Peanut Butter Date Halloween Spider Cookies
These Spider Cookies are a healthier Halloween treat, great for little kids! The base cookie has no added sugar and is gluten-free and dairy-free!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups pitted dates
- Hot water, (to soak the dates – reserve 1 tablespoon)
- 1 cup peanut butter, (I like using creamy salted peanut butter for these cookies!)
- 1/8 cup coconut oil , at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg, (or chia egg*)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chocolate chips, (be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips, if needed)
- (Optional) 32 candied eyes, (Please note that these could be a choking hazard for small kids, so be sure to only serve them if it's age appropriate.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, cover dates in hot water and let soak for 2 minutes. This helps them soften a little.
- Meanwhile, add the remaining ingredients to a food processor. Scoop 1 tablespoon of the date hot water out and add it to the food processor.
- Drain dates and add them to the food processor.
- Process until fully mixed and a ball/dough forms.
- Scoop 1 to 2 tablespoons of dough into your hand and roll it into a ball. Using the palm of your hand, press the dough down to create a cookie shape. Place on the baking sheet. Your hands will get quite oily here due to the coconut oil!
- Bake cookies in the oven for 13 minutes. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips by heating them in a small bowl in the microwave for 1 minute or so, until they're melted. Allow the chocolate to cool for a couple of minutes and then transfer the chocolate to a sandwich-size Ziploc bag.
- When you're ready to decorate the cookies, cut a small section of the corner of the bag. Squeeze the chocolate out in a dollop for the spider's belly and then create eight thin spider legs by making straight lines coming out of the spider's belly. Repeat for all of the spiders. (Optional) Add candied eyes to each spider cookie!
Notes
If using candied eyes: Please be careful if you include the candied eyes on your spider cookies and are serving them to small children! These can be a choking hazard. You can omit these and just include the chocolate spider bodies on top of the cookies (they'll look like spider webs, especially if you use a toothpick to spread each "leg" out).
*Making it Egg-Free: You can replace the egg with a "chia egg", making the recipe vegan. To do this, combine 1 tablespoon chia seeds with 2.5 tablespoons water in a small bowl and let sit for a few minutes. It has become a "chia egg" when it's turned into a gel-like, thick consistency. You can add this to the food processor along with the other ingredients.
*The cookie dough will seem very oily when you're forming the cookies. This is okay! They won't turn out too oily after they bake.
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