Witch's Finger Cookies Recipe for Halloween
Create some wicked Witches Fingers Cookies for Halloween. They are an entertaining, not overly frightening Halloween treat. These cookies will garner all kinds of attention and plenty of compliments, as they are both delicious and eerie!
Even my husband, who typically dislikes nuts, found enjoyment in these Halloween-themed Sugar Cookies. He simply removed the almond 'nail' and savored the rest!
Why You Should Make Them
They were inspired by Martha Stewart, who has a fondness for Halloween!
Sugar cookies are adored by everyone!
They possess a creepy aesthetic without requiring much effort.
I recall watching Martha Stewart prepare witches’ fingers cookies for Halloween many years ago. If my memory is accurate, I believe her Halloween Cookies were tinted a light green!
Knowing they were essentially sugar cookies molded into finger shapes, I assumed my family would eagerly partake. Although, I anticipated the almonds would likely end up in the trash. Or perhaps in my mouth, if I could manage to snatch them away. They turned out to be a success!
Witches Fingers Cookies displayed upright in a white ramekin.
Expert Recommendations:
PRO-Tip: If the dough becomes warm while you are handling it, place the bowl of dough or the baking sheet with the rolled fingers into the refrigerator or freezer to cool the dough.
Chilling the dough should help minimize spreading during baking.
PRO-Tip: You can create the nails using whole almonds or sliced almonds. I was unable to locate whole blanched almonds (without the brown skin), so I blanched them myself by briefly immersing them in boiling water, then rinsing them under cold water, and removing the skin with my fingers. For further details, refer to the frequently asked questions below.
I utilized red icing gel for the bloody nail beds. If you prefer a more natural option, consider using strawberry or raspberry jelly or jam in your finger cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Witches Fingers are cookies designed to resemble fingers. To give them the appearance of being from a witch’s hand, the nails are crafted from gnarled blanched almonds, and the nail beds are made to look bloody by affixing them with red food gel.
Knuckly wrinkles are created by Indentations are created using the dull edge of a table knife, while the fingers are formed by producing symmetrical indentations along the sides of each finger.
Blanching almonds involves the removal of the dark skins from each almond by briefly immersing them in a pan of boiling water. Allow them to boil for one minute, then transfer them to a colander, rinse with cool water, and peel off the skins. Ensure they are dried thoroughly before use.
Notes
The chilling periods will assist in reducing the likelihood of the cookies spreading. If your dough appears crumbly, simply add a small amount of milk, drop by drop, until the consistency improves.
INGREDIENTS
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325° F. Combine dry ingredients. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla, beat in dry ingredients. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
If you want to paint the nails first, use some red food coloring that's been diluted with water and brush on with a clean artist's brush.
Working with one-quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remaining dough refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoons full of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press an almond firmly into one end for nail. Squeeze in center to create a knuckle shape and use a paring knife make slashes in several places to form knuckle.
Place cookies on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for three minutes. If desired, lift up almond and squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place so gel oozes out from underneath.
Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough. The witch finger recipe is ready...enjoy the cookies !
cheddar-witchs-fingers-recipe
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
- red food coloring, preferably paste type
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325° F. Combine dry ingredients. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla, beat in dry ingredients. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
If you want to paint the nails first, use some red food coloring that's been diluted with water and brush on with a clean artist's brush.
Working with one-quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remaining dough refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoons full of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press an almond firmly into one end for nail. Squeeze in center to create a knuckle shape and use a paring knife make slashes in several places to form knuckle.
Place cookies on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for three minutes. If desired, lift up almond and squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place so gel oozes out from underneath.
Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough. The witch finger recipe is ready...enjoy the cookies !
cheddar-witchs-fingers-recipe
No comments:
Post a Comment