Description

Peanut Butter Spider Cookies are a fun and festive treat perfect for Halloween or any spooky occasion. These chewy peanut butter cookies feature a mini Reese’s peanut butter cup center, decorated with melted chocolate spider legs and candy eyeballs to create an adorable and delicious spider effect. Easy to make with a classic peanut butter cookie dough, these cookies combine the rich flavors of peanut butter, chocolate, and sugar-coated crispiness, providing both kids and adults with a delightfully spooky snack.

Ingredients

Scale

Cookie Dough

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Extra granulated sugar (for rolling)

Decoration

24 mini Reese’s peanut butter cups, unwrapped and chilled
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (for spider legs)
Candy eyeballs

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Instructions

Prep the Reese’s & Oven: Unwrap the mini Reese’s peanut butter cups and place them in the freezer. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) to have it ready for baking the cookies.
Make the Dough: In a large bowl, use a mixer to beat together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then add the creamy peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract, mixing until the dough is smooth and well combined.
Add Dry Ingredients: Gradually incorporate the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the wet ingredients. Mix just until the dough comes together and no flour pockets remain, being careful not to overmix.
Form the Cookies: Roll tablespoon-sized portions of dough into balls using your palms. Then roll each ball in granulated sugar to give the cookies a sweet, crisp coating. Arrange the dough balls spaced apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Bake the Cookies: Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake the cookies for 8-11 minutes or until the edges start to crack slightly, ensuring the centers remain soft.
Add Reese’s: Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, press a chilled mini Reese’s peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 15-20 minutes so they set properly.
Make Spider Legs: Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Transfer the melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle or a zip-top plastic bag with a small corner snipped off. Pipe four thin chocolate legs on each side of the Reese’s peanut butter cup, creating a spider effect.
Attach the Eyes: Use a small dab of the melted chocolate as glue to stick candy eyeballs onto the Reese’s peanut butter cup, completing your spider’s face.

Notes

Make sure the mini Reese’s are well chilled before pressing onto the hot cookies to avoid melting or losing shape.
If you don’t have a squeeze bottle, a zip-top bag with a small corner cut off works perfectly for piping chocolate legs.
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
You can substitute the candy eyeballs with small dots of white and black icing if candy eyes are unavailable.
For a crunchier texture, bake the cookies for an additional 1-2 minutes but be careful not to overbake.