Spider Cookies

As I mentioned yesterday, we went out for Bonfire Night and I was asked to provide a cake or pudding. I took the Bonfire Cake that I'd made, but I also wanted to make something special for the children. I did a bit of research on the internet, I came across a recipe on the BBC Good Food website, but I added my own twist!

Spider Cookies
2 packets of Oreos, whichever variety you like. 2 packets should make 14 spiders.
I used a packet of strawberry shoe laces, but any similar sweet such as liquorice will do instead, chop them into 2.5 cm pieces
150g bar of Green & Blacks 72% chocolate or equivalent, you could use a good quality milk chocolate
White chocolate buttons
Milk or dark chocolate drops

Break the chocolate into a pan and gently melt it. Remove it from the heat.
While the chocolate is melting, prepare yourself with a damp cloth to clean your hands as you go along - this is a messy job. Make sure all your ingredients are to hand so you can get a little production line going. You will also need a cocktail stick or skewer.
Get an Oreo and dip it in the chocolate so that one of the flat sides is covered in chocolate. Place it chocolate side up on a board. Position on 8 legs, then take another Oreo and coat both flat sides with chocolate (this is where it gets messy and be careful the chocolate is hot!). Place that Oreo on top of the other, the legs will be sandwiched in the middle, so when it cools the Oreos will be joined together with the legs sticking out. Quickly place 2 chocolate buttons on top for eyes (make sure you put them so the eyes are at the front and the legs at the side). Then to make the pupils get chocolate drops, use the cocktail stick to put a drop of melted chocolate on the bottom of the drop to use as glue to stick it to a button.

Repeat this until you have 14 spiders (or 13 if you sampled the Oreo's like I did!!). Put them somewhere safe to cool until you are ready for them to be eaten.

These were delicious, a bit big for little mouths and therefore a bit tricky to eat, but fun and very chocolately as you can imagine and because they are made from Oreo's amazingly crunchy. I would advise one each, but I did hear that one of the children ate 3!!...I hope they didn't have Bonfire Cake too. The adults seem to like them too.

It's a bit late to make these for Halloween or Bonfire Night now obviously, but they are ideal things to make with the children on a rainy afternoon (just make sure the chocolate cools and they are wearing aprons) and brilliant for birthday parties or a picnic and great for those who find baking a bit of an enigma.

I'm sure you could use skewers (without a point) or sticks to make these into spider cookie lollies, or even adapt them with some writing icing into beetles or ladybirds/bugs, I'm even thinking bears or foxes with some  imagination and some jellies or dolly mixtures or chocolate shapes.

I'd love to hear if you try anything.