Caramel Nut Brown Recluse Spiders

Name: Caramel Nut Brown Recluse Spiders
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: 5-8 Spiders
Ingredients: 1 standard bag of white macadamia nuts; 1 standard bag of plain peanuts; 1 standard bag werther's original candy; 1 standard can edible brown spray food coloring

Submitted by ChristineMcConnell

"Halloween is the perfect time of year to gather around friends and watch horror movies. Popcorn is a universally-loved treat for such a gathering and I think I've developed the perfect accent piece for your next bucket at this year's monster movie marathon—might I suggest 'Arachnophobia'? This recipe features four simple ingredients and requires just a touch of patience to make something that I promise will give even its creator the heebie jeebies. Side note: Any uneaten spiders should be discreetly placed about your home with the intent to startle yourself and others throughout the year."

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photo by ChristineMcConnell

Ready In:: 3hrs 30mins
Ingredients:: 4
Yields:: 5-8 Spiders

ingredients

1 standard bag of white macadamia nuts
1 standard bag of plain peanuts
1 standard bag werther's original candy
1 standard can edible brown spray food coloring

directions

Heat oven to 310 degrees and space half bag of unwrapped candies on two parchment lined baking sheets. Melt until JUST softened (Around 5-7 minutes) and pull off bits and stretch into 1" - 1 1/2" spider legs. You'll have to keep placing baking sheets into the oven to reheat and I won't lie—this part is tedious.
Once your poor, semi-burned fingers feel like snapping and you just can't make any more, the fun begins! Using any small nuggets of candy left on your sheet, use a pair of long stemmed tweezers and torch to heat. Glue one macadamia nut and half of one peanut together. You can adhere these on a flat parchment-lined surface OR you can glue the peanut upwards on a slight angle and make spiders that look as though they're ready to pounce!
Use a brûlée torch or hand held lighter to heat base joints of spider legs and apply 8 to each nut cluster. Once your spiders are adequately horrifying, spray the tops with a quick burst of food coloring spray and prepare to terrify and amaze your guests.

Questions & Replies

What do you use to glue the nuts together?

Michelle M.

Reviews

So, burnt fingers seems like a right of passage for this, but so worth it! Glad I came across these on Christine's Netflix series. First time working with caramel/sugar decorations and the more I made the easier it became. Time consuming, but worth it as well.
Rebecca D.
My caramel legs won't make. They get hard and break too fast. Maybe its the colder weather. Idk. But frustrated. Any suggestions?

Sarah C.
I put 2/3 caramels in a cup and heated it in the microwave until melted. Then I scooped a little bit up with a knife (making it a long strand) and waited for it to cool. I didn't burn my fingers! No matter what I did the nuts would not stick! So I tried with Reeses pieces ;) and they still look very cute!

Jenni G.

Tweaks

I had to improvise with hazelnuts as well as macadamia. Also, I used Salted Caramel flavored melting chips as my glue, the caramel liked to just pop off the body.

Rebecca D.