Creepy Witch Finger Cookies Halloween Cookies

Made with a deliciously soft, moist, buttery, rich French butter cookie dough (sablé breton), and naturally colored to achieve 4 distinct colors (no artificial coloring at all!), and so many decorating options. SO easy and ridiculously fun to make!

Ingredients

This witch finger cookie is not made with a shortbread cookie dough. I love shortbread cookies, but I wanted to make this with a richer tasting, soft cookie that isn’t too crumbly. My witch’s heart cocktail recipe and video went viral online in 2017, and I still love making Halloween cocktails every year (witches brew drink, hocus pocus cocktail and unicorn blood cocktail are also reader-favorites). One of the very first Halloween props we got for decorating was a witch prop (that makes an appearance in these pictures!). My favorite scary movie growing up was “The Witches” with Anjelica Huston (and I may even have had a slight fascination/obsession with spells). I wanted to make these witch finger cookies look really creepy, while of course tasting absolutely delicious! So, instead of using my shortbread cookie dough, I made these with French butter cookie dough (or Sablé Breton dough). The result is an even more buttery, rich, refined flavor, with cookies that are so light and delicious! Instead I made these with a sable breton cookie dough, which is a French butter cookie dough. This dough is rich in flavor, holds its shape, doesn’t crumble, and is incredibly delicious!

Naturally colored Halloween witch finger cookies

To add color to the dough, you can of course use food coloring. But I know some prefer not to. Which is why I extensively tested this recipe with natural food coloring, so you can add color to these spooky witch finger cookies without using artificial food coloring.

Place the softened butter, salt, confectioner’s sugar in a bowl. Cream the butter and sugar mixture until it’s creamy and light (image 1). You can either use an electric hand mixer OR the stand mixer. It also does not alter the taste of the final cookie. But it was very important for me to make sure both methods are available to my readers, and they work perfectly! Before we get to the dough, let’s talk about the almond nails first. First bring a pot of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the raw almonds. Make sure you don’t add too many, because the water needs to come back to a boil fast afterwards. Let the water come back to a boil (within a minute). Then allow the almonds to boil in the water for 1 minute. Remove the almonds immediately with a slotted spoon and plunge the almonds in an ice water bath, OR in a bowl with running cold water. When the almonds (in the water bath) have cooled down enough to handle, take each almond and pinch it at the wider end. The blanched almond should slip right off the skin, leaving the skin between your fingers. Repeat this with all the almonds. Place the blanched, skin-free almonds on a paper towel or kitchen towel to dry. Pat dry to remove excess water, and let them dry for a few hours before using. Softened butter will cream much better than cool butter, so make sure the butter is soft, but not melted. Once the butter mixture is creamed, add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and mix them in well (images 2 – 3). Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are well-mixed.

Adding colors

Adding the color to the wet ingredients ensures that the color uniformly mixes through the dough WITHOUT having to overwork the flour. Weigh the butter and egg yolk mixture, and divide it into portions. Here, I make a double batch of dough and divide it into 4 (to make four colors). To each portion, add the color and mix it through (image 4, and panel below).

Plain, light color – No added color. Green – Matcha powder OR green food coloring. Purple – Purple sweet potato powder OR purple food coloring or ube flavoring / coloring. Brown – Cocoa powder. I use dutched cocoa powder. Or you can use brown food coloring.

Adding dry ingredients

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder really well (image 5). Divide the flour mixture by four to add to each color portion. Add the flour to the butter mixture and gently mix it in to form a soft dough (images 6 – 7). For this, you can use your stand mixer on the lowest speed. This is easier for larger batches. But for smaller batches, I prefer to use a spatula to form the dough. Be gentle and fold the dough to mix in the flour, to prevent the flour from over-working and becoming too tough (image 8).

Forming the dough

Scrape all the dough out onto a work surface and gently form it into a dough with lightly-floured hands. Wrap each portion with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes (images 9 – 12).

Shaping the witch finger cookies

Once the dough has chilled for about 30 minutes, it’s ready to be portioned and shaped. While you’re shaping the witch fingers, keep the dough covered (since the surface of the dough can dry out and form a “skin”). Take a tablespoon portion from the dough. For this, I use a 1 tbsp cookie scoop, and this portion should be about 17 – 20 g by weight (image 13). Roll this portion in your palms to form a smooth ball (image 14). Use a light dusting of flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands or work surface, if needed. Next, roll the dough into a finger shape (image 15). To create the shape of a gnarly finger, form two thick points for the knuckles (images 16 and 17). This doesn’t have to be neat. I like to twist the finger a little bit to make it look like a de-formed and twisted finger, with two thick knuckles (image 18).

Freeze the cookies

This step is very important as it helps the cookies retain their shape as they bake. Soft cookie dough will spread more as it bakes. Use a butter knife to create the lines on the knuckles. You can just create neat, horizontal lines for a cleaner look. I prefer to create a messier, hashed look to mimic the more rounded knuckle lines we have. Take an almond and press it into the top end of the cookie dough to create the nail bed and nail. To have deformed nails, just press in the base of the almond, so that the tip is angled up, OR press the almond in at an angle (image 19). Along with the knuckle lines, I also use the knife to create scratches or wrinkles as well. Dust these lines with a little cocoa powder (optional), to create a creepy aged look (image 20). Place the cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet or container, in a single layer. Then freeze for about 1 hour, or until frozen solid. Remove the almond from the baked cookies (they will fall off easily) (image 23). Place a small amount of jam or white chocolate in the cavity and place the almond back (images 24 – 25). You can continue to shape and decorate the French butter cookie dough, as you freeze and bake separate batches. Place the frozen witch finger cookies (with enough space between them) on a baking tray that is lined with parchment paper or silpat (image 21). Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. The cookies should not brown on top, but will start to brown on the bottom, or the bottom edge (image 22). Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool down. Repeat with the remaining cookies. While the cookies are cooling, get the final decorating ingredients ready. You can either decorate the cookies with no food coloring, or with some food coloring, or even a combination of both.

For a no food coloring “bloody” look – Strawberry or seedless raspberry jelly for blood and to stick the almond to the cookies, and cocoa powder as “dirt”. To create a more realistic bloody look – Mix corn syrup with some red food coloring, or get some red colored cake writing gel for the blood. Melted white chocolate to stick the almond nail to the cookies, and cocoa powder as “dirt”.

The jam will squeeze a little out from the edges to create a “bloody” look. Or you can brush the “nail cuticle” with the red corn syrup or writing gel (image 26). Brush the knuckles with cocoa powder to create darker creases and a dirt-clad appearance (image 26). Enjoy!

Serving ideas

If you can’t find any witch blood, but still want to serve these with a dipping sauce, here are some ideas, Instead of a simple vanilla French butter cookie, I share how to easily flavor and color the cookie dough to make,

Matcha green witch finger cookies Purple sweet potato witch finger cookies Brown chocolate witch finger cookies

In addition, you can also make,

Raspberry flavored pink witch finger cookies by adding freeze dried raspberry powder. Turmeric and lemon zest for lemon flavored yellow witch finger cookies. Sweet potato powder and orange zest to make orange colored and flavored witch finger cookies.

You can also add other flavored extracts for more flavor. Such as,

Coffee extract Pandan extract (with or without the green color) Red velvet emulsion Mint flavoring

When rolling out the cookie dough, add just a little bit of cocoa powder for a marbled look, which will make the fingers look wrinkly. Add small dried currants to the unbaked cookie, so that they will look like warts after baking. Create little cuts on the unbaked cookie, so once they are baked, they can be painted with red, or brushed with cocoa powder to look like cuts or burn scars. This is a little tricky to do, but you can use a sharp knife to make cuts or notches in the almonds for a broken fingernail effect. Combine two different colored cookie doughs to make marbled witch finger cookies!

Leftover cookies can last up to 4 days in an airtight container. And 5-6 days in the fridge, but they do taste better at room temperature. Unbaked cookie dough can be kept in the fridge for about 3 – 4 days, if wrapped properly. But you can easily make this ahead of time as well. Form the witch fingers with the unbaked dough and then place them in the freezer. Once frozen, wrap the fingers with plastic wrap and keep in an airtight container. The unbaked cookies can last in the freezer for about 2 months.

Strawberry jam or plum jam or raspberry jam Salted caramel sauce Chocolate ganache Hot fudge sauce Nutella or any chocolate hazelnut spread (or homemade vegan nutella)

More Halloween recipes you’ll love

Jalapeno eyeball tarts (Halloween appetizer) Halloween monster cookies Bleeding black cupcakes (Halloween cupcakes) Chocolate skull cake Halloween rocky road slices Mini monster cakes Spooky chorizo pies Flaming dragon’s blood cocktail The phoenix cocktail (color changing shimmery cocktail)