These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are decorated with candy eyes to look like little chocolate spiders for the most adorable kid-friendly Halloween treats!
Using a stand or hand mixer, cream together the brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and creamy.
Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until the texture is light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes, it should look much paler than before). Then beat in the pumpkin puree.
Stir in the flour, baking soda, pumpkin spice, and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. The dough should be wet and sticky.
Using a spoon or spatula, gently fold in the dark chocolate wafers.
Spoon a generous 3 tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Cover the dough and chill in the fridge overnight (minimum of 2 hours if you just can't wait).
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a light colored baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place dough balls at least 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheet (they will spread, I usually only do 5 cookies on a half sheet pan).
Bake cookies for 9-11 minute or until the edges are set and the centers are still soft.
Immediately after removing from the oven, press a couple chocolate wafers into the tops of the warm, soft pumpkin cookies. Then press candy eyes on top of the chocolate wafers.
Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Once the cookies have fully cooled to room temperature you can pipe the chocolate spider legs! Melt the leftover chocolate wafers and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (or small sandwich bag with the corner cut off). Then pipe legs onto all the chocolate spiders.
Notes
To make brown butter, melt unsalted butter over medium heat, stirring frequently. Watch closely for the butter to develop brown specs and a nutty aroma. Once you start seeing brown specs, let cook for just a few seconds longer (watch very carefully or it will burn). Remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl so that it doesn't continue to cook. Set aside and let cool for about 20 minutes in the fridge until soft and pliable. Note: For every ½ cup (1 stick or 113g), you'll lose about 1 tablespoon (14g) to evaporation while cooking. So you can either add in an extra 1 tablespoon before browning, or if you're browning big batches, just make up the weight difference in your recipe with regular unsalted butter if needed.Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days (they'll definitely be gone before then though).Freeze pre-rolled cookie dough balls in the freezer for up to 6 months.