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Peanut Butter Spider Cookies

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4.9 from 13 reviews

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