Peanut Butter Spider Cookies

Halloween is coming up, and I have been baking up some Halloween goodies. I found the idea for these spider cookies online, and I thought they were simply adorable! It is really just an easy peanut butter cookie recipe, you could probably use your favorite recipe. Then chocolate balls are placed in the middle. I used small milk chocolate balls, but you can use any flavor truffle chocolates as well, just adjust your cookie size according to the size of chocolate you have. Then just pipe on some eyeballs and legs! You could also use any type of chocolate you wish for the legs, and if you prefer, you can purchase candy eyeballs to use instead. The decorating of these cookies is the part that takes time, but they are fun to do and well worth the extra effort! 

Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup natural smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour 
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
small milk chocolate balls, approximately 40
icing sugar
chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter, then cream in both sugars. beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Roll into small balls, using about two teaspoons of dough for each cookie. Place a few inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for ten minutes. Remove cookies from oven and use a spoon handle or your thumb (though the dough is hot) to make a small indent in the middle of each cookie. Return to the oven for about six minutes until cookies are set.

Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and allow to cool until they are just slightly warm. If the cookies are too hot, the chocolate will melt, but if completely cooled, the chocolate will not stick. Place a chocolate ball in each indent, then allow cookies to cool completely.

Mix a little icing sugar with a little water and place in a small plastic bag. Cut a small hole in the corner, and pipe two eyes onto each ball. Then melt some chocolate chips and place them in a small plastic bag. Use this chocolate to pipe eyeballs and eight legs onto each cookie. Allow chocolate to stand to set. Makes about 40-42 small cookies.