Witches’ Fingers (Scary Halloween Cookies)
Witches’ fingers are truly scary Halloween cookies that look terrible, but taste really good! Give them a try this Halloween and see how many people are brave enough to take a bite!
Yes, I know, these witches’ fingers are absolutely horrifying, but isn’t that the point?
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This is my original photo from 2012. Eeek! Now that’s scary! 😱 (Photos updated Oct. 2018)
I’ve been told off by neighbors and friends (jokingly of course) for making these, and they definitely cause a lot of double takes! If you are planning on going to a Halloween party, have a Halloween event to attend, or are taking cookies to your kids’ school, these will be the highlight of the event.
Want more Halloween cookie ideas? I’ve got you covered!
Have your kids help you make these, they’ll have so much fun! The best part is that these cookies are delicious (if you can get past how they look!) and are almost like a shortbread, butter cookie!
I’ve also added a recipe for trolls’ toes cookies!
Witches fingers cookies are perfect to throw into a little treat bag for Halloween trick 0r treaters, too!
Witches’ Fingers Halloween Cookies
(Witches’ Digits)
Recipe inspired by Huffington Post recipe by D. Reinhold Makes about 30 fingers
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Here’s what I did differently: I used raspberry jam instead of gel. I personally love jam with shortbread type cookies. I also dislike almond extract, so I omitted it for a plain cookie.
Ingredients
Directions
A few photos of the process to help you visually ~
Want a less scary cookie treat? Try these peanut butter cup cookie spiders from my pal Cynthia at What a Girl Eats.
Happy Halloween!
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Witches' Fingers - Scary Halloween Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¾ cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ¼ cup raspberry jam as needed
- 30 almond slices pick out the ones that aren't broken
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉ (160℃).
- Cream butter and sugar until smooth.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Gradually add flour, baking powder and salt to the mixture.
- Refrigerate the dough for about half an hour, so it's not too soft to handle.
- Begin by taking pieces of dough and rolling into a thin "finger" shape. They can be long and thin or fat and short, they all look great in the end. Make them a little crooked for a more authentic "witch" look.
- Use a knife to make the knuckle marks and then an indentation for the fingernail.
- Place on silicone sheet lined baking tray about 2" apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Cool on rack.
- Put a little jam on the nail bed and add an almond slice. Store in tin.
Notes
- Make the night before or early in the day so jam has time to set/dry a little before serving or packaging.
Nutrition
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Thanks for the recipe, they turned out great and won second prize in my daughter’s scariest treats contest yesterday.
I soaked the almond slices in diluted green food colouring for an hour or so before applying them to the jam for some extra colour.
Good for her! Give her my congratulations on a job well done! :)
These are for sure getting dunked in an espresso from a Bialetti Mocha Pot in 2024! yum! I love all your fun food recipes Christina!
I love this recipe but is there anything i can substitute the almond with for the nail? For an allergy?
Hi Natalie, my daughter is allergic to all tree nuts, but almonds are not tree nuts (check it out yourself as most people don’t believe me) so she’s okay with these. HOWEVER, that said, some people are ALSO allergic to almonds, so better safe than sorry. Off the top of my head, I’d say you can roll out some of the dough really thinly, cut into nail shapes and bake separately (they will need much less time in the oven). Let me know if you give it a try!
that was a great idea and maybe even dying the dough a different color for the nails too thanks.
Yes! Or make a light sugar glaze with confectioner’s sugar and milk with color, too.