These cute Shortbread Spider Biscuits are definitely a treat no tricks here!
Perfect Halloween party food idea for the kids, using my childhood favourite chocolate, Rolo's, and my daughters favourite Kinder Bueno.
How to make shortbread spider biscuits?
We show you step by step how to make these adorable treats from scratch.
Click the button below to get straight to the recipe card.
Shortcut to making Halloween spider biscuits?
Of course, being Halloween if you did want a trick.......
Then cheat and buy shop-bought biscuits to save yourself having to bake your own!
As you know, we love any excuse to get our aprons on so we made our own shortbread biscuits.
Furthermore, the kids are always eagerly awaiting the mixing bowl and spoon, to lick clean!
How to make shortbread biscuits from scratch?
Shortbread biscuits are very simple to make at home, you only need 3 basic ingredients (which you probably already have in) butter, caster sugar and flour.
What equipment do I need to make shortbread biscuits?
You need a handheld mixer or stand mixer, which makes it quicker to mix the ingredients for shortbread biscuits.
You will need some cookie cutter's you can use any size you like.
If you use a 3-inch cutter this will give you 12 biscuits. You can use smaller or bigger cutters as desired.
You will also need a rolling pin.
Shortbread dough sticking to worktop?
You may find the shortbread dough sticks to the worktop, despite flour sprinkled over. Making it hard to transfer to baking sheet.
To prevent this we recommend cutting them directly on to the parchment paper, on a baking tray.
How to add flavour to Shortbread biscuits?
Try adding vanilla extract into you shortbread dough to add some flavour or you can use any other flavouring you like, there are so many to choose from!
How to decorate shortbread biscuits?
Time for the fun to start, decorating the biscuits!! We used Menier Swiss Milk Chocolate, as it is the perfect chocolate for melting!
How to melt chocolate in microwave?
Simply place the the chocolate in a microwavable bowl, if your microwave has the option set to the lowest and turn on for 30 seconds, stir and return for 30 seconds. Keep repeating for 30 seconds until fully melted.
How to melt chocolate over pan heat?
Break chocolate into small pieces in a heatproof bowl (preferably ceramic or Pyrex glass).
Bring a pan of water to a simmer and place the bowl on top of the pan.
Stir until chocolate has melted. Do not let water from the pan spill into the chocolate.
Piping spider legs
Transfer the melted chocolate into a piping bag, snip a small corner off or use a tiny nozzle to pipe 8 spider legs directly on to the shortbread biscuit.
Next, use the melted chocolate to stick the body on top of the legs, then the eyeballs onto the Body!
You can choose your favourite chocolate to use instead of Rolo's and Kinder Bueno. On our shortlist were Lindor Lindt Ball's, Maltesers or Aero Bubbles.
The edible eyes we used are so cute, brings the spider to life.
We took these to a Halloween Party with us. They went down really well with all the kids and equally well with the adults!
Love their little faces, so much character!
📖 Step by Step Recipe
Shortbread Spider Biscuits – Cute Halloween Party Idea
Ingredients
Shortbread Biscuit
- 100 g Unsalted Butter (½ Cup) - softened, we used Stork as already soft
- 50 g Caster Sugar (½ Cup)
- 150 g Self Raising Flour (1 Cup +2 tablespoons)
- 3 drops Vanilla Extract (optional) - Use whatever flavouring you like?
Decorating your choice of any chocolate for the spider body
- 1 pack Rolos Chocolate's or Kinder Bueno Chocolate - Or Aero/ Maltesers/ Lindt Balls you choose!
- 24 edible eyes
- 100 g Chocolate (3.5 oz) - for melting
Instructions
Shortbread biscuit (you can buy shop brought biscuits to save time)
- Preheat oven at 180°C,160°c fan, gas mark 4. Line two baking trays with parchment paper
- Place butter into mixing bowl, whisk until soft, gradually add sugar, whisk until light and fluffy, then add the flour.We used a handheld whisk to help speed this up.
- Form the mixture into a dough with your hands, roll the dough directly onto the parchment paper and use cutters to make uniform circles.
- Transfer the parchment paper of biscuits onto a baking sheet. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes until golden, cool on a wire rack before decorating
To decorate
- Melt the chocolate in a microwaveable bowl on the lowest setting in the microwave, stir every 30 seconds until fully melted. Fill the melted chocolate into a piping bag with a small cut in the corner to pipe 8 legs on the biscuit.
- Use the melted chocolate as glue to stick your choice of chocolate for the body and finally the edible eyes on to the body.
- Leave to cool and the chocolate will harden.
Video
Nutrition
If you like these Shortbread Spider biscuits, and looking for more Halloween party food ideas? Make sure to check out our Halloween Spider Bread and Snake Breadsticks.
Judy todd says
This recipe was easy to make and tasted great, I made them for a charity event and every biscuit was sold. Is it a recipe I could freeze so that I can make large quantities for charity events?
Luke and Kay says
Hi Judy
Yes you can freeze the biscuits.
Allow them to cool completely after baking. Then, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once solid, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container. They should last for about 3 months.
Make sure to defrost all the way through at room temperature before serving. 🙂
Debbie says
Made these yesterday and they all went in 1 day! The best shortbread ever… I didn’t have ready made eyes, so improvised with white icing. They looked great & tasted better than expected.
Luke says
Thank you for trying our Shortbread Spider Biscuits, Debbie! We're so glad you enjoyed them and that they were a hit with your family and friends. I'm glad to hear that you found a way to make them even more special with your own creative touch. 🙂
We hope you'll enjoy them again soon!
Ramona says
This is such a cute idea for Halloween! They look great and we all love shortbread. My daughter was looking for a recipe to make for Halloween and this is definitely the one to make. Great for kids to have some fun too. Thanks for sharing!
Kay says
Thank you so much, Ramona 🙂
We hope your daughter loves our Halloween spider biscuits as much as our kids did lol
Enjoy!!
Elizabeth says
These are so adorable and perfect for Halloween! We loved them!
Luke says
Thanks, Elizabeth 🙂
Glad you liked the biscuits, always a great recipe to make with the kids for Halloween 🙂
Sabrina says
Too cute! I made them for a kids party and the kids loved them. I’m making them again for school Halloween party. Thanks, this is a great one!
Luke says
Thank you so much, Sabrina
Hope everyone enjoyed the spider biscuits at the Halloween party 🙂
Debra says
Oh, I can't believe how easy these were to make...and so incredibly cute! I cannot wait to serve them at our neighborhood block party.
Luke says
Thank you, Debra
Hope everyone enjoys our spider biscuits 🙂
Jere Cassidy says
Super cute idea. I love shortbread cookies, but good thought on buying premade cookies to decorate.
Luke says
Thank you Jere 🙂
Homemade is always best but always good to have that quick option 😉
Enjoy!!
Gillian says
These look fantastic for the kids parties brilliant idea