Shivers and things that go bump in the night.  Halloween is just around the corner.  Are you looking for a fun activity to do with all your little ghouls and goblins?  This fantastically scary and delicious Spider Dip Bowl is right up the spooky alley.

In my family we have a tradition of a Halloween themed dinner the night all my little spooks go out trick or treating.  This Spider dip bowl has crawled its' way onto the menu this year.  I was also racking my brain trying to find a fun activity for my daughter Angella's 9th birthday party.  We had a lot of kids and it was so much fun! (I can't lie, a bit crazy too)  What is better than playing with dough.... and eating it!!

You will need the following ingredients:

20 Rhodes™ Dinner rolls or 12 Texas™ Rolls, thawed but still cold

(if you want extra legs for dipping you will need more rolls for additional bread sticks)

Marinara sauce

¼ cup butter, melted

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Garlic salt to taste

small tube of black gel frosting

I had a hard time when I went to the store to stock up on my ingredients.  No black gel frosting to be found.  Plan B; I had some black food coloring at home so I just bought a can of frosting instead.  Sometime we have to get creative.

First, you need to let your rolls thaw.  My favorite method is to let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight.  It is so much easier to control the temperature of the bread dough this way.  You will want the rolls cold to touch.

Combine 10 ½ dinner rolls or 7 Texas rolls into a ball for the body and place on sprayed baking sheet.

Shape 1 Texas roll or 1 ½ dinner rolls combined into an oval and place next to the large body for the head.

Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise until double.  Remove wrap and bake at 350 ºF 20-25 minutes.

Place on cooling rack to cool.  You might even want to make the body and head the day before and allow cooling and hardening a bit.  This will help your spider hold its shape better once you add the marina sauce to the body. 

Roll out 8 dinner rolls or 4 Texas rolls cut in half into eight, 10-inch ropes for the legs.

Dip legs in melted butter and then in parmesan cheese. (YUM) Place the legs on a sprayed baking sheet in a tall, curved shape to resemble spider legs.   Like the letter c or a rainbow.  Sprinkle with garlic salt.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30-45 minutes.

Remove wrap and bake the legs at 350ºF 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Place on cooling rack to cool.

Before assembling your Spider, make sure the body and legs are completely cool.  This will save you a lot of grief and frustration.  I would also make extra legs so you can choose the best ones for your dip bowl.  The dinner rolls have 36 rolls to a bag, I would plan on using the whole bag.  That way you will have plenty of bread sticks.

Cut a circle out of the top of the body and pull out the bread, leaving bread around the inserted legs to stabilize them. 

Cut an X with a knife in 4 places along both sides of the cooled body on the top edge. Push one end of a curved leg into each of the X’s.

Line the dip bowl with plastic wrap if desired. Fill the dip bowl with marinara sauce for dipping. Use black frosting gel to squeeze two beady eyes onto cooled spider head. Use more rolls to make extra legs for dipping, if desired.  (You will want extra legs!)

This project was a hit with the party guests and will be a hit with your little ghouls!  Happy Halloween baking! Let this Spider crawl its' way into your kitchen!  I know you will love this Spider Dip Bowl and it will make a great center piece to your Halloween table.  Let's hang up our aprons until we bake again!

Click here to print the recipe.

Click here to watch the video.