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–+ servings
plate filled with witch finger cookies and jam

Witch Finger Cookies (without food coloring!)

Author Erin Dooner
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 60 cookies
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
These witch finger cookies are crisp, buttery Halloween cookies with almond fingernails and strawberry jam “blood” - no red decorating gel needed. Includes a separately tested gluten-free version.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup (115 grams) powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar highly recommended if you'd like a regularly-sweetened cookie
  • 1 large egg 50 grams, out of shell
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 2/3 cups (334 grams) all-purpose flour see notes for gluten-free version
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup (105 grams) blanched almonds
  • 1/2 - 1 cup (118 to 236 ml) strawberry jam

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar (and granulated sugar, if using) together until fluffy.
    1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, 1 cup (115 grams) powdered sugar, 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
  • Add the egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract and mix.
    1 large egg, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • When well combined, add the flour and salt.
    2 2/3 cups (334 grams) all-purpose flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • When thoroughly combined, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 40 minutes or up to 2 days.
  • Preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C) and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
  • Take about a fourth of the dough out of the fridge and begin rolling out the fingers. I recommend baking one test finger to begin with. Then you can make sure all the fingers come out the way you want them to. That way you don't spend all your time rolling out all the cookies only to find out that you should have made them thinner or done the wrinkles a different way.
  • I rolled them out the thickness of my pinky finger, but a bit longer.
  • Add an almond to the tip for the fingernail, and press down to make sure it's secure.
    3/4 cup (105 grams) blanched almonds
  • Form a knuckle by squeezing around the middle.
  • Use a sharp knife for the wrinkles in the knuckles and vary the length. That'll create a more realistic finger.
  • Place on the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about an inch (2.5 cm) between them. Repeat with the rest of the dough until the cookie sheet is full.
  • Bake for 17-22 minutes or until slightly golden.
  • Let the cookies cool on the sheet, and then remove the almonds from the cookies. Add some jam in the cavities and then put the almonds back, making sure you used enough jam for them to ooze a little. Also, add some jam around the knuckles for extra nastiness. I used about 1/2 cup jam and used the rest as "dip."
    1/2 - 1 cup (118 to 236 ml) strawberry jam
  • Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Notes

  • Flour - you can use all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour or a mix of the two. For the gluten-free version, use the separate recipe below.
Gluten-free version
Ingredients
  • 1 cup (225 grams) unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 2/3 cups (333 grams) King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour
  • 2/3 cup (66 grams) blanched almond flour
Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg white.
2. Beat in the almond and vanilla extracts and salt. Beat in the two flours until thoroughly combined. The mixture will look crumbly at first. Use your hands to knead the crumbs together until a dough forms. I didn't need to chill the gluten-free dough.
3. You can refrigerate the dough for up to 2 days or shape the witch fingers right away, following the shaping directions above, including adding the almonds.
4. Bake at 325 °F (165 °C) for 17-22 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely, then add the strawberry jam as directed above. They're very fragile straight out of the oven, so if you need to transport them, let them sit for about 2 hours first.
Bob's Red Mill option: I also tested these with 2 2/3 cups (367 grams) Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and without the egg white. They worked well - those are the gluten-free cookies shown in the photos in the post - but the King Arthur version came out looking much better.
For readers in Germany: Use half Type 550 and half Type 405 for the flour in the regular version. I developed that version using US ingredients, and butter sold outside the US can also affect how much the cookies spread, so I recommend baking one test finger before shaping the whole batch. For the almond extract, I used two vials of Bittermandel Backaroma.
Adapted from Allrecipes.

Nutrition

Calories: 81kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 56mgPotassium: 23mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 99IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 0.4mgNet Carbs: 10
Tried this recipe?Tag me today! Mention @texanerin or tag #texanerin! Thanks. 🖤