How adorable are these peanut butter cup spider cookies!? ?? After browsing Pinterest and seeing so many cute Halloween dessert ideas, I became inspired to recreate one using only all-natural & vegan-friendly ingredients. Although I would not call these “healthy”, they do contain clean ingredients you can actually understand/pronounce! I believe if you’re going to treat yourself to sweets, you should still be conscientious of what’s in them.

Instead of using regular mini Reeses, I swapped them for mini organic Justin’s peanut butter cups! The Justin’s team was kind enough to send me over a few peanut butter cups when I told them I was writing this post so thank you Justin’s!

Below is my favorite vegan peanut butter cookie recipe. It is extremely simple and takes only 20 minutes to make! Right after the recipe I’ve included instructions on how to make the spider cookies! Enjoy! ?

Recipe: All-Natural / Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies ?

Ingredients

• Wet:
  • 1 cup crunchy peanut butter (I recommend Santa Cruz Organic Dark Roasted Peanut Butter)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup almond milk

• Dry:
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup oat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter and brown sugar until creamy. Once creamy, mix in the vanilla extract.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining dry ingredients together (oat flour, baking soda, and salt).
5. While beating the peanut butter mixture, gradually add in the dry ingredient mixture until dough forms. Add the almond milk until combined but be sure to not over mix!
6. Roll 2 tbsp of dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on the parchment-lined pan. Slightly flatten the balls with your palm.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookie edges start to turn golden (be careful not to burn them!).
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
   

How to Make Spider Cookies ?

Supplies:

• Justin’s Mini Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (available online or at Target)
• Vegan Chocolate Frosting (I used Wholesome Organic Chocolate Frosting)
• Candy Eyes (available at Walmart, Target, Michael’s, AC Moore, and some grocery stores)
• Piping bag (can also use a regular ziplock bag with corner snipped)
• Optional: spider-web doilies ? (available online at Walmart, I saw them in both Target & AC Moore)
• Optional: orange napkins

Instructions:

1. Using a small amount of frosting, stick a Justin’s peanut butter cup face down in the center of a cookie.
2. Add frosting to a piping bag and pipe 8 spider legs on top of the cookie. If you do not have a piping bag, add frosting to a ziplock bag and snip off a tiny piece of one of the bag’s corners to use to pipe the legs.
3. Attach the eyes using a small dot of frosting.
4. Place in the fridge to cool.
5. Optional: Lay a spider web doily over an orange napkin to display your cookies on!

Justin’s Organic Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

If you read last’s years Halloween post, you know I am a die-hard Justin’s peanut butter cup fan (I eat way more of these than I care to admit). If you are a chocolate-loving fan of Justin’s nut butters, I guarantee you will LOVE these! ?

Why I Love Them:

• The chocolate is super rich and the perfect compliment to Justin’s smooth peanut butter.
• They are 100% natural and USDA certified organic (no hidden scary ingredients).
• They are Rainforest Alliance Certified (learn more about this impressive certification)
• The palm oil found in Justin’s is certified sustainable meaning it does not lead to deforestation and habitat loss!
• The dark chocolate cups are vegan! (please note: they are manufactured on the same equipment as the milk chocolate cups but the equipment is thoroughly cleaned in between batches to prevent cross-contamination)

I hope you try this recipe and love it as much as I do! Have a Happy Halloween!