Tasty Tuesday: Spooky Witch Fingers

Welcome to Tasty Tuesday, Halloween edition! These fun, creepy, little cookies submitted by Alisha are a perfect treat for your Halloweenies!

The Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar for cookies that aren't as sweet. (For sweeter cookies, add additional 1/2 cup of powdered sugar & 5 tbsp of white granulated sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup whole almonds
• 1 (.75 oz) tube red decorating gel
• green food coloring (optional)
• chocolate chips (optional)

The Directions:

Combine the butter, sugar, egg, almond extract & vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixer. While continually beating, gradually add flour, baking powder & salt. If desired, add green food coloring to make creepy green witch's fingers.

Refrigerate dough for 20-30 mins.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease baking sheets.

Remove dough from fridge in small amounts. Scoop 1 heaping tsp at a time onto a piece of waxed paper. Either use the waxed paper or your hands to roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped cookie. Be sure not to make the "finger" too fat, because it will double in size when it's baked.

Ok, this is where you can get creative...

Press one almond into one end of the finger to look like a long fingernail. Squeeze cookie near the tip & near the center to look like knuckles. Use a sharp knife to make shallow cuts in the knuckles to make them look wrinkly. If desired, hollow out or indent the "base" of the finger slightly. You can also add a chocolate chip to look like a wart.

Once you get your fingers all decked out, arrange them on the baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 mins.

 Remove the almond from the end of each cookie & squeeze a small amount of red decorating gel into the cavity. Replace the almond to make the gel squish out around the tip of the cookie. You can also add some red gel into the indented base of the finger.

(Click here for source)