Introduction

These Easy Halloween Cookies are a fun and festive treat perfect for celebrating the spooky season. Crisp on the edges and soft in the center, they are decorated as spiders and bats to delight kids and adults alike. With simple ingredients and step-by-step instructions, they’re great for a Halloween baking activity.

Easy Halloween Cookies with Spider and Bat Decorations Recipe - Recipe Image

Ingredients

150g butter, softened
50g caster sugar
100g light brown soft sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
250g plain flour
¼ tsp baking powder
100g milk or dark chocolate chips
60g dark chocolate, melted
60g royal icing sugar, mixed with 2 tsp water
20 Maltesers
5 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
10 caramel-filled chocolates

Instructions

Step 1: Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4, and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
Step 2: Beat the butter and both sugars together using an electric whisk until light and fluffy.
Step 3: Add the vanilla extract and egg, then beat again until well combined.
Step 4: Stir in the flour and baking powder with a wooden spoon until you have a stiff dough, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Step 5: Divide the dough into 20 pieces and roll each into a ball. Arrange them spaced out on the prepared baking sheets. Press the tops down very slightly with your palm or the bottom of a glass.
Step 6: Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until golden around the edges. Leave to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Step 7: For the spider cookies, place 10 cooled cookies in front of you. Spoon the melted chocolate into a piping bag, and the royal icing into another. Pipe a dot of royal icing onto the backs of two Maltesers and arrange them on each cookie to form the spider’s head and body. Repeat for all 10 cookies.
Step 8: Use the chocolate to pipe eight legs around the spider bodies. Add two small dots of royal icing on the heads for eyes, then pipe tiny chocolate dots over the eyes to create pupils. Decorate the bodies with royal icing if you wish.
Step 9: For the bat cookies, place the remaining 10 cookies in front of you. Carefully separate the cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies and scrape off the cream filling. Cut each chocolate cookie into semicircles using a small serrated knife.
Step 10: Stick a caramel-filled chocolate onto the center of each cooled cookie with royal icing. Attach a chocolate semicircle on each side using more royal icing to form bat wings.
Step 11: Pipe eyes onto the caramel chocolates using royal icing and melted chocolate to finish the bats.

Tips & Variations

Use dark or milk chocolate chips depending on your preference for a sweeter or richer cookie.
If you don’t have Maltesers, small round candies or chocolate-covered nuts work well for the spider bodies.
To make the royal icing more colourful, add a few drops of food colouring before mixing with water.
Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating to prevent melting the chocolate and icing.
Bake the cookies in batches if your baking sheets aren’t large enough to space them properly.

Storage

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Keep them away from heat and humidity to maintain their texture and decoration. If you want to store them longer, freeze the plain baked cookies without decorations for up to 1 month, then decorate after thawing. To reheat, warm briefly in a low oven for a few minutes, but avoid reheating decorated ones to preserve the icing and chocolate details.

How to Serve

Serve this delicious recipe with your favorite sides.

FAQs

Can I use gluten-free flour instead of plain flour?

Yes, you can substitute gluten-free plain flour blend in equal amounts. The texture might be slightly different but should still work well.

How do I stop the cookies from spreading too much during baking?

Make sure your dough is firm and chilled if possible before baking. Also, space the dough balls well apart on the baking sheets and press down gently but not too flat.

Easy Halloween Cookies with Spider and Bat Decorations Recipe

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4.6 from 116 reviews

These Easy Halloween Cookies are festive and fun treats perfect for Halloween celebrations. They feature soft, buttery cookies loaded with chocolate chips, decorated creatively with melted chocolate, royal icing, Maltesers, caramel-filled chocolates, and cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies to look like spiders and bats.

Author: Lena
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 42 minutes
Yield: 20 cookies 1x
Category: Baking
Method: Baking
Cuisine: British

Ingredients

Scale

Cookie Dough

150g butter, softened
50g caster sugar
100g light brown soft sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
250g plain flour
¼ tsp baking powder
100g milk or dark chocolate chips

Decorations

60g dark chocolate, melted
60g royal icing sugar, mixed with 2 tsp water
20 Maltesers
5 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
10 caramel-filled chocolates

Instructions

Preheat and Prepare: Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4, and line two baking sheets with baking parchment to prepare for baking the cookies.
Make Cookie Dough: Beat the softened butter, caster sugar, and light brown sugar together with an electric whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and egg, beating again until combined. Stir in the plain flour and baking powder with a wooden spoon until a stiff dough forms, then fold in the chocolate chips evenly.
Shape and Bake Cookies: Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Place the dough balls well spaced on the prepared baking sheets. Gently press the tops down slightly using the palm of your hand or the bottom of a glass. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are golden at the edges. Leave them to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Decorate Spider Cookies: Lay out 10 cooled cookies. Spoon the melted dark chocolate into a piping bag and royal icing into another, snipping the ends to pipe. Using royal icing, attach two Maltesers on each cookie as the spider’s head and body. Use melted chocolate to pipe eight legs around the Maltesers. Pipe two small dots of royal icing on the Malteser ‘head’ for eyes, then add tiny chocolate dots on these for pupils. Optionally, decorate the spider bodies with royal icing designs.
Decorate Bat Cookies: Take the remaining 10 cookies and the cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies. Separate and scrape off the cream filling from the sandwich cookies, then cut the cookie halves into semicircles for bat wings. Using royal icing, stick one caramel-filled chocolate in the center of each cookie. Attach a cookie semicircle on each side of the caramel chocolate to form wings. Pipe eyes on the caramel chocolates with royal icing and melted chocolate.

Notes

Ensure cookies are fully cooled before decorating to prevent melting of icing and chocolate decorations.
You may need to bake cookies in batches if your oven or baking trays are small.
Royal icing consistency should be pipeable but not runny; adjust water quantity if needed.
Use a small piping tip or snip the bag end carefully for detailed decoration work.
Store decorated cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh.

Keywords: Halloween cookies, spider cookies, bat cookies, chocolate chip cookies, Halloween treats, festive cookies