Chewy chocolate chip spider cookies

I made these cookies in the height of lockdown when the home-schooling theme of the week was creepy crawlies. Like all the best cookies, they are crisp on the outside, chewy in the middle and stuffed full of chocolate!

Halloween is the perfect excuse to resurrect the recipe and I have a feeling they’re going to make an appearance in our house every year from now on.

I tend to shy away from super unhealthy recipes when cooking with my kids, but sometimes you just have to go for it! My advice is to share the love and give away as many as presents as you can; don’t serve them too close to bedtime; and maybe set up a spooky obstacle course in the garden to burn off some of that energy?!

Makes around 30 cookies

• 175 g salted butter, melted
• 225 g light muscovado sugar
• 100 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
• 250 g self-raising flour
• 350 g dark chocolate chips
• 30 large chocolate buttons or chunks
• 60 edible candy eyes

1. Preheat the oven to 180⁰C (160 fan) / gas 4 and grease and line two large baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Cream together the butter, sugars and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the egg and egg yolk a third at a time until smoothly combined, then fold in the flour and 300 g of the chocolate chips.
3. Use a tablespoon measure to portion the cookie dough onto the trays, leaving plenty of space for them to spread. Add a large chocolate button or chunk to the centre of each one.
4. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until the edges have set and toasted a little (the centres will continue to set as they cool). Press candy eyes into each chocolate body.
5. Wait for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to wire racks to cool, then repeat with any left over cookie dough.
6. Melt the remaining 50 g of chocolate chips in a microwave or bain marie and transfer to a small piping bag. Pipe eight legs onto each spider and leave to set before serving.