Spooky Witches Fingers Cookies

Happy Halloween, my friends! Have a few creepy cookies for snack before you head out into the night with your little dragons and devils. Be safe, warm and have fun tonight!

The original recipe called for red decorator gel but why would I use that crap when jam tastes good and looks just as nasty?

Spooky Witches Fingers Cookies

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Makes about 60 fingers

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup almonds (whole or sliced)
• 1 tablespoon raspberry jam

Directions

1. On medium speed, beat the butter, sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl for 2 minutes or until fluffy. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture slowly to the butter mixture. I like to switch to a wooden spoon. I don't want to break my mixer. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 325F.
3. Take heaping teaspoon size pieces of dough and roll them into logs that are the shape of fingers. Use your hands to make knuckles and indents on the fingers (look at your own to decide where they should be placed). You can use a knife to make the indents. Place an almond on the tip of the fingers where the nail should be.
4. Arrange the cookies on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Let them cool for a minute then remove the almonds from the fingers and place a small dab of jam into the space before pressing the almonds back onto the cookies. The jam will ooze out like blood. Yuck! Gross!