Witches Fingers
These Witches Fingers are so much fun and delicious
If you’re looking for an easy recipe to bring to a Halloween party, you can’t go past these witch finger cookies. Using just 4 (plus salt) simple ingredients, and following my clear steps, you’ll be creating a scene the minute you arrive…in a good way!
These fun Halloween cookies look scary but amazing, taste delicious, and are so simple to make. Plus, you’ll have fun making them. Enlist the help of your children or grandchildren, and you’ll all soon be giggling and having fun.
Witches Fingers are the perfect Halloween treat. Whether you have a party to attend or bake these just for fun, you’ll have a laugh plus a tasty cookie to enjoy!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy and fast – Use a food processor to combine the ingredients for the dough in just minutes. Allocated time for chilling is essential, but this is the ideal time to clean up and enjoy a cup of tea, coffee or Italian hot chocolate.
- Looks amazing – These Witches Fingers look scarily realistic, which is perfect for a tasty Halloween treat. It’s simple to achieve the look, and I explain it step by step in the recipe.
- Adaptable – The basic dough for these Witches Fingers can be adapted to suit your taste with added extracts and flavorings. As well, you can also add coloring and vary the decorations.
For complete ingredient quantities and full instructions, please scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Ingredients
Just like regular shortbread cookies, the ingredients as basic pantry staples.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is used for this recipe. There is no baking powder needed. We don’t want these Witches Fingers to rise or spread too much.
- Unsalted butter – for the best-tasting cookies, use good butter. Don’t substitute margarine or shortening; the results will not be tasty. I usually like unsalted butter for this recipe and include salt, but use salted if that’s what you have, and omit the added salt.
- Powdered Sugar – This fine, powdery sugar dissolves quickly, which is exactly what we need for this fast-to-make cookie recipe.
- Blanched almonds – These are used to represent fingernails (and do a great job, I think!). Purchase blanched almonds or check out how to do that below. Use a fine knife to carefully split them in half where they naturally join.
- Salt – Just a little enhances the flavor of these witches fingers!
Almonds are one of my favorite flavors, and maybe yours too. Take a look at this Sbrisolona, which is a traditional Italian torta, or my gluten-free almond flour cookies that make the most of the wonderful flavors of almonds.
How to blanch almonds
Blanched almonds are simply almonds without the brown skins on the outside. If you don’t have any, there’s no need to rush out to buy blanched almonds. It’s an easy process to do at home.
There are two methods. The one I use is to place the almonds in a small bowl and cover them with boiling water from the kettle. Leave them for a few minutes, then drain using a fine mesh strainer. You’ll notice that the skins will look wrinkled. Just press and slide the almonds out of their skins.
The second method is to bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Tip in the almonds and boil for 60 seconds. Drain and slip the almonds out of their skins. You may need to rinse the almonds with cool water if they are too hot to touch. You’ll be surprised how the almonds pop out so easily!
Instructions
A recipe could never be easier than this one. There is no reason why you shouldn’t make these. Firstly, these cookies are delicious and melt in your mouth. Secondly, Witches Fingers are super easy! Finally, what fun can you have with these cookies?
In the food processor, combine flour, butter, powdered sugar, and salt until the ingredients clump together.
Scrape the dough out onto a work surface and gently press and knead until a smooth dough is formed. Wrap in plastic and chill.
Carefully split the blanched almonds by inserting a thin, pointed knife at the natural slit in the almonds.
After the dough has chilled, take a small amount and roll a log a little thinner than your finger. Cut into finger lengths.
Mold the cut edge so that it is rounded, press a halved almond onto the end, and use a knife to make slits to represent the wrinkles in the knuckles.
Arrange on a prepared baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes until lightly golden.
Remove the Witches Fingers from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Marcellina’s Hint: Take time and care when splitting the almonds with a sharp knife. Alternatively, leave the almonds whole. The Witches Fingers will still look great!
Substitutions
- Unsalted Butter – instead of unsalted butter, use salted and omit the salt in the recipe.
- Blanched Almonds – use packaged sliced almonds or pepitas instead.
- Almonds – instead of almonds, use colored round candies like M&M’s for a less scary look.
Variations
- Flavored – add either 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon of almond extract, or 1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon or orange zest.
- Colored – add a few drops of green food coloring when combining the dough in the food processor for even, spooky witches fingers!
- Scarier – after baking, gently lift the almond off and pipe a little red decorating gel, then replace the almond, allowing the red gel to ooze out from under the nail. You can also use red candy melts or strawberry or raspberry jam for the same effect.
Storage
Store completely cooled Witches Fingers in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days. If you have used a variation, such as adding red decorating gel, the keeping time may not be as long.
Tips for Success
- Be sure to have the butter at cool room temperature so that it blends easily with the other ingredients. Keep in mind that the dough won’t completely come together in the food processor, and you will need to scrape it out to form the dough.
- You can still make this Witches’ Finger cookies recipe if you don’t have a food processor. Just place the softened butter into a large bowl. Add the all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Use a wooden spoon to combine all the ingredients until a dough begins to form. Turn out onto a work surface and knead gently to form a smooth dough.
- When forming the dough, don’t knead it as heavily as you would bread. This will result in tough cookies. Be gentle and knead just until a smooth dough is formed.
- The dough will spread just a little when baking, so keep that in mind when shaping the cookies. Make them a little thinner than your fingers. Use your fingers as a guide when adding the knuckle marks.
FAQS
These Witches Fingers are great Halloween cookies. The dough is easy to make, and you and your children can have fun creating the shapes.
Absolutely! Shortbread is an easy cookie to make and shape. This dough is so versatile and can be shaped however you desire. This recipe is not limited to Halloween. Roll balls and flatten with a fork to enjoy these cookies throughout the year.
Yes, make the dough the day before, wrap it in plastic, and store it in the fridge overnight. The dough may need to sit out at room temperature for 20 minutes or so before you can shape it easily.
The dough can also be frozen for up to one month. Wrap it in plastic, then put it into a Ziploc bag before freezing. Thaw in the fridge before making the Witches Fingers.
Serving Suggestions
Witches Fingers are fun Halloween treats that everyone will love, so be sure to make enough. The halved almond adds a delicious taste and texture to this melt-in-your-mouth cookie. Serve these with Budino al Cioccolato or make my Pistachio Cream recipe to dip into.
Made this recipe?
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Witches Fingers Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 grams) all purpose flour (See Note 1)
- 1 cup (110 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks/227 grams) unsalted butter (softened)
- ¼ teaspoons salt
- blanched almonds for the fingernails
Instructions
- In a food processor, put the all purpose flour, powdered sugar, unsalted butter and salt. Process until it all comes together.
- Scrape the dough out onto a work surface. Gently press and knead the crumbly mixture to form a smooth dough.
- Flatten the dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 40 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, use a small pointed knife to halve the almonds. Gently push the point into the rounded end of the almond where you can see that the two halves are split. Wiggle the knife a little until the almond splits in half. There may be some that don't work out, so have more almonds on standby. This is optional. Whole almonds – blanched or unblanched can also be use.
- Preheat oven 320ºF/160º and line two large baking sheets with non-stick parchment paper.
- I usually let the dough soften a bit before forming the fingers.
- Cut off a small portion of the dough. Squish the dough to soften it. With the palms of your hands, roll the dough into a log a little thinner than your fingers. If the dough breaks, just press it together and keep rolling. These will spread, so roll them thinner than you want the end result to be.
- Cut into finger lengths. Shape the end of each finger so that it is slightly rounded.
- Press a split almond onto the end of the log where the nail would be on a finger. For extra sticking reliability, dab a little milk or egg white on the log where the almond will go.
- Then use a knife to press three lines to mark the knuckles. Make one set of three closer to the fingernail and then another further along. Use your fingers as a guide.
- Place witches fingers onto a prepared cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly colored.
- Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Strawberry or raspberry jam or red icing can be piped around the nail for a scary effect. Serve extra jam for dipping.
Notes
- Be sure to measure the flour correctly by stirring to loosen the flour first, then spooning it into the measuring cup. Or use scales for accuracy!
- Add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract or vanilla extract for extra flavor.
- Have the butter softened but not too soft. It should be at cool room temperature.
- If you don’t have a food processor, combine the butter, flour, powdered sugar, and salt with clean hands. Just squeeze and press the ingredients together. Overmixing will cause the butter to melt and the cookies will spread too much.
- Crumbly dough that doesn’t stick together is the result of too much flour (See Note 1). To fix crumbly dough, add in a tablespoon or two of softened butter, then squeeze and press the butter into the dough. Take care when measuring the flour to avoid this problem.
- Be gentle when you knead the dough. Knead only until the dough is smooth.
- Make the fingers thin, keeping in mind that the dough will spread a little.
Nutritional Estimate Per Serving
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. For accurate results, it is recommended that the nutritional information be calculated based on the ingredients and brands you use.
This updated recipe was first published on 31 October 2011
Excellent ! I think I must have added a bit too much flour (before I noticed note 1 !) and so added a little more butter to get the dough to come together. They spread a little in the oven but still looked like witch fingers and tasted delicious ! Thanks 😊🎃🧙♀️
Sarah, I’m so happy that you loved this recipe. It’s so much fun! Yes, the butter to flour ratio is important but I’m glad to hear that you were able to sort that out.
Thanks for answering me back about using almond flour. I didn’t use that. I did make the recipe but unfortunately it was a miss for me. I tried doing the recipe in 2 batches, 1/3 gluten free flour, 2/3 all purpose flour. I used a stand mixer to blend the butter but the quantity of butter listed in the recipe just wasn’t enough. I had to add at least another quarter cup (in total between the two batches) to get the dough to adhere. I then had a very difficult time rolling out the dough. What I thought would be an easy cookie ended up taking me the whole day to complete. The bright side was the cookies I made tasted good, looked good and were a hit at the Halloween party. Maybe if I had a good stand mixer it would have been easier as others seemed to love making them. Sorry 🎃👻
Ciao Cheryl, I’m glad your cookies tasted good, looked good and were a hit at the Halloween party! A few things could explain why the dough was difficult to bring together.
I make the recipe regularly as written, so I know it works with the listed amount of butter. Many readers have had success with it too. Was your butter softened? Cold, hard butter makes blending it with the flour much more difficult.
The recipe is based on the classic shortbread ratio by weight of 3 parts flour, 2 parts butter and 1 part sugar, with an extra 35 grams of flour to help the fingers hold their shape.
Measuring the flour accurately is particularly important. Dipping the cup into the flour and scooping compacts it, so you can end up with more flour than intended. That changes the ratio and can make the dough dry and difficult to shape. I prefer kitchen scales for accuracy. If you’re using cups, follow Note 1: stir the flour to loosen it, spoon it into the measuring cup, then level it off without packing it down.
You also mentioned using gluten-free flour for part of the flour. Although you didn’t use almond flour, gluten-free flour is another substitution that I haven’t tested in this recipe, and it may have affected how the dough came together.
If you make them again, I recommend following the recipe as written with all-purpose flour, softened butter and carefully measured ingredients. You shouldn’t need a better stand mixer to make them successfully.
Cheryl, I just thought of something else. You said you used a stand mixer. The method described in the recipe instructions is for a food processor. A stand mixer can be used, but the method is slightly different. To use a stand mixer, first cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy scraping down the sides occasionally, then slowly add the flour until incorporated.
This was a miss. There are kore flavorful recipes online that use egg and almond and vanilla extracts to get the dough much needed fat and flavor. Without egg, the dough was crumbly and difficult to work even when ingredients were measured with a kitchen scale. All in all, disappointed I tried this recipe and didn’t stick to my usual recipe.
This recipe is based on a classic shortbread dough, which traditionally doesn’t contain eggs. As explained in the recipe summary, it’s intentionally an eggless cookie with a buttery, crumbly shortbread texture. Shortbread gets its richness from butter, so there’s certainly no shortage of fat in the dough.
I’ve also included notes suggesting almond or vanilla extract for those who prefer additional flavor, along with detailed tips for preventing and fixing crumbly dough.
In fact, I made these cookies again just this week, following the recipe exactly, and the dough came together beautifully. Everyone who tried them thoroughly enjoyed them, which has also been the experience of many readers who’ve made this recipe successfully.
I appreciate that you have a different recipe you enjoy, but this is a traditional shortbread-style cookie, rather than an egg-based cookie, and the difference is intentional.
These are really tasty, not too sweet. I’ve just made a batch, ready for Halloween, and am delighted with them. They look scarily realistic! Such fun!
I did need to use a little more butter, to make the dough stick together.
I used whole blanched almonds; splitting them was too much of a faff. I used beaten egg white to glue them on, and it worked beautifully.
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Oh yes, they are scarily realistic, aren’t they! I recently made them and used whole, unblanched almonds, and I really like the look of that too. A little egg white or milk does help glue the almonds on.
Hello, These look really good and easy to make. Would using some or all almond flour (or Gluten Free all purpose flour) work for these Witches fingers? Thanks, Cheryl
Cheryl, I haven’t made these with almond flour. I don’t think that would work. It could possibly work with gluten-free all-purpose flour, but I have no experience working with gluten-free flour. I hope you find a recipe that works for you.
Made these last night for a Halloween party and they looked like the picture – creepy and delicious. Ran out of time to blanch whole almonds, so used whole toasted Macrona almonds, after rinsing off the salt. Watched the oven to make sure the (already toasted) almonds didn’t overbrown. Next time, I’ll use a smige of egg white to better adhere almonds to the dough. Used vanilla and almond extracts. Keeper!
That’s a good tip about adding a drop of egg white to stick the almonds on, Kathleen. I’m so glad you love this recipe. It’s so much fun!
Made these with my granddaughter. BIG hit. She loved putting some raspberry jelly under the almonds for an even creepier look. I’m making another batch to bring to a Halloween party. Adding some almond extract with the second batch.
Virginia, that’s so wonderful that you and your granddaughter had so much fun with this recipe. I love the idea of putting the raspberry jelly under the almonds. So creepy, haha!!!
You might want to correct the Butter weight. 1 cup of butter is 227 grams and not 240 grams
Thank Tom. I will. Luckily 13 grams won’t make much of a difference in this recipe.
Spookily realistic, lots of fun, super easy to make and most importantly, DELICIOUS! Thank you
You’re right, Nicole, these are lots of fun and very delicious! I’m thrilled that you loved them.
These are useless for Halloween treats. They don’t hold their shape at all! 1 star for taste and shortness, but far too fragile to give out.
Thanks for your feedback. These cookies are ideal for Halloween parties and fun treats to eat. It’s not expected that they’d be mixed up in a trick or treat bag.
second batch is in the oven, I couldn’t wait to try the first batch. Still warm, had 1 and a second just to be sure. delicious. weighed and added extra vanilla extract to bind. happy Halloween witches. confessions from a woman farmer.
I love your feedback! Enjoy!
kids love these biscuits! I added a bit of green food dye and some strawberry jam under the “nails” to spooky them up even more. Thank you for the egg free recipe!! I had been searching for witches finger biscuits and most had egg in it (we have egg allergies) so we kept looking and stumbled across your site. Thank you again the kids loved them!!
What great additions, Amanda! I’m so glad the kids loved them so much!
These were a big hit – I “painted” the fingernails with red food color and added a little green color to the dough before shaping.
Oooh that sounds super spooky! I love your additions, Melinda!
The best Halloween biscuits around! Old and young love them, so easy to make too. Thank you!
Yes, I agree!!
Halloween is not celebrated in my country so I always enjoy watching themed recipes on my favourite food blogs during that time 🙂 And you're no exception! I love your cute fingers maybe even more than the scary fingers (which are perfect, too!). Happy Halloween sounds great and funny 😀
The witches fingers look amazing! So life like – they'd scare me!
What a fantastic and festive treat! Totally love it! :))I hope you had a wonderful holiday!xoxo,Tammy
I love playing with witches fingers – your are especially spooky. Wonderfully spooky! And ghoulishly delicious!
Marcellina ma che belle le tue dita!!!!!!!!! Complimenti cara e buon Halloween!
Marcy sono bellissime!!!! Devo assolutamente provare a farle!