Soft low carb peanut butter thumbprints filled with rich sugar-free chocolate ganache. All in the shape of a spider for Halloween. Kids love them and adults do too!
I am really not much of one for Halloween these days. It may, in fact, be my least favourite holiday. As a kid I loved it but as an adult it causes me much stress. Helping young kids figure out their costumes is not that fun. You’d think it would be but they get to a certain age and they have definite pictures in their minds. And those pictures can cost a lot of money, so you buy the cheaper versions that don’t live up to the expectations and risk disappointed little faces. I wish I could sew their costumes myself as my mother did when I was little (I was once Papa Smurf and it was awesome!) but I have neither the talent nor the inclination. So my three get cheapie costumes from Target or one of those pop-up Halloween stores and you never quite know how that’s going to go.
And then there’s the candy. Oh my &*(*$(#(&$%#@ goodness, how the candy part stresses me out. I just can’t find my way to disappoint my kids and not let them Trick Or Treat and get fistfuls of sugar that I normally would never let past my doorstep. I know some mamas who swear they take it all and throw it away or give it away and their kids don’t make a fuss. Believe me, my kids would make a huge fuss. Perhaps I am not strong enough, perhaps I am a pathetic excuse for a healthy parent, but I honestly don’t believe in doing this. Instead, we parse it out over months and months and months, one tiny piece per evening, so that it lasts until Easter. And when we get to the end, the candies nobody really likes, we simply toss it.
So you’ll have to excuse me if I rarely mark the occasion of Halloween. It just doesn’t really do it for me and I prefer to pretend it’s not coming at all. But sometimes, just sometimes, I have a brilliant idea that requires immediate execution. Such as these adorable little spider cookies. I had such fun making them and photographing them, and it just so happens that they are delicious too. How could they not be, when they are soft low carb peanut butter cookies filled with creamy sugar-free chocolate ganache? I was so ridiculously pleased with myself and my children were pretty pleased with me too.
In this case, the said “brilliant idea” was not really my own. A high carb version crossed my Pinterest feed about a week ago, from my friend Sommer of A Spicy Perspective and I was instantly smitten. Her’s were made with Lindt truffles for the spider body which, for obvious reasons, it’s not an option for me. But I figured that my low carb ganache would make a great replacement filling. I found the monster eyes just at my local Safeway; although they are not sugar-free, I thought my kids would really love them. But I found I liked the cookies without the eyes just as much, so I did half with and half without. Either way, they are seriously fun.
So, despite not really loving this Halloween thing, I can find myself caught up in the moment, creating low carb Halloween-themed goodies to please my kids. Or to please myself. Which, let’s face it, may be the more important of the two!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Thumbprints:
- ¾ cups defatted peanut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ⅓ cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon stevia extract or an additional 3 tablespoon Swerve
Chocolate Drizzle for legs:
- 1 ½ ounces Lily's Dark Chocolate or other good quality dark chocolate such as Green & Blacks 85%, chopped
Chocolate Ganache Filling:
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 5 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 2 ½ ounces unsweetened chocolate
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Candy monster eyes (optional)
Instructions
Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silicone liner.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in sweetener until well combined, then beat in egg, vanilla extract, and stevia extract.
- Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet (you should get about 30 balls). Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand and then create a well in the center of each with your thumb (you may need to wet your hands a few times).
- Bake 12 to 16 minutes, until puffed and just golden brown and barely set. They will still be very soft. Remove from oven. Use the end of a wooden spoon or other blunt, round kitchen implement to gently re-do the wells in the center of each cookie. Let cool completely.
Chocolate Drizzle:
- Place chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
- Cut the very tip of the corner of a Ziploc bag. Place chocolate in bag and drizzle four lines across each cookie.
Chocolate Ganache Filling:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring cream and sweetener to just a simmer, stirring to combine.
- Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate. Let sit 5 minutes until chocolate is melted, then whisk to combine. Add vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- Dollop about 1 to 2 teaspoon ganache into the well of each cookie, taking care not to overflow the well. Let cool 20 minutes before adding candy monster eyes, if using.
Notes
Total fat: 8.34g
Calories from fat: 75
Cholesterol: 13mg
Carbohydrate: 2.88g
Total dietary fiber: 1.00g
Protein: 2.14g
Used to make this recipe:
LouiseT says
I doubled this recipe. Using small cookie scoop the recipe made 52. To make the ganache, I heated cream in microwave x 1 minute. Poured in Lily’s chocolate chips and waited 5 minutes and then wisked. I omitted sweetener as the chips are sweetened. I think I would make 1.5 recipes ganache next time as I had leftover ganache. They are so cute! I found the eyes locally at craft store.
Debra Sharpe says
They look great, can I use chestnut flour as a replacement for peanut? I have oxalic acid issues.
Carolyn says
Honestly I wish I could guide you here because I have never used chestnut flour.
TheaMaria says
Hi Carolyn! I am almost done decorating these beauties; I just have to add the candy eyes to half for my kids. They smell SO amazing. Question: how should I store them? How long will they keep? Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Carolyn says
They are best on the counter for up to 4 days. You can do the fridge too but the chocolate gets a little unglossy after that.
TheaMaria says
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!
Erin says
These are so fun! I love how easy they are to transform a regular cookie into something festive!
Jennifer Blake says
So adorable and healthier too – perfect for party treats!
Kristy Bernardo says
omgosh, how cute are these?? My favorite flavors and my girls will be delighted!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
These are the CUTEST ever! Can’t wait for Halloween!
Pamela says
I am making this now. You never mention when to actually add the dry ingredients into the PB/butter/egg mix. Just so you know. ?
Carolyn says
Dang it! Thanks for the heads up, I am off to fix that.
Amy Sue says
Hi Carolyn! I was wondering to make the ganache dairy free could you possibly use coconut cream instead of heavy cream?
Carolyn says
Yes…but it does end up a little thinner so do a little less than the cream. Maybe a few tbsp less? If it’s still too thin as it cools, you can whisk in some cocoa powder to help thicken.
Teresa says
I feel almost…almost guilty. About 1 week of kids eating candy daily… – I throw it all out and tell them OMG the ANTS got to the entire bag. I have even said I found a mouse eating it and roaches (gross). They seem to think GROSS too – and soon forget about the candy. They have not yet caught on to my candy tossing ways.
Carolyn says
That’s not a bad trick!
Bethany @ Athletic Avocado says
Oh my goodness, these are so adorable! THey would definitely be a crowd pleaser at my house!
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
They turned out so cute!!
Jeanne says
is peanut flour the same a PB2?
Carolyn says
No, not quite, although it’s possible that would work. I linked to the product I used in the recipe.
Madeline | madeline marie says
How fun are these!! I love that they have eyes too..adorable! : )
Renee J. (RJFlamingo) says
Oh, Carolyn! These are wonderful! I like the ones with eyes. 😀 LOL! Pinned!
patricia says
I do not have any peanut flour and these look so good. Would I be able to substitute any other flour for it?
Thanks
Carolyn says
You can try almond flour but it’s got more fat than the peanut flour I use. I’d probably use a full cup. I think your consistency will be a bit different but it should still be good.