Zombie Finger Cookies

I know, I know, it's only August so why I am posting about Halloween treats?

I'm hopeful that if we all start thinking Halloween thoughts then maybe it will arrive sooner. Because that's how it works, right?

Let me have this one. It's a million degrees and I'm done with summer. Thank you.

Anyway, these cookies are so much fun and are great for Halloween parties and potlucks! You'll have everyone thinking you are an evil genius if you bring these to the party. 

They look pretty spook-tacular and are not that hard to make. They are just a little bit fussy and take a bit of time. Totally worth it though. Trust me. 

Zombie Finger Cookies

Ingredients

2 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, room temp

1 cup icing sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

Decorations

red frosting

almond slices

cocoa powder

Directions

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and almond extract until well combined. 

Add in the flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing between each addition until dough comes together. 

Cover dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. (If you make the dough ahead of time and it has been chilling for a day or more, take it out and let it sit on the counter for about an hour so it softens and you can work with it.)

Take a bit of dough and roll it into a tapered log the length of your finger. Shape the log into a finger by pinching in 2 places to form knuckles.

Press the top of the tapered end with your finger. 

 (See photo below for clarification)

Place a sliced almond on and press down a bit. 

Score the knuckles with a butter knife and score the bottom too so it is more realistic. 

Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpat. 

Chill the dough on the cookie sheet for an hour (up to overnight). This is so the fingers won't spread out too much. 

Once chilled, preheat oven to 325. Bake the cookies for 20 - 25 minutes, until very light brown on the bottom. 

Let cool completely.

To decorate - carefully remove the almond slice from a finger - it should come off easily - spread a very small amount of the red frosting on the nail bed. 

Quickly press the almond slice back on the finger. 

Dip a small paint brush in the cocoa powder and brush some on the fingers. You just want a hint on there. I like to add a little more on the knuckles to make them bolder. Spread a little of the red frosting on the base of the fingers to make them look bloody.

(See photo below for clarification.)

You can use melted, red candy wafers instead of frosting if you prefer. I like the icing in the tube as it is super easy. You can use a toothpick to add a few drops of red frosting on the fingers to make them even bloodier. 

Place on a serving tray.

And be prepared to gross out your guests. The kids LOVE these!

Adults love them too. They are delicious! They also make a lot - I think I got about 4 dozen or so. 

They take a bit of time to decorate so if you can round up a helper it's even better. 

NOTE - I like to have a few extra almond slices on hand in case some of them split when you remove them from the cookie. Split nails are okay, I just prefer the look of the whole nails.