Halloween Spider Bites {Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. water
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 Tsp. vanilla
• 1 package black rope licorice cut into short 1” pieces
• 2 eggs
• 1 small tube of green (or color of choice) decorating gel
• Toothpicks

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large bowl, combine shortening, sugar, water, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add eggs into the mixture and blend.
• Slowly mix in flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder using low-medium speed.
• Drop tablespoon helpings of mixture onto ungreased cookie sheets and roll each helping into a ball.
• Bake 9 minutes at 375 degrees. The batch should produce around three dozen cookies.
• Let cookies cool for about 10 minutes. Then using a toothpick, create four small holes in either side of the cookie.
• Still using the toothpick, push one end of a piece of the cut licorice into each hole, creating the “legs” of the spider.
• Once all eight pieces are in place, create eyes or decorate at will using the green decorating gel.
• Then serve and enjoy!

Recipe idea adapted from “The Braces Cookbook” by Pamela Waterman. Image courtesy of the American Association of Orthodontists.