Easy Peanut Butter Spider Cookies for Halloween

Looking for a fun and easy Halloween treat? These peanut butter spider cookies are perfect! They are simple to make, and everyone will love them. Follow these easy instructions to create these creepy crawlers for your next party or potluck.

These easy spider cookies start with a store-bought peanut butter cookie mix and a bag of Whoppers candy. That’s it! Just bake the cookies, add some melted chocolate for the legs, and voila! You’ve got a fun and festive Halloween treat.

Spooky Spider Halloween Cookies with Whoppers

Fall is all about fun, and spooky Halloween treats in our house.

One of our favorite fall traditions are Halloween movie nights.

We start the night in the kitchen, and the kids get to help make a fun Halloween treat. Then we all hop on the couch and enjoy our snacks while we watch a family-friendly Halloween movie.

This year, we decided to make peanut butter spider cookies and they turned out great!

They are so easy to make and only require a few ingredients.

Here’s what you need:

• Peanut butter cookies (homemade, semi-homemade, or store-bought)
• Whoppers Malted Milk Balls Candy
• Chocolate Chips or Chocolate Candy Melts
• Candy Eyeballs (optional)

Get the kids involved:

Once you open the bag of Whoppers, you will notice they are not all the same size. Kids can easily sort them into “smaller Whoppers” and “larger Whoppers.”

This step isn’t essential, but it’s a great way to keep them busy, and then you can use the small Whoppers for the heads and the large ones for the bodies of the spiders.

And that’s it! Just a few steps make this edible craftivity perfect for kids to make or super easy for you to put together for a Halloween party or movie night.

Ingredients and Supplies

If you have followed me for a while, you know that I am absolutely obsessed with any hack, tip, or trick that makes life easier.

This is especially true when it comes to cooking and baking. If there is a shortcut, I am going to use it.

In the case of these adorable peanut butter spider cookies, that means that I am not ashamed to cut corners.

The directions below call for using a bag of Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix, but you could definitely use any premade, storebought cookie of your choice.

Likewise, you can also make them entirely from scratch if you like – you do, you boo! (Ha, get it – BOO – 👻)

I love using the pre-bagged mix because I’ve used it a million times, and I know it makes delicious and chewy peanut butter cookies.

More Halloween Ideas and Recipes:

• 30 Spooky Halloween Drinks for Kids

• The 50 Best Non-Candy Halloween Treats for Kids

• Easy Graham Cracker Haunted Houses

• Halloween Caramel Apple Nachos

• Halloween Nutter Butter Ghost Cookies

If using the bagged mix as I did, you will need the following ingredients:

• 1 (17.5 oz) Bag Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix
• 3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 Tbsp Water
• 1 Egg

You will also need the following supplies for decorating

• Small, microwave-safe bowl
• Plastic sandwich bag (for piping the spider legs and “gluing” the Whoppers)
• Scissors (for turning the Ziploc bag into a piping bag)

Instructions:

Step One: Bake the Cookies

If you plan to bake your own cookies, simply follow the recipe or, in this case, the directions on the package.

• For the Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix, you will stir the cookie mix, oil, water, and egg in a medium bowl until the dough forms.

• Next, you will scoop and roll the dough into balls.

For consistently sized cookies, I recommend using a cookie scoop. This will really come in handy if you are making these with kids. We used a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop, but you could easily use a measuring spoon and roll them into 1-inch balls.

• For baking, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and place the cookies a couple of inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edge of the cookie just begins to turn golden brown.

Mom tip: Use parchment paper sheets to prevent cookies from sticking to the pan.

• Finally, allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet. Place them on a wire rack to cool until they are at room temperature. You definitely want them cooled before you begin to decorate.

If you are using store-bought cookies, we recommend using the soft peanut butter cookies you can find in the bakery section of your grocery store for this recipe.

Step Two: Time to Decorate the Spider Cookies

Once the cookies are completely cooled, it’s time to add the legs.

• Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips or candy melts to the microwave-safe bowl.
• Heat for 20 to 30-second intervals. Stopping to stir the chocolate each time to see if you need to heat it again.
• Spoon the melted chocolate into the plastic sandwich bag. Using scissors, snip off a very small piece of the corner of the bag to allow you to pipe a thin line as you draw the legs.
• Since you are also using the melted chocolate to attach the Whoppers to form the spider’s head and body, you can place a generous blob in the middle, then draw four legs on each side.

Fun Fact: All arachnids have 8 legs and no antennae.

• Immediately place two Whoppers in the center of each cookie to create the cephalothorax and abdomen. You may need to hold the Whoppers in place for 30 seconds while the chocolate begins to harden and glue them in place. You could also place them in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to set.

• If you plan to add eyeballs to your spiders, you can use any remaining chocolate in the piping bag to attach them at this time. My kids don’t like the crunchy candy eyes, so we skip them, and I still think the spider cookies turned out adorable!

Decorating Tip: If your melted chocolate seems very thick, you can add 1/4 tsp of vegetable oil at a time to get it thin enough to make thin lines.

Easy Halloween Spooky Spider Cookies with Whoppers

Aren’t these adorable little spider cookies absolutely perfect? If you are looking for an easy, last-minute Halloween dessert or a spooky surprise for your kids, these are just what you need.

We had so much fun making them as a family! I hope this peanut butter spider cookies recipe becomes a Halloween tradition in your home.

Do I have to use peanut butter cookies?

No, you can use any kind of cookie you like. This is an excellent choice if you are concerned with nut-allergies, or just don’t like peanut butter cookies.

Sugar cookies, Snickerdoodles, or even Ginger Snaps would work great. Just be sure to check the ingredients since many pre-made cookies and cookie mixes may contain nuts.

Can I make these spider cookies ahead of time?

Yes! You can bake the cookies and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. You can also freeze the cookies for up to three months.

When you are ready to decorate, simply thaw the cookies and follow the instructions above. If you want to make these as a fun activity with kids, you could bake the cookies ahead of time, then let them decorate the cookies when they are ready.

Do I have to use Whoppers for the spider bodies?

No, you can use any kind of candy you like. I have seen variations of these cookies that use Hershey Kisses, Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Rolos instead of Whoppers.

What can I use for eyes?

You can use anything you like! Some people use candy googly eyes, which you can find in the baking aisle of your grocery store. Others use chocolate chips, sprinkles, or even mini M&Ms.