WITCHY-POO FINGERS

Witchy-Poo Fingers image

Provided by Lennie

Categories Dessert

Time 40m

Yield 60 cookies

Number Of Ingredients 10

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar (sift through a sieve after measuring to remove lumps)
1 large egg (room temp)
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole blanched almond (you need about 60)
red decorating gel, as needed

Steps:

In a mixing bowl, beat butter sugar, egg and extracts together.
In another mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture, then cover bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F; have cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper, ready.
Remove only 1/4 of the dough from refrigerator (leave rest refrigerated to stay cold); measure out heaping teaspoonfuls and shape into fingers.
Press an almond firmly into the end of each"finger" to make the fingernail.
Below the almond and at the opposite end of the finger, press in dough to create knuckle halfway down; using the back of a table knife, make indents into the knuckle (look at your own fingers to get an idea of what this should look like).
If you want really big ugly fingers with two gnarled knuckles, use about a tbsp of dough per cookie.
Place on paper-lined cookie sheets and bake in preheated oven until a pale golden colour--about 20 to 25 minutes.
After first sheet goes into the oven, remove more dough from the fridge to make more fingers.
When cookies are done, remove from oven and let cool for three minutes.
Carefully lift up almond from each finger and squeeze some red decorating gel onto nail bed, then press almond back into place; the red gel will creepily ooze out.
Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.