Description
Celebrate Halloween with this festive Spider Pie, featuring a graham cracker crust, creamy pumpkin cheesecake filling, and adorable Oreo spider decorations. Perfect for a spooky dessert that’s both fun and delicious.
Ingredients
Scale
For the crust:
- 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (84 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
- 16 ounces (454 grams) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 7.5 ounces (212 grams) canned pumpkin puree
For spiderweb and baby spider leg frosting:
- 1/3 cup (56 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon black cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon refined coconut oil or unsalted butter
For mama spider:
- 1 normal-sized Oreo
- 2 normal-sized candy eyes
- Mini pretzels (5-6 pieces recommended)
For baby spiders:
- 8 mini Oreos
- 16 mini candy eyes (1/4″ or 6 mm in diameter)
- Leftover black frosting from the spiderweb
Instructions
- Prepare the crust: In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and salt until well combined. Stir in the melted butter until fully mixed. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9” pie pan. The crust will be thick. Place the crust in the freezer while preparing the filling.
- Prepare the filling: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Remove 1/4 (about 197 grams) of this cheesecake filling into a separate bowl. To this portion, add the canned pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice, and beat on low speed until combined. Set the pumpkin filling aside.
- Layer the pie: Spread half (approximately 294 grams) of the white cheesecake filling over the frozen crust. Freeze for 30 minutes or until firm enough to spread the next layer on top. Then, spread the entire pumpkin filling evenly over the white layer. Freeze again for 40 minutes or until firm. Finally, spread the remaining white filling over the pumpkin layer to finish the pie.
- Make the spiderweb frosting: Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl at half power in 30-second increments, stirring after each interval. Stir in the black cocoa powder and coconut oil until the mixture becomes glossy and fudge-like. If too runny to pipe, let it cool or refrigerate, stirring occasionally until thickened.
- Pipe the spiderweb: Fit a piping bag with a Wilton #5 tip and fill it with the black chocolate frosting. Pipe a plus sign (+) on the pie surface, then an X over it, and finally connect the lines with curved piping to form a spiderweb.
- Assemble the spiders: Using a sharp paring knife, carefully cut off legs from mini pretzels and gently open the normal-sized Oreo. Place the pretzel legs between the two Oreo wafers so that the legs point downward like a spider’s. Optionally, pipe a bit of chocolate frosting inside to secure the legs after scraping off the Oreo’s white filling. Attach candy eyes to the top Oreo wafer using small dabs of frosting and place it over the bottom Oreo to form the mama spider. For the baby spiders, pipe a small amount of frosting on the bottom of each mini candy eye and affix them to the mini Oreos. Place the mama spider in the center of the pie and arrange the baby spiders around her. Use leftover black frosting with a Wilton #2 tip to pipe four small straight legs on each side of the baby spiders.
- Storage: Freeze the undecorated pie for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or on the countertop for 20-30 minutes. Candy eyes should not be refrigerated as moisture causes color bleeding. The decorated pie with spiderweb can be refrigerated for up to 3 days but add the spiders just before serving.
Notes
- For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free graham cracker crumbs, gluten-free Oreos, and gluten-free pretzels.
- If pumpkin pie spice is unavailable, substitute with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon cloves or allspice.
- 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) of graham cracker crumbs equals about 12 full sheets of crackers.
- If you live outside North America and your cream cheese is the spreadable type in plastic tubs rather than the brick style, drain excess liquid by wrapping it in cheesecloth and squeezing until 450 grams remain.
- Use about 5 to 6 mini pretzels for the spider legs; some may break while cutting, so have extras ready.
- This recipe yields 12 slices; nutrition information is based on this serving size and excludes candy eyes.
- Nutrition info is an estimate; consult a professional for precise details.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/12 of pie)
- Calories: 420 kcal
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 210 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 18 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 33 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg
