Bake a Halloween treat with Aaron's Chocolate Tahini Spider Web Cookies

Take trick or treat to another level as Season 5 Great Australian Bake Off finalist, Aaron Hawton, shares a recipe for Chocolate Tahini Spider Web Cookies that’ll make your mouth water.

I’m sure Aaron is going to get sick of me asking him to do this when another holiday season comes around.

But I just think it’s camp and fun, plus I can’t bake unless someone shows me how to do it.

Last time we dived into recipes for Christmas in July, now it’s time for Halloween.

You may have noticed that things are a little different with QNews in the past few months.

Ever since we transitioned from a magazine to a digital-first publication, I have been branching out in how we can engage with our LGBTQIA+ audiences.

One of those ways is trying to bring some of the magazine’s fun into the online world.

So I thought, why not reach out to one of my mates who is also a former Great Australian Bake Off finalist and ask him to create a Halloween treat?

When Aaron appeared on Season 5 of Bake Off, he was the English teacher and inclusive rugby player for the Melbourne Chargers, who made it to the finals.

He discovered his love for baking at a young age, often helping his grandmother in the kitchen.

Enjoying experimenting with new recipes and flavours, he has continued this online by sharing recipes for all to enjoy.

We couldn’t be more pleased that he has dived into his cauldron and created a recipe for Chocolate Tahini Spider Web Cookies.

I can’t wait to try them.

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Chocolate Tahini Spider Web Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes (plus 90 minutes chilling)

Cook time: 15-20 minutes (plus cooling time)

Makes 16 cookies (8 sandwiches)

What do you need:

200g softened butter

1 cup (200g) dark brown sugar

½ cup (100g) caster sugar

¼ cup (60g) black sesame paste or tahini (see cook’s tips)

1 tsp vanilla extract

And 1 large egg

1 ⅓ cups (200g) plain flour

½ cup (45g) black cocoa powder (see cook’s tips)

1tsp baking powder

1/2tsp baking soda

1/2tsp salt

To decorate:

3 large white marshmallows

50g dark chocolate, melted, or gummy lollies of your choice

1 L of ice cream of your choice

Method:

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2. In another large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla and sesame paste, and beat to combine before beating in the egg.

3. In 2 or 3 additions, stir the flour into the wet mixture until fully combined, being careful not to overmix. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes.

4. Portion the chilled dough into 16 pieces (you can weigh these or just eyeball it), rolling each into a ball. Divide the balls between two baking trays and chill for at least 30 minutes.

5. While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Bake the cookies for 13-16 minutes, or until firm at the edges.

6. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the trays before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will firm up as they cool.

7. To decorate, place the marshmallows in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 20-30 seconds, or until puffed. Allow to cool slightly.

8. Working quickly, pick up and stretch some of the melted marshmallow between your fingers to create something that looks like spider webbing. Quickly wrap some webbing around each cookie and allow it to cool and set.

9. To decorate, stick gummy lollies (sour worms, etc) to the spider webs, or pipe spider shapes with melted chocolate. Serve individually, or make ice cream sandwiches.

10. For ice cream sandwiches, only apply the marshmallow webs to half the cookies. Place a generous scoop of your favourite ice cream on the flat side of each ‘naked’ cookie and sandwich a decorated cookie on top. Freeze until ready to serve.

Cook’s tips:

Black sesame paste and black cocoa give these cookies their dark colouring and can be found at specialty grocers. Black sesame is more bitter than regular tahini, and black cocoa has a more Oreo-like flavour than regular