Halloween Spider Whoopie Pie

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.

In another bowl, cream butter and sugars with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat until well combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Beat until just incorporated, and the dough comes together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Use an ice cream scoop and scoop the cookie dough onto the baking pans then gently press on the top to lightly flatten the ball. Space them 2 inches apart. Bake cookies for 12 minutes. Then remove pans from the oven and let cookies cool completely.

To prepare buttercream, put butter into a medium-sized bowl and use a mixer to be on high until fluffy. Add melted chocolate and sugar and beat until incorporated. Add cream and beat until you get to the right consistency.

To assemble the cookies, spoon 1 tablespoon of buttercream onto the bottom centre of one cookie. Place another cookie on top. Lightly press to evenly push the filling to the edge of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies are sandwiched.

To make the spider legs, draw the leg pattern (three for each left and right leg) on a piece of parchment paper. Make enough patterns for all of the legs. Flip over the paper on a big plate or cutting board and make sure you can see the pattern through clearly. This is the side you are going to pipe on.

Melt the chocolate chips (you can do this in the top of a double boiler or in the microwave, heating for only 30 seconds at a time, just until melted). Once melted mix in the cocoa powder until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a piping bag and cut off one of the bottom tips of the bag to leave a tiny hole.

Squeeze the melted chocolate out of the little opening and onto the parchment paper, along the leg patterns.

Put the plate or cutting board in the freezer for 5 minutes to harden the legs. Remove from the freezer, and gently peel off the legs from the parchment paper. Set aside.

To prepare the spider eyes, flatten the marshmallows with your finger tip. Use a toothpick to dip the marshmallow in black coloring paste, and gently tip the color in the middle of the each marshmallow. Use the leftover melted chocolate to adhere two eyes on each whoopie pie.

Insert three legs into a side of one spider’s buttercream filling, and three more legs into the opposite side.