Spooky Witch Finger Cookies are a ghoulishly appealing treat for your next Halloween party. They’re so much fun to make and look just like a severed index finger.
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Why this Witch Finger Cookie Recipe is a Keeper
These witch finger cookies are a fun and festive treat that’s perfect for Halloween parties or as a spooky snack for your kids. With a few simple ingredients and a little creativity, you can create a delicious and creepy treat that everyone will love.
- Freezes Well: It’s great for making ahead and freezing for later.
- Kid-Friendly: Children enjoy it and it’s easy for them to eat.
- Easy Ingredients: All the ingredients for this halloween cookies ideas are found in pantry.
- Family Friendly: These creepy finger shape cookies are a hit with all ages.
- Party Favorite: This easy halloween cookie is a great party favor or dessert.
How long in advance can I make these cookies?
Cookies can generally be made 3-5 days in advance. This allows them to fully cool and firm up, ensuring a better texture and preventing them from crumbling. To ensure your cookies stay fresh, store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Ingredient Notes for this Spooky Halloween Recipe
Sugar or buttery shortbread cookie dough is decorated with jam and a sliced almond fingernail for a realistic look. These witches finger cookies are a great recipe to make for last minute parties.
- Raspberry Jam or Strawberry Jam: This sweet jam adds a creep factor and adds great flavor.
- Slivered Almonds: Form the nails for these finger shape for each cookie.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Prep Ahead Suggestions for this Halloween Dessert
You can form the dough into finger shapes and place in the fridge until ready to bake.
- Easy Halloween Cookies Really, they are great to make ahead of time, simply make sure that they are stored in an airtight container.s.
Halloween Party Pro Tip
Use edible markers to draw veins or enhance the knuckles.
How to Make Creepy Witch Finger Cookies
Witches finger cookies are a fun and festive recipe that’s sure to be a hit with both kids and adults.
These are the basic steps for making halloween cookies ideas. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
1. Blend the Wet Ingredients
First, in a large bowl cream butter, eggs (room temperature eggs work best), shortening, vanilla extract and sugar and then beat together the butter ingredients together until well mixed.
2. Mix Flour and Other Dry Ingredients
Second, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and next slowly incorporate the flour ingredients into wet ingredients until fully combined.
3. Make the Cookie Dough and Refrigerate and Preheat Oven
Next, form dough into a ball and cut into four equal parts and then refrigerate. Meanwhile, pre heat oven to 375 degrees F.
4. On Prepared Baking Sheet, Shape and form Finger and Knuckle
Lightly grease baking sheets (or line with parchment paper), next, remove one ball of dough from refrigerator. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon of dough and roll into a log shape or thin realistic finger shaped cookie. Then gently press one whole slivered almond into one end of each cookie so it extends slightly beyond the end of the cookie. After that, cut into the dough slightly with a sharp knife near the top and at the center of each finger to make the knuckle shapes or ridges.
5. Bake this Witch Finger Recipe
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through and slightly golden.Using a serrated knife, carefully slice off the end of the cookie that does not have the almond.Place jam into a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 5 second or until jam loosens up slightly. Remove the blanched almond from each cookie; place a few drops of jam into the place where the almond was.
6. Allow Cookies to Cool
Press almond slice in the nail bed area and press lightly causing the jam to ooze out around the tip of the finger. Dip the other end of each finger in the jam to create a severed finger. Arrange on a cooling rack to let jam dry before serving
How to Store and Freeze Witch Fingers with Blanch Almonds
This amazing recipe is perfect for your upcoming halloween party. Bake cookies or prepare the dough and have ready. These witches” fingers cookies are so fun for halloween.
- Storing:This halloween food can be stored in an airtight container until ready to serve.
- Freezing Cooled Cookies: After the cookies cool, you can freeze. The creepy halloween cookies will last from 3 to 6 months in an airtight container.
Variations and Substitution Recipe Tips
- Nut Free: Use large coconut flakes for the fingernails.
- Gel Icing: Decorate you cookies with fun colors of gel icing.
- Glitter: Decorate with edible glitter or colored granulated sugar.
- Cookies without Food Coloring: Cocoa powder or matcha powder can be added to the cookies for a spooky color.
- Flavors: You can make a different recipe for these halloween finger cookies or use a store bought dough.
Recipe FAQs When You Make this Recipe
For even more fun Halloween Treats, try:
–Halloween Cheesecake Jack-o-Lanters
–Monster Halloween Apples
–Halloween Taco Dip
Of course, you can use a gluten free flour to make these sugar cookies.
Make the cookies with these fun variations:
Chocolate Witch Fingers: Use chocolate chip cookies as a base and drizzle with melted white chocolate after you bake the cookies.
Gingerbread Witch Fingers: Use gingerbread cookies as a base and decorate with icing and candy eyes.
Lemon Witch Fingers: Use lemon-flavored sugar cookies and top with lemon zest and a drizzle of white chocolate.
Decoration Variations:
Blood Splatter: Use red food coloring to create a blood splatter effect on the cookies.
Warts: Add small, green or brown candies to the cookies to simulate warts.
Bandages: Cut out small, white paper circles and attach them to the cookies with a bit of edible glue.
Bones: Use white chocolate to create small bone shapes and attach them to the cookies.
Shape Variations:
Mummies: Wrap the cookies in white frosting and add two black dots for eyes.
Frankenstein’s Monster: Use green food coloring for a green-colored cookie and add black bolts and a green patch.
Ghosts: Use white frosting or powdered sugar to create a ghostly shape and add two black dots for eyes.
Expert Tips to Love This Recipe
You will have a happy halloween when you make these tasty halloween treat.
- Add Gel Food Coloring: Use food coloring to make creepy green or purple witch fingers.
- Short cut tip: Allow the cookies to cool before decorating.
- Variation tip: Put a mini green M&M for a wart on your cookies. Or use almond extract to amp up the almond flavor.
- Alternate ingredient: Make a little icing, put it on the cookie and roll in creepy sprinkles.
- Rings: Place novelty rings on these witch finger cookies for a take home surprise.
Witch Finger Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup Shortening
- ⅔ cup Margarine, softened
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups Sugar
- 3 ½ cups Flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¾ cup Whole slivered almonds
- 3 tablespoons Raspberry jam
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine eggs, shortening, margarine, vanilla and sugar.
- Beat ingredients together until well mixed.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
- Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into wet ingredients until fully combined.
- Form dough into a ball and cut into four equal parts.
- Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Lightly grease baking sheets.
- Remove one ball of dough from refrigerator.
- Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon of dough and roll into a thin finger-shaped cookie.
- Gently press one whole slivered almond (do not use broken almonds) into one end of each cookie so it extends slightly beyond the end of the cookie.
- This should give the appearance of a long fingernail.
- Cut into the dough slightly with a sharp knife near the top and at the center of each finger to make the ridges of knuckles.
- Arrange the shaped cookies on the baking sheets.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are slightly golden in color, 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through and slightly golden.
- Using a serrated knife, carefully slice off the end of the cookie that does not have the almond.
- You don’t need to slice off much of the cookie, just enough to make a jagged edge.
- Place jam into a small microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave for 5 second or until jam loosens up slightly.
- Remove the almond from each cookie; place a few drops of the jam into the place where the almond was.
- Replace the almond and press lightly causing the jam to ooze out around the tip of the finger.
- Dip the other end of the finger in the jam to create a severed finger.
- Let jam dry before serving.
Christina’s Notes
- Add Food Coloring: Use food coloring to make creepy green or purple witch fingers.
- Short cut tip: Refrigerator Cookie dough is a wonderful shortcut hack.
- Variation tip: Put a mini green M&M for a wart on your cookies.
- Alternate ingredient: Make a little icing put it on the cookie and roll in creepy sprinkles.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
I love it……..
Why thank you! 🙂 And, thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Haha – these are so cool. My boys would totally get a kick out of them!