Witch Finger Cookies

Watch out y’all – these witch finger cookies are not for the faint of heart.

They might be creepy, but they’re absolutely delicious!

By the time Halloween comes around, I’m all about brightly colored desserts that celebrate the occasion. The classic orange-and-black combination, as well as the deep purples really gets my “baker’s heart” going.

Witch Finger Cookies are a staple for any Halloween spread. Most of the ones that I’ve tried, up until now, have been primarily almond-flavored (which is smart since the “witch’s nail” is actually an almond). For my batch in particular, I wanted to turn to my surefire recipe for sugar cookies and, to give them that Halloween twist, treat them with a deep green color.

The best part about my sugar cookies is that they’re not overly sweet. In order to add a bit more flavor to these Witch Fingers, I’ve whipped up an accompanying cookie dip, made primarily of confectioners’ sugar and marshmallow spread.

I’m eager to make more cookies for Halloween. Last year, I put together these Mummy Cookies, which were such a hit. I’m definitely looking forward to baking them again.

My Witch Finger Cookies are really fun to make with the little ones. What’s great about them is that they don’t need to be completely uniform. What makes them creepy is that each individual cookie holds their own shape and texture. Watch out, though: to give these Halloween cookies their deep green color, I had to use a lot of gel food coloring, which can get messy if not used with care. Parents, I advise you to do the coloring yourselves!

How to Make Witch Finger Cookies for Halloween

Impress your guests (and freak them out a little too) with these oh-so spooky cookies. Here are a few tips to get these coming out of the oven, looking perfect:

Make the Dough and Then Add Color

One trick to coloring cookie dough is to make the dough first and then add color. Once I knead the dough into the consistency of my liking, I place a small indentation into it before adding gel food coloring. Then, I fold it over and knead until the color is completely incorporated.

Chilling is the Trick

The reason why most cookie dough recipes require chilling is due to the fat in the recipe. In this case, we used butter and, if the dough isn’t well chilled, the butter will cause the cookie to spread during baking and then give it a “pudgy finger” look.

Re-Shape and Put it Back In the Oven

Of course, when the cookie is baking, it’ll still expand – slightly more than its original shape. The trick to these cookies is to remove them from the oven after 7-8 minutes of baking, pinching them further to re-shape (but proceed with caution because they’ll be extremely hot!), and then bake for an additional 2 minutes.

For the cookies:

1 stick butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 cups a/p flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp Kelly green gel food coloring
15-18 almonds

 For the dip:
¼ cup butter, softened (about ½ a stick)
¼ cup marshmallow spread
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tbsp milk
Green gel frosting

 Yields: 15-18 cookies

 In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and egg.

 In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

 Slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Eventually, the cookie dough will form and you can use your hands to get all the ingredients incorporated with one another.

 Place a small indentation into the cookie dough and add gel food coloring. Knead until completely tinted.

 Cover in plastic wrap and chill overnight or, for one hour in the freezer.

 Remove from refrigerator and let sit until malleable.

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

 Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

 To make the fingers, divide cookie dough into spheres, about 1 ½ inches in size.

 Roll out each sphere into a thick strip, about ¾ of an inch in thickness and 3 inches long.

 Pinch each strip to give it a non-uniform look. I like to pinch them in two separate sections.

 Score lines on top of each cookie dough using a paring knife.

 Place each one on lined baking sheet, about 1-2 inches apart from each other.

 Press one almond at the tip of each cookie dough.

 Bake for about 7 minutes and remove from oven.

 Proceed with caution for the next step: re-pinch each cookie to thin them out (as they spread during baking time – but be careful because they’ll be hot) then place them back in the oven for an additional 2 minutes.

 Allow to cool before serving.

For the Cookie Dip: 

In a large bowl, beat together all ingredients with an electric mixer. Start on low speed and gradually increase to high.

 Scoop marshmallow dip into a small serving bowl and top off with green gel frosting.

 Serve with cookies and enjoy!

 

If you end up making these Halloween cookies, be sure to tag #fabuloushabitskitchen on social media so I can see how yours turned out!

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