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+ servings
a spider pie showing a round 3-layer pumpkin and vanilla cheesecake decorated with a spider web with one big Oreo mama spider and 8 mini Oreo spider babies

Spider Pie for Halloween

Author Erin Dooner
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 slices
Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
This spider pie is a fun, 3-layer no-bake pumpkin cheesecake topped with a spiderweb, a spider mama, and 8 little spider babies. It’s easier than it sounds and can be made traditional or gluten-free. If you're gluten-free, refer to the notes below.

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) graham cracker crumbs see notes
  • 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 temp, see notes
  • 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter room temp
  • 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • pinch salt
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice see notes
  • 7.5 oz (212 grams) canned pumpkin puree that's 1/2 of a 15-ounce can

For spiderweb and baby spider leg frosting:

For mama spider:

  • 1 normal-sized Oreo
  • 2 normal-sized candy eyes
  • mini pretzels see notes

For baby spiders:

  • 8 mini Oreos
  • 16 mini candy eyes 1/4" (6mm) 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.
    1 1/2 cups (180 grams) graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • Stir in the butter until well combined.
    6 tablespoons (84 grams) unsalted butter
  • Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9” pie pan. Pat it as evenly as you can get it. It’ll be thick! Freeze the crust while you prepare the filling.

Prepare the filling:

  • In a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer beat the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy.
    16 ounces (454 grams) full-fat cream cheese, 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, pinch salt
  • Remove 1/4 (197 grams) of the cheesecake filling to another medium mixing bowl, and to that new bowl (with 197 grams of filling), beat in the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice on low until combined. Set aside.
    1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 7.5 oz (212 grams) canned pumpkin puree
  • Spread 1/2 (294 grams) of the white filling over the frozen pie crust (it’ll have frozen pretty quickly).
  • Place in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes or until firm enough to easily spread the pumpkin layer over the top.
  • Then spread all of the pumpkin filling over the 1st layer of cheesecake.
  • Place in the freezer for about 20-40 minutes or until firm enough to easily spread the second cheesecake layer over the top.
  • Spread the second half of the white filling over the pumpkin layer.

Make the spiderweb:

  • You can put the eyes on the Oreo babies and completely assemble the mama in advance. If you put candy eyes in the refrigerator, the moisture from the fridge causes the black pupils to bleed a bit. So you don't want to put them in the fridge.
  • Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl at half power in 30-second increments, stirring after every 30 seconds.
    1/3 cup (56 grams) semi-sweet chocolate
  • Stir in the cocoa powder and coconut oil. The texture will change to something glossy and more like fudge frosting. If it’s too runny right now to pipe (it’ll depend on how hot your chocolate got), then let it sit a few minutes, or refrigerate and stir often until thickened a bit.
    1 tablespoon black cocoa powder, 3/4 teaspoon refined coconut oil
  • Fit a piping bag with Wilton #5 and fill it with the frosting.
  • It's easiest to make the spiderweb by piping on plus sign. Then make an X. Then you connect them to form a spiderweb.

Make the spiders:

  • Cut off the legs from mini pretzels with a very sharp paring knife.
    mini pretzels
  • Use that knife to open the Oreo.
    1 normal-sized Oreo
  • Place the spider legs between the two wafers. Make sure the legs are pointing down like spiders and not sideways, like crabs. They won’t be in there very securely, but I had no issues with moving the spider onto the pie (however, I did not transport this pie!). If you want, you can pipe on some chocolate frosting to secure the legs onto the bottom wafer. Once it hardens, it’ll act as glue. If you want to do that, you should scrape off the white from the Oreo. That would also make it more spider-like!
  • Pipe a little frosting on the bottom of 2 eyes for the mama spider and then attach them.
    2 normal-sized candy eyes
  • Put the top Oreo with the eyes over the bottom Oreo piece with the legs. Place the mama spider in the middle of the pie.
  • For the babies, pipe a little frosting on the bottom of each of the 16 eyes and then attach them to the 8 mini Oreos.
    8 mini Oreos, 16 mini candy eyes
  • Place mama spider in the middle and the 8 babies around her. Pipe on 4 small straight legs on each side of the spider baby with a smaller tip like Wilton #2.
    leftover black frosting from the spiderweb

Storage:

  • You can freeze the undecorated pie for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge for 1-2 hours or on the countertop for about 20-30 minutes.
  • Again, the candy eyeballs should not be refrigerated. You can refrigerate the pie with the spiderweb for up to 3 days, but don't add the spiders until serving.

Notes

  • If you're gluten-free, make sure to use GF graham cracker crumbs, GF Oreos and GF pretzels.
  • If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can use 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon cloves or allspice.
  • 1 1/2 cups (180 g) of graham cracker crumbs is about 12 full sheets of crackers.
  • If you live outside of North America and have the kind of cream cheese that's meant for toast (that comes in a little plastic tub) rather than American style brick cream cheese, then get two 300-gram packages of cream cheese, place it in the center of a cheesecloth, and wring out the liquid until you have 450 grams of cream cheese left.
  • You might need up to 10 mini pretzels to make sure you get nice-looking legs, some pretzels might break while cutting - I used 5 or 6.
  • This recipe yields 8-12 slices. Nutrition information was calculated based on 12 slices and does not include the candy eyes.
  • The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.

Nutrition

Calories: 457kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 4gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 238mgPotassium: 167mgFiber: 2gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 3679IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 64mgIron: 2mgNet Carbs: 41
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