This Halloween, bake up a batch of these gruesome Spider Chocolate Chip Cookies for your party guests. Each large cookie is loaded with chocolate chips. Some even look like spiders with chocolate legs.
This recipe was originally published on September 26, 2013.
Spiders have infested my chocolate chip cookies. Gross, right?
Why would I do this to a perfectly innocent, thick, and chewy cookie?
Well, the other day I came across a picture of a cookie that had images of spiders superimposed on it. It really looked like the spiders were in the cookie. It was just a bit of Photoshop magic, but I knew baking up a batch of chocolate chip arachnids would be as easy as waving a wizard's wand.
I figured if I was going to infest any cookies with spiders, I would use my absolute favorite recipe from Cook's Illustrated. It makes the biggest, thickest, chewiest cookies bursting with caramel and chocolate flavors.
I'm sure you will love the flavor of these cookies and you'll have fun seeing how your friends and family react to them too!
So, let's make Spider Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Ingredients
- unsalted butter
- brown sugar - You can use light or dark brown sugar. If you like a more pronounced molasses flavor, use the dark brown sugar.
- granulated sugar
- egg
- egg yolk - The extra egg yolk will allow the cookies to be nice and chewy on the inside.
- pure vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour - unbleached is best
- table salt
- baking soda
- semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (2 ounces for spiders, 10 ounces for in and on top of the cookies)
Supplies
electric mixer
baking sheets lined with parchment paper
optional: #16 ice cream scoop
squeeze-it mold painter bottles, or a disposable pastry bag or zip-top bag
Instructions
Make chocolate chip cookie dough.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Melt butter in a mixing bowl.
- Allow it to cool slightly.
- Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat on medium speed for about a minute until well blended.
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.
- Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together then incorporate it into the wet ingredients.
- If using a hand-held mixer, it probably won't be strong enough to mix this completely, so switch over to a spoon or spatula.
- Fold about 9 ounces (1 ½ cups) of chips into the batter.
Scoop cookie dough onto a pan.
- Scoop out 18 cookies, about ¼ cup of dough for each.
- I used a #16 ice cream scoop.
- Place cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with plenty of room to spread.
- Place some of the reserved chocolate chips on top of each cookie just to be sure you have chips with which you can make your spiders.
- Remember to keep about 2 ounces (⅓ cup) of the chips for the spiders.
- Bake cookies one tray at a time, for 14-18 minutes.
- The cookies should begin to set around the edges, be light golden brown, yet still be soft in the center.
Add spider legs to chocolate chips.
- Allow your cookies to cool completely.
- Place the remaining 2 ounces of chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl.
- Heat for 20 seconds, stir, then for 15 seconds, stir.
- Allow the chocolate to sit for 1 minute, then stir again.
- If you need to, heat it for 10 more seconds, then repeat until melted.
- Pour into a squeeze-it mold painter bottle fitted with a #2 round pastry tip, or a disposable pastry bag or zip-top bag with the tip snipped off.
- Pipe on spider heads and legs around some of the larger chocolate chips.
- Allow the chocolate spiders to dry.
Serve with a glass of milk.
Storage
Store your chocolate chip spider cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
If you wrap the cookies in wax paper and place them in a zip-top bag, you can freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw the cookies in the bag for several hours before opening to avoid condensation forming on the chocolate chip spiders.
Variations
If you prefer oatmeal raisin cookies over chocolate chip cookies, check out my tutorial to add raisin spiders to crispy and chewy oatmeal cookies.
Related Recipes
If you enjoy making these spider chocolate chip cookies, you might also like making these other spider-themed recipes.
Be sure to check out my Bug-Themed Recipes and other Halloween recipes here on Hungry Happenings.
Recipe
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 ⅛ cup all purpose flour (unbleached is best)
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 12 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (2 ounces for spiders, 10 ounces for in and on top of the cookies)
- electric mixer
- baking sheets lined with parchment paper
- optional: #16 ice cream scoop
- squeezeit mold painter bottles or a disposable pastry bag or zip top bag
-
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
-
Melt butter in a mixing bowl. Allow it to cool slightly.
-
Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat on medium speed for about a minute until well blended.
-
Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.
-
Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together then incorporate it into the wet ingredients.
-
Fold about 9 ounces (1 ½ cups) of chips into the batter.
-
Scoop out 18 cookies, about ¼ cup of dough for each.
-
Place some of the reserved chocolate chips on top of each cookie.
-
Remember to keep about 2 ounces (⅓ cup) of the chips for the spiders.
-
Bake cookies one tray at a time, for 14-18 minutes.
-
Allow cookies to cool completely.
-
Place the remaining 2 ounces of chocolate chips in a small microwave safe bowl.
-
Heat for 20 seconds, stir, then for 15 seconds, stir.
-
Allow the chocolate to sit for 1 minute, then stir again.
-
If you need to, heat it for 10 more seconds, then repeat until melted.
-
Pour into a squeeze-it mold painter bottle fitted with a #2 round pastry tip, or a disposable pastry bag or zip top bag with the tip snipped off.
-
Pipe on spider heads and legs around some of the larger chocolate chips.
-
Allow to dry.
-
Serve and enjoy watching your family and friend's reactions!
Store your chocolate chip spider cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. If you wrap the cookies in wax paper and place them in a zip-top bag, you can freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw the cookies in the bag for several hours before opening to avoid condensation forming on the chocolate chip spiders.
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Mayme Chilcote says
You ought to take part in a contest for one of the greatest sites on the net. I'm going to recommend this site!
Beth Klosterboer says
Thanks! That's so nice of you to say. 🙂
Cheryl Hammer says
These cookies are delicious! One of the best CC cookies I've made in years. Thanks for sharing! (And 'concur' took me a minute. Should be conquer.)
Beth says
I am so happy to hear you loved the chocolate chips cookie recipe. It is my favorite! I fixed my typo. Thanks. 🙂
Megan says
I used 1/4 a cup, and got only 12 they're huge. But I dont care, why?! Because these are the VERY first batch of cookies I made that FINALLY came out! Mine have always tasted like play dough or were rock hard lol I wish I could pin this recipe! But I'll just subscribe (: Ioveeeee Halloween so i know I'll be making these again soon and slightly smaller, thanos for the awesome recipe!!
Beth says
I'm so glad you found success with this chocolate chip cookie recipe. It is my absolute favorite cookie recipe. The cookies are huge, that's for sure, but I've made them smaller and even little bite size cookies too. It's definitely a recipe to keep on file. Enjoy!!!
Max says
Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Beth says
You are welcome! Enjoy. 🙂
Dara says
These are SO cute! I love them. Perfect for kids 🙂
Dara
www.peoniesandhoneybees.com
River says
Hi Beth! Just wanted to let you know that I am still having fun with your spidery chocolate chip cookies. This time I made them shaped like gingerbread men with spiders crawling all over them. Thank you again for sharing this brilliant idea! Here are my gingerbread (or shortbread, really) men cookies: http://www.wingitvegan.com/2014/10/arachnophobia-cookies.htmlI also wanted to let you know that I saw this today and it looks like they forgot to credit your original idea: http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/1052531/spider-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe
beth says
Hi River, your cookies are so much fun. I do appreciate you crediting my original cookies. Many other's have not and the cookies have now been duplicated so many times that it's impossible for me to ask all of them to do so. Oh, the life of a blogger!
River says
Why do people do that? It must make them feel special, even if it's not real. Very strange!
beth says
I do believe that some people don't really think they need to give credit, while other's just want to capitalize on the work of others. Either way, it's frustrating.
Anonymous says
I love that you made a great looking halloween dessert without adding any flavouring, gelatin, coloring... just a bright idea ! Thanks!
Julie says
I just love those little spiders! Not a lot of work, but you can really see the TLC in them.
Michelle @ The Gathering of Friends says
Such a great idea, they turned out so cute! We featured this recipe in our Featured Friday blog post this past week for Halloween Desserts, hope you can visit! http://returntothetable.net/recipes/sweet-endings/halloween-desserts/
Mari Corona says
Love it!:)
Monu Teena says
wow wonderful idea 🙂
kimberlyy kahari says
I made these for my classmates, they loved them. May I say best cookies I've ever tasted!
beth says
Hi Kimberlyy, I'm so happy to hear you made these and really enjoyed them. I've made so many chocolate chip cookie recipes in my life, and these are my absolute favorite!