Peanut Butter Spider Cookies

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Decorating and Supplies:

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*Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, snack size (.75 ounce), unwrapped

*Malted Milk Balls

*Shoe String Black Licorice, legs (Cut 8 legs for each spider 1-1 1/2 inches long)

*Black or Silver Decorating Candy Balls, Eyes

*Glass or Scoop or Measuring Cup, size of peanut butter cup

*Tweezers, to attach candy eyes

*Rolling Pin, optional

*Round Cookie Cutter, optional (smooth cookie edge)

*2 tablespoon Cookie Scoop, optional (crumble cookie edge)

*12 Cavity Mini Pancake Pan, Wilton (we used mini pancake pan) or Whoopie Pie Pan or Silpat covered 1/2 baking Sheet

*Pam cooking Spray

*Peanut Butter Cookie Dough, purchased or homemade recipe

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Homemade Peanut Butter Cookie

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*1/2 cup Butter, room temperature

*1/4 cup Butter Flavored Shortening

*1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

*1 cup Granulated Sugar

*1/2 cup Brown Sugar

*1/4 cup Powdered Sugar

*1 Egg, plus 1 Egg Yolk, room temperature

*1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

*3 cups All-purpose Flour

*1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

*1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar

*1 teaspoon Sea Salt

*2 tablespoons Water, use only if cookie seems crumbly (water makes the cookie crisper)

In a stand mixer on medium low-speed cream together the butter, shortening, peanut butter and sugars. Add vanilla and then the egg, egg yolk one at a time.

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Sift together into bowl the dry ingredients flour, baking soda and cream of tartar.

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Add dry mixture a cup at a time, on low-speed, into the creamed mixture and then add sea salt.
Mix the cookie dough just until combined.

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Add water only if needed.

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Make dough into flat disk shape and wrap in Saran Wrap and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.

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Roll out the cookie dough with rolling-pin onto floured surface and cut out with round cookie cutter or use a cookie scoop and scoop out cookie dough onto mini pancake baking pan/whoopie pan or 1/2 baking sheet.

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Bake Cookies in a pre-heated oven 350*F. oven for 8 minutes. Careful not to over bake.

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Assemble Spider:

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Remove cookies from oven and press peanut butter cup into the middle of each cookie. Then add 2 malt balls to the middle of peanut butter cup when the peanut butter cup has started to melt add the malt balls making the spider body and head. Add 8 licorice legs and 2 candy ball eyes dipping each candy eye (using tweezers) in melted chocolate and add to the top of each malt ball spider head.

 

Enjoy!

Lindy

 

 

 

Marshmallow Tombstone Brownies

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You could maybe use any Fudge Brownie mix to make brownie grave base, but this recipe worked well staying in the shape of grave brownie.

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*18.25 ounces Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix, Betty Crocker

*1/3 cup Evaporated Milk

*1/2 cup Butter, melted

*Sea Salt, grave topping

*Chocolate Frosting, optional

*Peeps Tombstone Marshmallows, 2 packages if you want to make 12

*Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches, crumbled

*White Yogurt Covered Pretzels, broken in small pieces. (optional)

In a mixing bowl mix together the cake mix, milk and butter until combined. Then in an individual bar/cake pan using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the brownie batter into individual rectangular bar pans.
Sprinkle with sea salt if desired.

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Bake in a 350*F. oven for 9-12 minutes. Remove brownie grave bars and cool on cooling rack.

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Makes 12

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Assembling Marshmallow Tombstone Brownies:

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1. Clip off bottom of brownie marshmallow tombstones and roast the bottom of marshmallow and stick the roasted end onto one of the shorter side of the rectangle or use chocolate frosting to the attach marshmallow. Support the marshmallows with tooth picks behind marshmallow, sticking it in the brownie grave until set and then remove.

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2. Frost center of the brownie grave, if desired and then add crumbled chocolate cookie sandwiches and broken white yogurt covered pretzels to the tops of brownie grave.  Enjoy!

Brownie Recipe adapted from Food Network Crazy Brownies Ree Drummond

 

Sprinkle the tops with sea salt, totally optional.

Clip/cut off the bottom of marshmallows and roast the bottom of the marshmallow or use frosting to attach to grave brownie.

Use tooth picks on the back sides of the marshmallows to help support them until the melted bottom of the marshmallow sets.

Note: This is a tombstone cookie cutter not needed for this recipe but I took the picture with chocolate sandwich cookies by it, so visit our tombstone sugar cookie recipe for more on this cookie cutter.

Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches

Crush/crumble the chocolate sandwich cookies making the cookie dirt and then sprinkle on brownie grave.

Use the opposite plain side of the tombstone marshmallow and add any name or saying you like.

Add broken pieces of white yogurt covered pretzels for bone pieces on grave.

Enjoy!

Lindy