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Spooky Witch Finger Cookies with Almond Nails

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These spooky witch finger cookies with almond nails are the perfect mix of creepy and delicious. They look genuinely unsettling but taste like a soft, buttery shortbread with a sweet almond finish, and they’re surprisingly simple to make.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup (2 sticks or 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ⅓ cup (about 40g) sliced almonds or whole almonds, sliced lengthwise
  • Red food coloring (gel works best)
  • A small jar of raspberry or strawberry jam

Instructions

  1. Cream the butter and sugar: In your mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until it’s light, fluffy, and pale in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
  2. Add the wet ingredients: Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract until fully combined. The mixture might look a little curdled at this point, that’s totally normal.
  3. Mix the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add this to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed until a soft dough forms. It should be pliable but not sticky. If it feels too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it comes together.
  4. Chill the dough: Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  5. Preheat and prepare: When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C). Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
  6. Shape the ‘fingers’: Take a small piece of chilled dough, about the size of a walnut, and roll it into a log shape, about 3 inches long and ¾ inch thick. One end should be slightly thicker (the ‘wrist’ end) and the other end should taper a bit (the ‘fingertip’ end). Place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
  7. Create the knuckles: Using the back of a sharp knife or a bench scraper, gently press 2 or 3 horizontal lines into each ‘finger’ to create the knuckle creases. Don’t press too hard, you just want an indentation. You can also gently squeeze the sides of the finger to make it look more realistic.
  8. Add the almond ‘nails’: Press one sliced almond firmly into the tapered end of each finger. Make sure it’s pushed in enough that it won’t fall off during baking.
  9. Bake: Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are just barely starting to turn golden. The cookies will still be soft, but they’ll firm up as they cool.
  10. Cool and decorate: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. While they’re still slightly warm, use a small brush or a toothpick to dab a tiny bit of red food coloring around the ‘nail’ area and at the base of the finger (the ‘wrist’ end) to look like blood. For extra gore, add a tiny dot of raspberry jam at the ‘cut’ end.

Notes

Don’t skip the almond extract; it gives the cookies that distinct marzipan-like flavor. For the ‘blood,’ raspberry jam works best for color and taste. If the dough gets too warm while shaping, pop it back in the fridge for 10 minutes. Don’t overbake, or the cookies will be hard instead of tender. The imperfections in shaping make the fingers look more realistic.

Nutrition

Keywords: Halloween cookies, witch finger cookies, spooky cookies, almond cookies, shortbread cookies, Halloween dessert, creepy cookies, easy Halloween recipe

Find it online: https://leilameals.com/spooky-witch-finger-cookies-with-almond-nails-best-easy-recipe/