Spooky Witches' Fingers - Home Baker's Challenge # 6

October is the month of Halloween and for the first time in my life I have made something creepy as this. This month's challenge for Home Bakers Challenge was announced by Nalini's Kitchen . She gave us four choices for Halloween  - chocolate glazed pumpkin cookies, spooky witch fingers, Halloween whoopie pies and ghostly cupcakes. 

I was really excited to make these unique and creative spooky witch fingers. They were quite simple, easy and delicious to make for such a realistic and impressive outcome. These spooky witch fingers, according to my husband were hilarious but a little more horrid at the same time. My son loved these frightful cookies especially when I was taking the pics - the whole dramatic blood and all.

On this note, I hope everyone has a scary (but safe) Halloween this year!

Ingredients:-

• 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 cup butter (at room temperature)
• 1 cup icing sugar 
• ¾ cup whole almonds
• 1 egg  
• 1 tsp almond extract 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract  
• 1 tsp baking powder  
• 1 tsp salt 

Method:-  

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  
• Line your cookie sheet with a parchment paper. 
• Combine butter, sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl and beat well.
• Gradually add flour, baking pdr, and salt. Beat well to form a soft dough.
• Wrap in a cling film and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and scoop 1 heaped teaspoon at a time.
• Roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped cookie. 
• Press one almond into one end of each cookie to give the appearance of a long fingernail. 
• Squeeze cookie near the tip and again near the center of each to give the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into the dough with a sharp knife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. 
• Arrange the shaped cookies on the baking sheets.  
• Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20-25 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden in color.

Notes:-

• For the eggless version use the same dough for Thumbprint Cookies  just omit the strawberry crush. 
• If the almonds keep falling after you've baked them, Just add little jam and stick the almonds back to the fingers.

Happy Baking!!
 
Sending this to :- Sharanya's Let's Celebrate Halloween Event 

 5.11.13 - +Joerg Sterner  tried the spooky witches fingers I made for October Home baker's challenge... Thanks Joerg for sharing your feedback... God bless..