Who could be scared of spiders when they are as adorable as these?! The perfect biscuits for Halloween and so quick and easy to make. Rather tasty too!
Beyond pumpkin pie halloween baking has never featured in my house but when my friend saw these on A Spicy Perspective there was no chance of halloween passing without a batch of these.
The biscuit dough is rolled into balls and squashed slightly half way through baking to give them a dimple for the spider. The original recipe called for Lindt Lindor chocolates for the spiders but I thought these would make rather large, not to mention expensive, biscuits so mine were half the original size and used maltesers instead which made them a perfect snack size. The eyes were piped on using a little thick white icing and used the chocolate melted for the legs for the pupils. 
Recipe
Makes 40
Adapted from A Spicy Perspective
115g unsalted butter, softened
190g peanut butter (smooth or slightly crunchy)
70g dark brown sugar
100g granulated sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, room temperature and beaten
210g plain flour
3/4tsp baking powder
1/4tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp salt
40 maltesers (about 120g)
30g icing sugar
Few drops of water
20g chocolate
- Preheat the oven to 175C and cover a couple of large baking trays with baking paper
- Mix together the butter and the peanut butter until smooth, then add the sugars and mix together until light and fluffy
- Beat in the vanilla and egg and when combined add the rest of the ingredients (flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt) and mix until it forms a lump of dough
- Break off lumps of dough, about a tablespoon each, and roll into balls (about the diameter of a 2p piece). Place the balls onto the baking paper leaving a couple of inches between each to allow for spreading
- Pop in the oven and bake for 10mins, remove from the oven and push the middles down with your finger, then return to the oven for another 5mins. I took each tray out separately so they didn’t cool down too much
- Remove from the oven and slide the baking paper onto cooling racks to cool
- As the biscuits are cooling mix the icing sugar with a little water to form a thick paste and put this in a piping bag with a small round piping noozle (alternatively use a thick sandwich bag and cut a small piece off the corner); pipe eyes onto the maltesers. For the legs and the pupils melt the chocolate in a bowl above a pan of simmering water, pour into a piping bag (or thick sandwich bag) with a small opening, carefully pipe small dots onto each white eye, then the spiders legs on making sure there is enough in the biscuit’s dimple to stick down the malteser and finally add the decorated malteser
- Enjoy!