Description
Halloween Inspired Peanut Butter Blossom Spider Cookies combine creamy peanut butter and soft sugar cookies with festive Reese’s peanut butter cups and candy eyes, decorated with chocolate spider legs for a spooky treat perfect for Halloween celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup Creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups Granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp Granulated sugar for rolling
- 2 Eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Salt
Decorations
- 24 Miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- Candy eyes
- 1 oz Semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
Instructions
- Cream Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add in the creamy peanut butter and mix for an additional 1-2 minutes to combine.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the bowl and mix until fully incorporated.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt to the wet ingredients, mixing until everything is fully combined and a dough forms.
- Chill Dough: Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Form Cookies: Using a 1 oz portion scoop or measuring spoon, scoop out dough portions and roll each into smooth balls using your palms. Then, roll each ball in the 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar to coat.
- Prepare Baking Sheet: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and arrange the cookie dough balls 2-3 inches apart.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10 minutes until golden brown. The cookies will still be soft. Remove and let sit for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely for about 5 minutes.
- Add Reese’s Cups and Candy Eyes: Once slightly cooled but still warm, press one miniature Reese’s peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie. Then, press two candy eyes onto each peanut butter cup. If the candy eyes don’t stick, use a small dot of melted chocolate to adhere them.
- Pipe Spider Legs: Place melted chocolate chips in a piping bag or plastic sandwich bag with a small corner snipped off, and pipe spider legs onto each cookie around the Reese’s cup to complete the spider decoration. Let the chocolate cool and harden completely.
- Store: Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Notes
- Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes after baking before adding the Reese’s cups to prevent melting.
- Freezing the Reese’s cups for a few minutes before pressing onto the cookies helps prevent them from melting too much.
- The candy eyes usually stick naturally to the warm peanut butter cup; if not, use a small dab of melted chocolate as glue.
- Spider legs can also be drawn with a toothpick dipped in melted chocolate or replaced with black Twizzlers or gel icing for decoration variation.
- Cooling the cookies fully on a wire rack ensures the best texture before decorating.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
