Frightening Fingers

Total Time Prep: 25 min. + chilling Bake: 20 min.

Yield about 5 dozen cookies

These cookies have become somewhat famous at the school our children attend. One year, I made more than 150 of these "fingers" for their classroom Halloween parties.—Natalie Hyde, Cambridge, Ontario

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Red decorating gel
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Divide dough into fourths. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle.
Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll into 1-in. balls. Shape balls into 3x1/2-in. fingers. Using the flat tip of a table knife, make an indentation on 1 end of each for fingernail. With a knife, make 3 slashes in the middle of each finger for knuckle.
Place 2 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 325° until lightly browned, 20-25 minutes. Cool for 3 minutes. Squeeze a small amount of red gel on nail bed; press a sliced almond over gel for nail, allowing gel to ooze around nail. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Nutrition Facts

1 cookie: 62 calories, 4g fat (2g saturated fat), 11mg cholesterol, 73mg sodium, 7g carbohydrate (2g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g protein.

Recipe Creator