Spider Nest Candies Recipes

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt chocolate and butterscotch chips, stir until smooth. Stir in chow mein noodles and peanuts until well coated. , Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line muffin tins with 15 muffin cases (bake a second batch of the extra 3 if you only have one 12-hole tin). Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, flour, vanilla and milk in that order. Quickly stir in the hundreds & thousands with as little effort as you can, then divide the mixture between the cases - the more you work the batter, the more the sprinkles will bleed their colour, so it's best to do this quickly and efficiently. Bake for 20 mins until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Leave to cool.
• Peel off the paper cases, and turn the cakes upside down. Cover with cling film until it's nearly party time.
• Just before the party, mix a splash of water into some sifted icing sugar, and add a good blob to the top of each cake. Tease off some candy floss and stick a little pile on each - the less you handle it, the less it will disintegrate. Add a toy spider to each, or make your own - stick 4 long liquorice lace strands to the back of giant chocolate buttons with some more runny icing, flip over and leave to set.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and marshmallows until smooth, stirring occasionally. Add the peanut butter and chocolate chips; heat and stir for 2 minutes or until smooth. Remove from the heat; stir in chow mein noodles until well coated. , Divide into 12 mounds on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Using fingers, shape each into a nest; press an indentation in the center of nest. Fill each nest with three or four jelly beans or candy eggs. Cool.

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Separate the chocolate candy balls into larger and smaller balls. The larger balls will make up the spider bodies and the smaller balls the heads.
• Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Cream the sugar and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg and mix until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Add the peanut butter and mix until creamy, about 1 minute. Turn the mixer speed down to low and add half of the flour mixture. Beat on medium until incorporated, then turn the speed down to low again and add the rest of the flour mixture. Beat on medium until incorporated.
• Roll the dough by hand into 1-inch balls, place about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cookies are light golden brown and have spread to about 2 inches wide, about 16 minutes. The cookies are done when they smell very peanut buttery and the tops feel dry and slightly firm when pressed with fingers.
• Meanwhile, melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Remove from the heat and let cool briefly so that it is slightly thickened but still pipe-able.
• When the cookies are done, remove them from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack. Immediately push 2 chocolate candies directly into each hot cookie, putting a smaller chocolate ball toward the edge of the cookie and a larger chocolate ball directly behind it in the center of the cookie.
• When the melted chocolate has thickened slightly, put it into a plastic bag and cut a small hole in the corner to create a piping bag. Pipe 8 legs on each cookie, starting from the point where the 2 chocolate candies meet. Pipe the front 4 legs so that they curve up toward the head and the back 4 legs so that they curve backward beyond the body. Reserve the remaining chocolate in the piping bag for the pupils of the eyes.
• To make eyes, pipe two 1/4-inch circles on the "heads" of each spider with the cake decorating gel. Pipe a tiny dot of the reserved melted chocolate in the center of each to make the pupils.

Steps:

• Spread 1 teaspoon of peanut butter on the tops of 24 crackers. Place four noodles on each side of each cracker; top with the remaining crackers. Spread a small amount of peanut butter on each raisin; place two on each cracker for eyes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with baking parchment.
• Beat shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup white sugar together with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat egg into the creamy mixture until fully incorporated. Stir milk and vanilla extract into the mixture until smooth.
• Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl; add to the wet mixture in the large bowl and stir until completely incorporated into a dough. Divide and shape dough into 48 balls.
• Spread 1/4 cup white sugar into a wide, shallow bowl. Roll dough balls in sugar to coat and arrange about 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and quickly press a dimple into the middle of each cookie using the blunt end of a wooden spoon. Cool cookies on sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
• Cut each chocolate sphere into two hemispheres. Put one piece atop each cookie with the rounded side facing upwards.
• Spoon frosting into a pastry bag with a small round tip or a plastic freezer bag with one end snipped off. Dab a small amount of frosting onto the back of each candy eyeball and stick two onto each chocolate candy to resemble eyes. Then pipe frosting in four thin lines, starting at the base of the candy, on each side atop the cookie to resemble spider legs.
• Let frosting harden at room temperature, about 30 minutes. Store cookies in an airtight container.