These Healthy Peanut Butter Spider Cookies are a perfect treat for Halloween! They are Gluten Free, Grain Free, Vegan, and Refined Sugar Free. They are super easy and fun to make! What's not to love about a cute and vegan Halloween cookie recipe!
About The Recipe
For this recipe, I essentially took my recipe for easy vegan peanut butter cookies (which has been re-pinned over 20,000 times!!!) and added some creative touches on top to create the spiders.
Voila - Peanut Butter Spider Cookies!
While these cookies clearly have a Halloween theme, the extra addition of a Peanut Butter Cup and chocolate to a basic Peanut Butter Cookies actually makes them a tastier cookie as well!
Peanut Butter + Chocolate = The Best Combo!
So, whether or not you have an upcoming Halloween party, you are sure to love these gluten free, dairy free, deliciously peanut butter-y and chocolatey cookies anyways!
Ingredients in Halloween Spider Cookies
Peanut Butter. The star of the show really; you can't have Peanut Butter Cookies without Peanut Butter.
Though I will say, you can sub in Almond Butter if you are allergic to Peanuts. Use the base of this recipe, which is slightly different, and leave out the chocolate chips!
Coconut Sugar. Coconut Sugar is used to sweeten these cookies while keeping them refined sugar free. I found that maple syrup or honey weighed down the cookie too much, making it too dense. If you are not strictly refined sugar free, you can sub in white or brown sugar.
Almond Milk. Almond Milk keeps the cookies moist and vegan. You can sub in any milk or plant-based milk product here.
Coconut Flour. Coconut Flour helps give the cookies a bit of that chewy texture, while maintaining that they are grain free and gluten free peanut butter cookies. I know this isn't the most common ingredient in every household, but if you are doing a lot of Gluten Free baking, it is a really great option. Recipes usually only need a tiny bit and it is relatively cheap; you can get a 4 pound bag on Amazon like this for very cheap - maybe split it with a friend, as 4 pounds will be a lot to get through!
Mini Peanut Butter Cups. These form the "body" of the Spider. I love to use the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups from Trader Joe's. You can buy them online on Amazon, but they are much cheaper in the store, if you can go! You can use any Mini Peanut Butter Cups you like.
Chocolate Chips or Chocolate Bar. This is to melt down to make the Spider Legs. Use your favorite Chocolate!
Making Spooky Spider Cookies
Making the spider on top of the cookie is actually super easy, but you need to move a bit swiftly!
First, you will want to melt your chocolate in either the microwave or over the stovetop. Then, transfer it to a Ziploc bag and cut a small tip in the corner of the bag.
When the cookies come out of the oven, place your Peanut Butter Cups, top side down, on them immediately. You can do this gently, the heat from the cookies will melt them a bit so they spread out.
Next, you want to take your Ziploc of melted chocolate and squeeze out 8 "legs" on each side of chocolate cup.
If you want to, you can add eye balls to the top of the heads, but I left those out to keep things and ingredients simple and minimal. I did try to dab a couple melted chocolate "eyes" on a couple of them, and it turned out okay!
Next, this is important, you want to let the cookies cool! They need to set. If you try to eat one immediately, I promise the mess will be the scariest thing about them! You can speed up the cooling process in the fridge if you would like.
Notes About these Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
This is a Small Batch Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe - it only makes 6 - 7 cookies. If you are hosting a large party or want to make these for lots of your friends, consider doubling or tripling the recipe. Assuming you do this, you will probably need to increase the baking time as well. Make sure the bottom of the cookies have a beautiful golden brown crust and seem fully baked when you remove them from the oven!
If you are allergic to Peanuts, or have another go-to Peanut Butter Cookie recipe, or for some reason do not like the base of this recipe, you can always create the Peanut Butter Cups spiders atop any other favorite cookie recipe!
Are trying to go all out with the Gluten Free Halloween treats? You may want to check out these Almond Flour Witch Fingers, or this Round Up of 10 Gluten Free Creative Halloween Recipes!
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More Gluten Free Dairy Free Recipes
If you are looking for more Gluten Free and/or Dairy Free recipes using Peanut Butter, Chocolate, or Almond Butter, check these out - they are so delicious!
Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (vegan option, made in a blender!)
The Healthiest and Easiest Chocolate Cake Ever
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Paleo Salted Almond Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Puffed Rice Squares
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Healthy Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
Healthy Halloween Spider Cookies that are gluten free, grain free, and vegan! A delicious and allergen-friendly fun recipe for Halloween!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- ½ Cup Coconut Sugar
- ¼ Cup Almond Milk
- 2 tablespoon Coconut Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 7 Mini Peanut Butter Cups
- 2 tablespoon Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together peanut butter, coconut sugar and almond milk until well combined.
- Use a rubber spatula (or any spoon) to gently fold into the coconut flour and baking soda.
- Use a cookie scoop or 2 spoons to make 6 - 7 rounds of cookie dough on your baking sheet. Now wet your hands with some water and use your fingers to smooth out the dough balls. The mixture will be dense and sticky - this is expected! Use the photos in this post for an idea.
- Bake for 14 minutes.
- While the cookies are baking, melt your chocolate chips in 30 second increments in the microwave. Check on them and stir them to make sure they do not burn. It should take about 1 -2 minutes total, depending on your microwave. Once melted, spoon the chocolate into a ziploc bag. Snip a tiny corner in the ziploc bag - you will use this for piping on the spider legs.
- When the cookies are done, use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to gently press on them to flatten them. Then, immediately place a mini peanut butter cup in the center. These will spread as they melt, no need to press them in too hard!
- Use your melted chocolate ziploc bag to create 4 legs on each side of the peanut butter cup. Do this for every cookie.
- Let cool! You can place the cookie tray in the fridge or freezer to speed this up. Enjoy! Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 4 months.
Notes
You can get a 4 pound bag of Coconut Flour on Amazon like this for very cheap
You can sub in Almond Butter if you are allergic to Peanuts. Use the base of this recipe, which is slightly different, and leave out the chocolate chips!
I love to use the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups from Trader Joe’s. You can buy them online on Amazon, but they are much cheaper in the store, if you can go!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 7 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 316Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 370mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 3gSugar: 20gProtein: 9g
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Maggie
Can almond milk be substituted with oat milk? Also, can coconut flour be substituted with regular whole wheat flour? Thanks!
thegranoladiaries
You can definitely use Oat Milk! For the flour, if you want to try a sub, you may need to add a bit more, since Coconut Flour is more absorent. I would try adding 1 Tbsp at a time and see how the dough seems.