A faithful Forum column reader, Chris Wheeler of Everett, put her finger on a Halloween treat idea too good to not share. Her buttery bloody finger cookies will disappear faster than a vampire at sunrise.
Bloody fingers
1cup powdered sugar
1cup butter
1egg
1teaspoon vanilla extract
1teaspoon almond extract
2 3/4 cup flour
1teaspoon baking powder
1teaspoon salt
Whole blanched almonds (about 40, see note below)
Red gel decorator icing in tube
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together powdered sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extracts. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix well. Chill the mixture for 30 minutes.
Hand roll a walnut-sized piece of dough into a finger-length tube about 2 inches long. Make the tubes thin because they puff up when baking. Pinch dough together to form knuckles in two places. Using the back of a knife, press three slashes across each knuckle.
Press almond in at one end for fingernail.
Let fingers sit on ungreased baking sheet in refrigerator 10 to 15 minutes to firm up before baking.
Bake about 15 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to rack. Let cookies cool completely before squirting red gel “blood” around fingernail.
Makes about 40 cookies.
Note: If you can’t find whole blanched almonds, it is easy to make them: Use a colander to dip almonds into boiling water for about a minute. Then put almonds on a couple of pieces of paper towel. Rub the almonds between the paper towels and outer hulls will peel off.
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