Vegan Halloween spiderweb cookies

These vegan Halloweenspiderweb cookies are soft, chocolatey, and fun to decorate. An easy,family-friendly treat for spooky season!

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Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 10

Chill time: 30

Total Time: 1

Servings: cookies

Calories: 230kcal

Author: Shayne J

Equipment

1 Stand-Up Mixer
1 Baking Sheet

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

½ cup vegan butter softened
¾ cup brown sugar packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Black gel food coloring
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 –2 tablespoon plant-based milk as needed

Vanilla Spiderweb Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
1 ½ –2 tablespoon plant-based milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the Dough

Beat the vegan butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy. Mix in the applesauce, vanilla, and ½ teaspoon black gel food coloring.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until a soft dough forms. Add more black gel coloring as needed to reach a deep black color. If the dough is dry, mix in plant-based milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
Cover and chill for 30 min.

Bake the Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scoop into 12 balls and place about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten each cookie with your palm.
Bake for 10–12 min, until the edges are set and the centers are still slightly soft. Cool for 5 min on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Make the Spiderwebs

Whisk the powdered sugar, plant-based milk, and vanilla until thick but pipeable.
Transfer to a piping bag or zip-top bag and snip off a tiny corner. Pipe 3–4 circles onto each cooled cookie. Drag a toothpick from the center outward several times to create the spiderweb. Let the icing set for about 20 min.

Notes

Black food coloring: Gel food coloring works best because it creates a deep black color without adding too much liquid to the cookie dough. Start with ½ teaspoon and add more as needed.

Cocoa powder: Unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder will both work. The cocoa gives the cookies a dark chocolate base so you need much less black food coloring.
Don’t overbake: The cookies should look set around the edges but slightly soft in the center when removed from the oven. They will continue to firm up as they cool.
Icing consistency: Keep the icing thick enough to hold its shape when piped. If it spreads too quickly, add a little more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick to pipe, add plant-based milk ½ teaspoon at a time.
Spiderwebs: Pipe several circles of icing onto each completely cooled cookie, then immediately drag a toothpick from the center toward the outside edge to create the web design.
Storage: Store the finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Let the icing fully set before stacking.

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