I could prepare a second batch with the rearranged truffles 🙂

And I’m rather glad I did – these Peanut Butter Spider Cookies just look so darn cute!!

Halloween Cookies

Now that our children are a little older (especially my son), I am hoping that this year will be the first time we will have a proper Halloween celebration. Trick-or-treat is not a common event in Zurich, although I have heard that it is becoming popular in some neighbourhoods.

In recent years, our childrens’ daycare would go trick-or-treating during the morning, and only to nearby homes of families with whom they had pre-arranged the event. Despite it being a highly organised outing, the children still had a lot of fun dressing up and collecting candy and (Swiss!) chocolate.

I made these Peanut Butter Spider Cookies as a trial run, and based on the childrens’ reaction, I think these will be a permanent item on our Halloween menu! Now I need to work on the savoury dishes …

spider cookies on baking tray

More Cookie Recipes

If you are looking for more cookie recipes, you might also enjoy:

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

Reindeer Cookies

Print

Peanut Butter Spider Cookies

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4.9 from 13 reviews

  • Author: Thanh | Eat, Little Bird
  • Prep Time: 40 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: Makes approx 24 cookies
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

These Peanut Butter Spider Cookies are a cute and chocolatey Halloween treat! Recipe with step-by-step photos.

Ingredients

For the Peanut Butter Cookies

To Decorate the Cookies

Instructions

To Make the Peanut Butter Cookies

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) (without fan).
  2. Place the granulated sugar and brown sugar into the bowl of stand mixer.
  3. Using the flat paddle attachment, lightly mix the sugars together to remove any lumps.
  4. Add the vegetable shortening and peanut butter.
  5. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and smooth.
  6. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat for about a minute until they are thoroughly combined.
  7. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into the bowl.
  8. Beat on low speed until everything is well incorporated.
  9. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
  10. Roll out small balls of dough and place them on the lined baking tray, about 2-3 inches apart.
  11. Use your fingers to gently flatten the dough.
  12. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes.
  13. Remove the tray from the oven and, using the end of a pestle or similar instrument, make soft indents in the middle of each cookie. The indents should be large enough to hold the Lindor chocolate truffles later. Don’t worry too much if the cookies crack when you do this.
  14. Return the tray to the oven and bake the cookies for a further 6-8 minutes, or until they are lightly golden and the edges feel somewhat firm.
  15. Leave the cookies on the baking tray for about 5 minutes to firm up before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To Decorate the Cookies

  1. Place the melted chocolate into a small piping bag.
  2. Dot a small amount of melted chocolate (about the size of a lentil) into the cavity of each cookie.
  3. Place a Lindor chocolate truffle into the cavity of each cookie, and position them so that the bottom of the chocolate truffles are displayed as mouths.
  4. Squeeze two tiny dots of melted chocolate onto each chocolate truffle and attach the candy eyes.
  5. Repeat Steps 2 to 4 for all of the cookies.
  6. Pipe 8 legs onto each cookie.
  7. Allow the chocolate on the cookies to set for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Kitchen Notes

SUBSTITUTES FOR CANDY EYES
If candy eyes are not available where you live, one suggestion is to pipe some eyes onto the chocolate truffles. You could use the same chocolate as for the legs to make simple dark eyes, or perhaps use white chocolate for simple white eyes. Or you could go to the effort of piping white chocolate for the eyeballs, followed by dark chocolate for the pupils.

VEGETABLE SHORTENING
In Switzerland, the vegetable shortening I use is called Pflanzenfett in German, or graisse végétale in French. It is available from both Migros and Co-op and sold alongside the oil and olive oil.

OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.

CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: Nutritional info per cookie
  • Calories: 227
  • Sugar: 16.3g
  • Sodium: 57.3mg
  • Fat: 13.8g
  • Carbohydrates: 23.6g
  • Fiber: 1.3g
  • Protein: 3.9g
  • Cholesterol: 8mg

Did you make this recipe?

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Update

This recipe was first published on 17 October 2017. It has been updated with new photos and more comprehensive recipe notes.SaveSave

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43 comments

  1. Diana 18 October 2017

    These spider cookies are sooo cute! Absolutely love the idea!

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 18 October 2017

      Thanks, Diana! I had as much fun making them as the kids had fun eating them 🙂

      Reply
  2. Pretty 18 October 2017

    These are so cute! I need to make them for my nieces.

    Reply
  3. Felesha Bell 18 October 2017

    Black eyed Susans are simply the best!!!

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 22 October 2017

      I didn’t know what black-eyed Susans were – I had to look it up! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Vicky @ Avocado Pesto 18 October 2017

    Wow these are absolutely adorable! Love how it all worked out with those little mouths on the chocolate! So fun! Hope Halloween festivities work out in Zurich!






    Reply
  5. Chris 18 October 2017

    You won’t get me within 1km of a spider BUT, if you served me these, I might be tempted. And by tempted I mean can I eat the entire tray please? Such a cute and crafty post 🙂






    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 22 October 2017

      Thanks, Chris! I grew up in Australia and the spiders I’ve seen there still make my skin crawl!!

      Reply
  6. Shinta 18 October 2017

    These are adorable! I love the clever use of the simple there. Where do you get candy eyes in Switzerland? I think I will be making these for Halloween..our neighbourhood gets the kids together for Halloween and these would be fun to try!

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 22 October 2017

      Hi Shinta, lovely to hear from another blogger in Switzerland! I bought the candy eyes at Coop in their baking section. I was very surprised to find them here but glad I did!

      Reply
  7. Simone Emery 22 October 2017

    These are just too cute to eat!

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 22 October 2017

      Almost! 😉 It’s funny watching the children eat them as they always try to bite the eyes off first!

      Reply
  8. Melissa Griffiths 27 October 2017

    These are absolutely adorable – and those little dimple mouths are perfect!

    Reply
  9. Jana 31 October 2017

    Oh die sind ja toll! 🙂 Ich finde Spinnen zwar echt ekelig, aber deine Cookies sehen viel zu lieb aus, um sie nicht super zu finden 😛

    Reply
  10. Julia 16 April 2018

    What an AMAZING idea! Beautiful presentation. One of my favs!






    Reply
  11. camila 16 September 2018

    Hey I think these is the cutest halloween treat I have ever seen!!!!! I was on Tailwind and saw this!! And it’s so funny because earlier today I went to a lindt outlet to buy one hundred lindor truffles of different flavors to make Christmas cookies haha and then I came across this! Awesome!!!






    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 18 September 2018

      Aww thank you! 100 Lindor truffles? I would be in heaven! Happy Christmas baking to you xx

      Reply
  12. Hannah 26 October 2018

    I made these tonight for my sons Halloween party !! It’s perfect ? I love them ! I was having trouble finding something without peanut butter for my sons party a few are allergic so I just made sugar cookies instead..






    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 31 October 2018

      So glad you like this recipe and could adapt it for the kids! I might do something similar and also try it with a shortbread-type biscuit. Happy Halloween!

      Reply
  13. Melissa 24 October 2019

    These are so cute! Do you think I could use pretzels for the legs and if so can I place them into the cookie dough before baking?

    Reply
  14. Jay 27 October 2019

    These are adorable. Do you have a suggestion for substituting the egg? Thanks and Happy Halloween ?

    Reply
  15. Danielle 29 October 2019

    These are too cute. What did you use as vegetable shortening that is available in Switzerland? Many thanks!

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 30 October 2019

      Hi Danielle,
      I use Pflanzenfett which is available from both Migros and Coop. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  16. Erica 26 October 2020

    I made these! I am not a baker but I pulled this off! My only suggestion, which is something I did, is to refrigerate the truffles ahead of time so that when placing the eyes on, they stick quickly. And…. This look me like 3+ hours because I am a terrible baker. Love this so much!






    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 2 November 2020

      Hi Erica,
      I doubt you are a terrible baker, and you have proven it by making these spider cookies! Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

      Reply
  17. Erica 26 October 2020

    Oh, I forgot, I also added little lips and smoky face candies to some.

    Reply
  18. Charlie Tomlinson 25 October 2021

    These were a bit too sweet for me and too short. I used the correct quantities but they were just really crumbly and broke too easily. Any tips?






    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 26 October 2021

      Hi Charlie,
      It sounds like you may have underbaked the cookies slightly, hence they are too crumbly. The cookies should be somewhat soft and crumbly, but they should still hold their structure. I recommend baking them for an extra few minutes for firmer cookies. Hope this helps.

      Reply
  19. Victoria 27 October 2021

    Hi! Can I use butter instead of shortening? How would I adapt? Thanks

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 10 November 2021

      Hi Victoria,
      Yes, you can substitute the shortening for butter, but the cookies will not have the same soft and tender texture. But they will still taste great 🙂

      Reply
  20. Marylynn 20 October 2022

    Love this recipe and want to try for this Halloween. Would another type of cookie work if there are peanut allergies?

    Reply
    • Eat, Little Bird 25 October 2022

      Hi Marylynn,
      Yes, I think any other type of cookie would definitely work, for example, a sugar cookie or shortbread cookie. You would have to play with the other recipe to see how you can make an indent in the cookie towards the end of the baking time. But an alternative would be to simply attach the Lindt chocolate truffle to the cookie with some melted chocolate (the same which you are using to attach the candy eyes). Hope this helps!

      Reply
  21. Sue 21 October 2022

    Great recipe! I make this recipe for every Halloween now and both the kids and adults always enjoy them. I’ve made easier peanut butter cookie recipes, but this one is particularly tasty and moreish.






    Reply
  22. Jennifer 25 October 2022

    These are so cute! I made them last year for Halloween and they were a hit. I will be making them again this year!






    Reply
  23. Katie 25 October 2022

    Really cute and delicious cookies. I wish I could find the same candy eyes but they still looked really cute!






    Reply
  24. Rebecca 25 October 2022

    My kids loved these cookies! I will be making another batch this weekend for our Halloween party 🙂






    Reply
  25. Dave 25 October 2022

    I’ve tried easier peanut butter cookie recipes but this one is actually very tasty! Very soft and moreish. Great tips for making the spider cookies. Thanks!






    Reply
  26. Evie 25 October 2022

    This will be my second year making these cookies! My family love them.






    Reply