Witch Finger Cookies

Each Halloween, I go perhaps a bit too hard in the dessert department. Simply put, I want thrills! Gasps! Perhaps moans of disgust! Because why not bust out all the special effects for your costume, décor, and your treats, amiright? Never satisfied by merely baking a batch of ghost or Jack-O-Lantern cookies, I just gotta outdo myself each year. Well, my latest creation may have gone…too far. Meet: these delectable, slightly gore-y, yet incredibly edible witch finger cookies.

If these sound exactly like your preferred flavor of freakiness, then all you ghouls, goblins, and witches come to the front, please! Spooky season is here, and you’re going to want to eat literal handfuls (sorry) of these scary (yet delicious!) witch finger cookies. These Halloween treats require a little effort and some freezer time, but trust me—they're worth the effort. The finished cookies make for a gruesome, eye-catching dessert table centerpiece at your Halloween party, but these cookies aren’t all flash (er, flesh) —they’re nutty, tender, and perfectly sweet.

What People Are Saying:
"These turned out delicious! Everyone at our halloween party loved them and took pictures. Will be making again for this weekend's halloween party!" - jenkrout23

"Took these to a party and they were a hit. They look so real!" - jfm7571

How To Make Witch Finger Cookies

A witch finger cookie is exactly what it sounds like: a shortbread cookie dyed green, shaped into a severed finger, and adorned with an almond nail and perfectly drippy bit of blood-red jam. For a little added texture and flavor, I added chopped pistachios. Believe it or not, pistachio chunks make for frighteningly accurate witch warts. Who knew?!

As you’ll quickly find out, you don’t want to skip the dough chilling step for these shortbread cookies. Getting your dough freezer-cold before shaping and baking means that the butter in the dough melts slowly in a hot oven, which will help the dough keep its shape instead of spreading. Plus, cold dough is way easier to shape and decorate, so you can have perfectly scary cookies with way less effort.

INGREDIENTS

• Green Food Coloring: Achieving that wickedly green color is as easy as using a few drops of green food coloring. I used regular food coloring, but if you opt for using gel (which is far more concentrated), decrease the amount you use by half at first, and adjust as you mix to get that desired witchy green shade.
• Unsalted Butter: One of the best, most buttery cookies on the block, shortbread is nothing without an (unsalted, please!) butter base; it's typically one part butter to two parts sugar. So keep those sticks softened so the butter is optimal for creaming together with confectioners' sugar.
• All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour is the end-all-be-all cookie flour, especially due to its moderate protein content which lends a perfectly tender crumb for a buttery cookie like shortbread.
• Confectioners' Sugar: Some recipes use granulated sugar for shortbread, but I much prefer using confectioners' sugar (which is cornstarch and extra-fine granulated sugar). Why? The fineness of the confectioners' sugar, when combined with the butter, yields a much crisper, yet melt-in-your-mouth cookie than you’d get with granulated sugar alone.
• Almond Extract: These cookies aren’t just about their looks; it’s also a classic rich, buttery shortbread base, with a pop of almond flavor that makes them all the more deluxe-tasting.
• Vanilla Extract: Shortbread cookies are a simple cookie, but not without their complexity. Made of butter, sugar, flour, and a hint of vanilla extract, these cookies really shine with the good (AKA “pure”) vanilla extract you can find at any grocery store. Trust me, it’s worth the extra few bucks.
• Pistachios: To get that witchy, wart-y effect on each “finger,” finely chopped pistachios are the easiest way to achieve that look. Feel free to use chopped walnuts if you have them on hand, or skip if you’ve got any nut allergies to be mindful of.
• Almonds: Slivered almonds, much like those chopped pistachios, really make these fingers come to life. Buy them pre-slivered at the store, or you can always opt for slivers of dried coconut shavings if you’ve got to make these cookies nut-free.
• Cherry Jam: To get that supremely drippy, blood-like finish (as well as to adhere that almond “nail”), I love using dark red cherry jam, especially for how it plays off the almond notes of these cookies. Strawberry or raspberry jam is also a great option, if you don’t have cherry jam or simply want to play around with other flavors.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

First things first, you'll want to ready either the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or a large bowl using an electric mixer. In the bowl, beat the confectioners' sugar and butter until pale and fluffy, which will take about 2 minutes on medium speed. Add an egg and continue to beat until incorporated and fluffy, about 1 minute more. Then add the almond extract, vanilla extract, and food coloring and beat until combined and that witchy green is evenly distributed.

In another small bowl, whisk some flour and salt until fully incorporated, then add this dry mix to your butter mixture, beating on low speed until just combined. Once combined, fold in those pistachios for texture. Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days, if you're in major party planning mode. Once your dough is chilled, line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Remove one-quarter of the dough from the refrigerator and portion it into 12 to 13 (1-Tbsp.) balls. Roll each ball between your palms until it starts to form a finger shape, about 3" x 1/2", or the length of your pinky finger (but ever so slightly thinner).

Now, it's time to really make these finger cookies look almost too realistic. Arrange the finger-shaped logs on one of your prepared sheets and press an almond slice into each cookie, roughly where the nail would be on a finger. Next, carefully pinch dough just below the almond sliver and halfway down log to create a knuckle. Using a sharp knife, carve horizontal lines of varying lengths to form knuckle grooves, then place 1 or 2 pistachio pieces in the “finger” to make the "warts." Repeat with remaining dough, then freeze for 30 minutes.

At long last, we bake! Preheat your oven to 375° and bake the cookies, rotating trays front to back halfway through, until edges are firm and tops of cookies are dry, which will take 7 to 9 minutes, and allow the cookies to cool slightly.

Once cooled down, gently lift off the almond fingernail. Add a tiny dab of jam to the tip of the “finger," then replace the almond fingernail, pressing down to make the jam ooze out. Spread jam onto bottom of each finger. Let cookies cool completely, and you'll have your hands literally full of gloriously gore-y Halloween treats.

Recipe Tips

• Got a nut-free household? Feel free to skip the pistachios, almonds, and walnuts and use large coconut flakes (as the "nails") to make monster fingers instead.
  
• Don't get stuck in a (cherry) jam: You can totally use strawberry or raspberry jam for the blood-colored jam if you don't have (or don't like) cherry jam—the choice is yours!
• Chill that dough: To get these to come out looking like actual fingers, don’t skip the dough chilling. It’s the most crucial step for baking shaped shortbread cookies. Getting the dough freezer-cold means that the butter in the dough will melt slowly in the hot oven, helping the dough keep its shape instead of spreading. Cold dough is also easier to shape and decorate, so you can have perfectly scary cookies with way less effort.

Storage

If you want to get ahead of your party planning, you can make the dough up to 2 days in advance and keep refrigerated, or store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Once baked, store the cooled cookies in an airtight container in flat layers separated by parchment paper at room temperature for up to 3 days.