Description
Witch Finger Cookies are spooky, fun, and delicious Halloween treats made with a buttery almond-flavored dough shaped into creepy fingers topped with red-painted almond fingernails. Perfect for parties and festive gatherings, these cookies combine tender crumbly texture with an eye-catching eerie presentation.
Ingredients
Scale
Almond Fingernails
- 48 whole blanched almonds
- 2 tsp red gel food coloring
Cookie Dough
- 8 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 8 oz powdered sugar (2 cups)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 15 oz all-purpose flour (3.5 cups)
- 2.5 oz almond flour (¾ cup)
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Paint the Almond Fingernails: Use a small food-safe paintbrush to evenly apply red gel food coloring to the top of each whole blanched almond. Set aside on a paper towel to dry completely. This can be done a few days ahead for convenience.
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line several baking sheets with parchment paper to prepare for baking the cookies.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, and salt until evenly combined. Set this mixture aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, use a mixer to cream the room temperature butter with the powdered sugar until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale in color.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the creamed butter and sugar mixture until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing continuously until all flour is absorbed and a smooth dough forms.
- Shape the Cookies: Take walnut-sized portions of dough and roll each into long, thin snake-like shapes to resemble fingers. Place them on the prepared baking sheets. Press your finger gently down the center of each to create knuckles, then use a toothpick to make small lines above and below the knuckle marks for detail.
- Add Almond Fingernails: Press one red-painted almond firmly onto one end of each cookie to replicate a bloody fingernail.
- Bake: Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are firm but the cookies remain pale in color. Remove and allow them to cool completely on the baking sheets before handling or serving.
Notes
- Painting almonds a few days in advance allows ample drying time and reduces prep time on baking day.
- Make sure the butter is at room temperature for easier creaming and better cookie texture.
- Press your finger gently to make knuckles but avoid flattening the cookies entirely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- For a gluten-free version, substitute all-purpose flour with a gluten-free baking blend in equal measurements.
