Looking for something cute to make for Halloween that’s fun and festive but not a complete sugar bomb? Look no farther than these whole wheat maple brownie Halloween spiderweb cookies!
These spiderweb maple brownie cookies are fluffy, soft, chocolate-y, and all around delicious. Plus, they are really cute! They’re fun to decorate for Halloween, and just as fun to eat. 🙂
Halloween Maple Brownie Cookies
You’d never guess that these cookies are whole wheat and sweetened only with 100% real maple syrup. Plus, there’s a delicious maple cream cheese frosting that gets drizzled on top – in the shape of spooky spiderwebs!
Here’s what you need to make these:
- dark chocolate
- eggs
- maple syrup
- whole wheat pastry flour
- butter
- vanilla
- baking powder
- salt
For another tasty fall-inspired recipe, try this maple cinnamon latte! Or, for a boozy cocktail, this fall sangria with bourbon is super festive.
How to Make Chocolate Brownie Cookies
These cookies come together quickly – just plan ahead long enough to put the batter in the freezer for an hour, or until you can scoop it with a spoon.
Start by melting butter and chopped dark chocolate in the microwave, using 15-second intervals (and stirring between each one).
Next, mix in the maple syrup and vanilla extract. Add eggs and whisk until smooth.
Then, stir in the dry ingredients (whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, and salt) until just combined. Freeze the batter for at least 1 hour, or until it’s scoop-able with a spoon.
Next, scoop tablespoon-sized drops of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes, or until cookies are just set.
The cream cheese frosting couldn’t get any easier to make. All you have to do is mix together softened cream cheese and maple syrup together until smooth.
(It would make a great filling, if you wanted to sandwich two cookies together to make whoopie pies!).
You could also easily modify these cookies for Christmas by drawing little snowmen on top instead of spider webs.
How to Decorate With Frosting Spiderwebs
The easiest way to work with the frosting is to put the corner of a zip-able bag into a cup and fold the bag over the edges of the cup, then spoon the frosting into the corner of the bag.
I learned this cup tip on a blog trip one summer that included a cooking demo (although they were using a fancy pastry bag – a plastic zip-able bag works fine).
Then you just squeeze out the extra air, seal the bag, and twist to make a little pastry bag.
To use, cut off the tiniest amount possible of the bag’s corner (you can always snip again to make the hole bigger) and squeeze out the frosting onto the cookies.
Here is a step by step photo collage of the spider web design! It’s super easy. 🙂
If you want to take it easy on decorating (or if really little kids are helping out), a “mummy” pattern is even easier!
Just squeeze the frosting back and forth quickly across the cookies. You can lay them out next to each other and drizzle several at a time, too.
Ready to go? The full spiderweb Halloween cookie recipe is at the end of this post. Be sure to use 100% real maple syrup, not the fake syrup imitations. 🙂
Feel free to share some of your Halloween favorites in the comments section!
And if you’re also a maple syrup fan, here are a couple other recipes on my blog that are sweetened only with maple syrup:
- Almond Butter Banana Breakfast Bars
- Oatmeal Banana Coconut Cookies
- Nutty Protein Granola Bars
- Vegan & Gluten Free Granola Bars
- Oatmeal Banana Pumpkin Cookies
Halloween Spiderweb Maple Brownie Cookies
These Halloween Spiderweb Cookies are easy and healthy, too! You'd never guess they are whole wheat and sweetened only with maple syrup.
Ingredients:
Cookie Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped dark chocolate
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Frosting Ingredients
- 3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Instructions:
For the cookies:
- In a microwaveable bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Microwave in 15 second intervals until the chocolate melts completely when stirred (it should take about 45 seconds).
- Stir in the maple syrup and vanilla. Transfer mixture to a larger bowl if necessary and whisk in the eggs until smooth.
- Add the whole wheat pastry flour, salt, and baking powder; whisk to incorporate. You should have a thick, pourable batter, almost like pancake batter.
- Freeze the batter for at least 1 hour, until you can scoop it with a spoon.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Scoop the dough out by tablespoonfuls onto a parchment paper or silicon mat lined baking sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until just set.
For the frosting:
- Stir the softened cream cheese and maple syrup together in a bowl. If the cream cheese is still too hard, microwave the mixture in 10 second increments until it blends together easily.
- Put the corner of a ziploc bag into a cup and fold the bag over the edges of the cup, then spoon the frosting into the corner of the bag. Squeeze out the extra air, seal the bag, and twist to make a little pastry bag.
- To use, cut off the tiniest amount possible of the bag's corner (you can always snip again to make the hole bigger) and squeeze out the frosting!
