What better time of year than Halloween to serve up some creepy-looking Spider-Infested Oatmeal Raisin Cookies? These cookies with their plump and juicy raisin spiders may look gross but they taste great.
Halloween is the perfect time to make and serve spider-filled cookies, but they would also be fun to bring on a camping trip, to serve at a bug-themed birthday party, or to scare someone on April Fool's Day.
I'll probably stick to putting spiders in my cookies for our Halloween parties like I did last year when I made Spider Infested Chocolate Chip Cookies. for our Creepy Crawler Carnival party.
My original chocolate spiders looked pretty cool but they weren't all that realistic-looking.
See what I mean?
I figured my Halloween party guests would be happier if the spiders didn't look too real. I was wrong! Everyone loved the creep-out factor of the sweet Halloween treats.
So this year I decided it would be fun to make cookies with more realistic-looking spiders on them. Instead of chocolate, I chose to make my spiders using raisins.
A plump raisin makes the perfect spider body and head. To make the legs, I cut thin strips out of a raisin. Once cut, they became somewhat translucent and scraggly around the edges. They looked so real, it was scary!
It only seemed natural to put the raisin spiders into oatmeal raisin cookies. I used my favorite recipe so the cookies would taste delicious even if they looked gross.
So, let's make some cookies.
Ingredients
- plump raisins - You'll use raisins to make your spiders and you'll also mix them into the cookies. If your raisins are too dry, you can soak them in hot water for 10 minutes. Be sure to drain them and pat them dry with paper towels.
- unsalted butter
- light brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- vanilla
- all-purpose flour
- nutmeg
- cinnamon
- salt
- baking powder
- old-fashioned rolled oats
Supplies
- sharp knife
- mixing bowl
- silicone spatula or wooden spoon
- baking sheets lined with parchment paper
Instructions
Make raisin spiders.
- Select 16 large plump and juicy raisins for the spider bodies and 16 very small raisins for the spider heads. if you can't find really small raisins then cut larger ones in half and roll them into balls.
- Flatten the larger raisins out to create a nice-sized spider body.
- Flatten the remaining raisins as thin as you can.
- Using a sharp knife, cut thin long strips out of the raisins for the spider legs.
- Create enough legs for all 16 of your spiders.
Make the oatmeal cookie dough.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time mixing to combine. Then add vanilla.
- Whisk together the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add to the wet ingredients and stir just to combine.
- Stir in the oats and 1 ½ cups of raisins.
Add raisin spiders to the cookie dough balls.
- Scoop out two-thirds of a cup of cookie dough, roll it into a ball, and place it on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat creating a total of 16 cookies. Flatten the cookies slightly. These cookies are really big, which helps keep them moist and chewy on the inside.
- Arrange your raisin spiders on top. Start by placing the eight legs on the cookie then put the large raisin body over top and add a head.
- Bake for 18 to 22 min. until the edges turn golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool and then go have fun creeping out your friends and family.
Tips
As the cookies bake they will spread and the parts of the spiders may move away from each other. As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, fix your spiders. I had to move a few heads back to the bodies and even used tweezers to move a few of the legs.
The trick to keeping the legs close to the raisin bodies is to have them touch in the middle underneath the raisin.
When the cookies spread, the legs will move, but won't separate from the body.
Storage
Store your spider-infested cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Related Recipes
Be sure to check out these other creepy spider-themed recipes. For more cute or creepy recipe ideas, check out my Halloween recipe page.
Recipe
- 48 plump raisins
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (7 ounces)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups California raisins
-
Select 16 large plump and juicy raisins for the spider bodies and 16 very small raisins for the spider heads.
-
Flatten the remaining raisins as thin as you can.
-
Using a sharp knife, cut thin long strips out of the raisins for the spider legs.
-
Create enough legs for all 16 of your spiders.
-
Preheat oven to 350°F.
-
Beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
-
Add one egg at a time mixing to combine.
-
Add vanilla.
-
Whisk together the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
-
Add to the wet ingredients and stir just to combine.
-
Stir in the oats and 1 ½ cups of raisins.
-
Scoop out two thirds of a cup of cookie dough, roll into a ball, and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
-
Repeat creating a total of 16 cookies. Flatten the cookies slightly. These cookies are really big, which helps keep them moist and chewy on the inside.
-
Arrange your raisin spiders on top. Start by placing the eight legs on the cookie then put the large raisin body over top and add a head.
-
Bake for 18 to 22 min. until the edges turn golden brown.
-
Allow the cookies to cool and then go have fun creeping out your friends and family.
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Debbie Oman says
Can I save this on Pinterest?
Beth Klosterboer says
Hi Debbie,
Yes, you can save any of the pictures in my recipe posts to Pinterest. To pin an image, hover over the image up in the upper left corner, and a Pin This button will pop up. Click on that button and you can save the pin to your board. For this post you can also use this link to save a pin - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/bookmarklet/?is_video=false&url=https%3A%2F%2Fhungryhappenings.com%2Fspider-infested-oatmeal-raisin-cookies%2F&media=https%3A%2F%2Fhungryhappenings.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F10%2Fspider-oatmeal-cookies-1200.jpg&description=Spider%20Oatmeal%20Cookies
Cathy McInnes says
I can't get over how cute those cookies turned out! I am not a fan of spiders but I am a fan of oatmeal raisin cookies and I would delightedly eat one! Stopping by from what's cookin' Wednesday! 🙂
Cathy @three kids and a fish
beth says
Thanks for stopping by Cathy. I am so afraid of spiders, it's not even funny, but I do love to add edible ones to my Halloween treats. It's fun.
The Partiologist says
I do love me some spider cookies, raisins included!
beth says
LOL! Who'd have ever thought people would love spider cookies? I'm glad you do =)
Angie Schneider says
Gosh..these raisin spiders look so vivid and real! These oatmeal cookies look fantastic.
beth says
Thank, Angie. I love this cookie recipe. It is really fantastic.
Stephi says
this is such a fabulous idea, they look so real ICKYYYYY
I love it, so creative and at the same time it's healthy decor not made from fondant, what else do we want 😉
https://apartment2504.wordpress.com/
beth says
Thanks, Stephi. I do really like decorating with things other than fondant, and using raisins for these spiders worked out perfectly.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
These cookies are so awesome for Halloween and they look delicious too. Loving the little spiders especially.. you definitely have patience cutting out those legs!
beth says
Thanks, Thalia. I was surprised at how quickly I cut all the legs. Placing them on the cookies certainly did take patience, but was pretty easy.
Tiffany@Fizzy Party! says
Love this! I've seen the chocolate chip spider cookies, which are cute, but I'm not a chocolate chip kinda girl. I don't like them. Oatmeal on the other hand. Bring it! I love them. These spider cookies, I would absolutely make.
beth says
I'm a big oatmeal raisin fan myself and loved this cookie recipe.
Melissa says
Very creepy....therefore perfect for Halloween!! No way could I do these! Give me goosebumps just looking at them!
beth says
They are pretty creepy looking, that's for sure. I'm sure you aren't alone in your fear of eating them.