Directions

Position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds and preheat to 375°F. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Divide the chocolate candy into larger and smaller pieces, designating the larger ones for the spider bodies and the smaller ones for the heads.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Incorporate the vanilla and egg, mixing for about 1 minute, then add the peanut butter and blend until creamy. Gradually mix in the flour mixture, first half, then the rest, beating until fully combined. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, spacing them about an inch apart on the prepared sheets.

Bake for approximately 16 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cookies are lightly golden and have spread to about 2 inches wide. They should emit a strong peanut butter aroma and feel dry and firm on top when pressed.

While the cookies bake, melt chocolate using a double boiler, then let it cool slightly until it thickens but remains pipeable. Once the cookies are out of the oven, transfer them to a cooling rack and immediately press two chocolate candies into each cookie, placing the smaller one at the edge and the larger one in the center.

When the melted chocolate has thickened, transfer it to a plastic bag and snip a small corner to create a piping bag. Pipe eight legs on each cookie, starting from where the two candies meet; the front four legs should curve upward toward the head, while the back four should curve backward beyond the body.

Set aside the leftover chocolate in the piping bag for the eye pupils. For the eyes, use the cake decorating gel to pipe two 1/4-inch circles on the "heads" of each spider. Add a small dot of the reserved melted chocolate in the center of each circle to create the pupils.