Easy witch finger cookies recipe with almond nails and bloody jam. Creepy shortbread Halloween cookies perfect for parties—spooky, buttery & delicious!
Bake these creepy Halloween witch finger cookies with your children or grandchildren. They are spooky Halloween treats perfect for parties or after school snacks. These are eerie witches fingers everyone loves!
Witch Finger Cookies Recipe | Easy Spooky Halloween Treats
Spooky witch finger cookies are ghastly, shortbread-style Halloween treats shaped like human fingers, featuring whole or sliced almonds for fingernails and red jam or gel for bloody cuticles and at the ends for stumps. They’ll really get you into the Halloween spirit!
These easy witch finger cookies are the ultimate spooky Halloween treat that will delight (and slightly terrify) your party guests. Made from a buttery shortbread dough shaped into realistic severed fingers, each cookie features knobby knuckles, wrinkled skin details, and an almond pressed in as a creepy fingernail. A dab of raspberry or strawberry jam creates the perfect “bloody” effect around the nail, making these Halloween witch finger cookies look gruesomely authentic while tasting deliciously sweet and rich.
This easy recipe is at heart a doctored shortbread cookies recipe. You are shaping the dough, adding food coloring, and dressing it up with jam and almonds to look like creepy witch finger cookies.
Whether you are hosting a Halloween party, packing treats for trick-or-treaters, or just craving a fun seasonal cookie, this simple witch finger cookie recipe comes together with basic pantry ingredients and minimal effort. The dough requires no complicated techniques, and the cookies bake up tender with a delicate crumb.
Serve these spooky witch’s fingers on a platter for maximum spooky impact—your guests will be both impressed and slightly unsettled by how realistic these witches’ fingers look!
Tips and variations for making these witch finger cookies:
● To finger shape the dough: after the dough has chilled, separate it into 2 tablespoon cookie scoops, then work with 1 ball at a time. Roll the dough in the palm of your hands like you are rolling play-doh into a rope, roll it to be about 4-5 inches long, then place it on a baking sheet and pinch it if needed to look more like a finger. Then use the blunt side of a butter knife to make lines for the “knuckles.” Wetting the butter knife first will help make clean lines. Then add one almond slice to the end of the cookie for the almond nail.
● If you use green food coloring, the shade of the dough will be less vibrant than if you use green food gel.
● You can change the color of the fingers. Blue, orange and light purple are other witchy colors and the jam you use will still show as blood.
● You can use whole almonds instead of almond slices if you prefer for the almond fingernails.
● You do not have to use raspberry jam, but use a pinkish/reddish color. Strawberry and cherry would work well as a substitute.
● Red frosting would work for the blood if you are making other Halloween treats.
● For my UK and Australian friends: confectioners’ sugar is icing sugar (powdered sugar, 10x).
● In the US 8 tablespoons of butter = 1 stick, and 1 stick of butter = ½ a cup.
● Butter in Baking: Essential Tips for Perfect Baked Goods
● Almond extract is a nice substitute for vanilla extract.
● How to make vanilla extract
● Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to five (5) days.
● These cookies can be frozen. Cool the witch finger cookies completely, then place them on a cookie sheet and flash freeze them for 1-2 hours. This is so they do not stick together. Then, remove the flash frozen witch finger cookies from the freezer, transfer to an airtight freezer container in a single layer. If you must stack them, place a piece of parchment paper between the layers. Thaw on a wire rack at room temperature.
● These spook-tackular witches finger cookies are made with common ingredients found at your local grocery store.
Here are some more Halloween cookie recipes, perfect Halloween parties:
● Easy Ghost Meringue Cookies Recipe | For Halloween
● No-Bake Peanut Butter Eyeballs Halloween Treats
● Spider Cookies Recipe | Easy Halloween Treats for Kids
Witch Finger Cookies Recipe Ingredients:
● ¾ cup Butter
● 1 cup Confectioners’ Sugar
● 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
● ½ teaspoon Green Food Dye or Food Gel
● 1¾ cups All Purpose Flour
● 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
● ¼ cup Raspberry Jam
● 14-15 Blanched Almond Slices
Witch Finger Cookies Mise en Place:
● Cookie Sheet (Baking Sheets)
● Parchment Paper
● Stand-up Mixer (paddle attachment, whisk attachment, large bowl, etc.) or Electric Hand Mixer (electric mixer)
● Rubber Spatula
● Measuring Cup
● Measuring Spoons
● Two Tablespoon Cookie Scoop
● Wire Baking Rack (Cooling Rack, Wire Rack, Baking Rack)
Witch Finger Cookies Recipe Directions:
1. In the large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract.
2. Add the green food dye/gel, mix well.
3. Add the flour and baking powder to the butter mixture and combine until there are no more dry patches.
4. Chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F
6. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop 7-8 cookies on a tray. This recipe makes 14 fingers, so two baking sheets or one sheet cooled and parchment paper replaced in between baking.
8. Shape the cookies by gently rolling in the palm of your hand to make a 4-5 inch cookie dough rope. Pinch the “fingers” between the “knuckles”, and add lines where knuckles would be with the non-serrated side of a butter knife.
9. Add an almond slice at one end of the cookie, for the “nail.”
10. Place the witch finger cookies on the prepared baking sheet several inches apart.
11. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly golden on the bottom. If the cookies spread out and the fingers are thick, use tongs to squeeze the cookies back into shape.
12. Heat the jam in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, or until it is runny. Then add to the severed finger end of the cookie and to the bottom of the sliced almond where the nail bed is, the almond fingernail should easily be able to be removed from the cookie, dipped in the jam, and placed back on the cookie.
13. Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to five (5) days.
Witch Finger Cookies Recipe | Easy Spooky Halloween Treats
Bake these creepy Halloween witch finger cookies with your children or grandchildren. They are spooky Halloween treats perfect for parties or after school snacks. These are eerie witches fingers everyone loves!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Butter
- 1 cup Confectioners’ Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Green Food Dye or Food Gel
- 1¾ cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ cup Raspberry Jam
- 14-15 Blanched Almond Slices
Instructions
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Add the green food dye/gel, mix well.
- Add the flour and baking powder to the butter mixture and combine until there are no more dry patches.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop 7-8 cookies on a tray. This recipe makes 14 fingers, so two baking sheets or one sheet cooled and parchment paper replaced in between baking.
- Shape the cookies by gently rolling in the palm of your hand to make a 4-5 inch cookie dough rope. Pinch the "fingers" between the "knuckles", and add lines where knuckles would be with the non-serrated side of a butter knife.
- Add an almond slice at one end of the cookie, for the "nail."
- Place the witch finger cookies on the prepared baking sheet several inches apart.
- Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly golden on the bottom. If the cookies spread out and the fingers are thick, use tongs to squeeze the cookies back into shape.
- Heat the jam in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, or until it is runny. Then add to the severed finger end of the cookie and to the bottom of the sliced almond where the nail bed is, the almond fingernail should easily be able to be removed from the cookie, dipped in the jam, and placed back on the cookie.
- Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to five (5) days.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
14Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 293Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 131mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 3g
Note: for exact nutritional information, consult your dietitian. All nutritional information provided is simply a guideline.
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