Bloody Fingers

Every year, I try to find some unsuspecting soul to get fingers from for a Halloween treat.
If I can't find human donors, I settle for either of the recipes below. They are always a hit.

Do not serve these to the faint of heart.

Peanut Butter Fingers
1 c powdered sugar
1/4 c light corn syrup
1 c peanut butter
1/2 c powdered milk

Take 1 level tsp. of dough and roll into a log. Press small pretzel stick (bone) into log and roll dough around it. Press a sliced almond (fingernail) in one end and put a glob of red gel icing (blood) on the 'severed end'. Refrigerate before serving.

Shortbread Witch's Fingers
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
red food coloring, preferably paste type
Instructions: Preheat oven to 325° F. Combine dry ingredients. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla, beat in dry ingredients. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.

If you want to paint the nails first, use some red food coloring that's been diluted with water and brush on with a clean artist's brush.

Working with one-quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remaining dough refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoons full of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press an almond firmly into one end for nail. Squeeze in center to create a knuckle shape and use a paring knife make slashes in several places to form knuckle.

Place cookies on the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until pale golden. Let cool for three minutes. If desired, lift up almond and squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place so gel oozes out from underneath.

Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Note: Make cookies smaller than you think they need to be, as they spread when cooking.

If you really want to be an artisan, you can do this:
Directions are here.


Photo credit: Sweet and Saucy


Photo credit: Sweet and Saucy