Description
These spooky Witches Fingers Cookies are a perfect Halloween treat, featuring buttery, tender cookies shaped like witch fingers with knuckle indentations and almond slices as fingernails dipped in red candy melts for a ghoulish look. The dough is delicately flavored with vanilla and tinted with green icing color to enhance the eerie effect. Chilled to maintain shape, then baked to a light golden brown, these cookies are both festive and fun to make.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
- Leaf Green Icing Color
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Decoration
- 24 almond slices (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 cup Red Candy Melts Candy
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, beat the confectioners’ sugar, softened butter, and leaf green icing color together with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the egg and vanilla extract; beat until well combined. Gradually add the all-purpose flour and salt, mixing until a smooth dough forms.
- Shape the cookies: Prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a log about 4 to 4-1/2 inches long and place them on the prepared pans. At one end of each log, make a slight depression to represent the fingernail using a utensil, and use a paring knife to create knuckle indentations along the dough to simulate finger joints. Repeat for all pieces.
- Chill the dough: Refrigerate the shaped cookies for 2 to 3 hours or until they are firm to the touch, which helps preserve the detailed fingernail and knuckle shapes during baking.
- Preheat the oven: Set the oven temperature to 325°F (163°C) while the dough chills.
- Bake the cookies: Place the chilled cookies in the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the edges turn a light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on the pan for 1 minute, then transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Melt the candy melts: Following package instructions, melt the red candy melts until smooth and ready for dipping.
- Decorate the cookies: Use a small amount of melted red candy to attach one almond slice to the fingernail indentation at the end of each cookie. Then dip the opposite end of the cookie into the remaining melted red candy to create a bloodied effect. Place dipped cookies on parchment or wax paper and chill for 10 to 15 minutes until the candy coating sets.
Notes
- Chilling the dough is essential to maintain the shape of the finger details during baking.
- If preferred, green gel food coloring can be used instead of leaf green icing color for stronger color.
- Use a paring knife carefully to create realistic knuckle indentations without cutting the dough through.
- Red candy melts can be substituted with red tinted white chocolate if desired.
- Store finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 55mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 14g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
