Description
These Halloween Zombie Fingers are spooky, fun, and perfect for your Halloween dessert table. Crafted from buttery cookie dough shaped like creepy severed fingers, accented with almond fingernails and a blood-like effect from red gel or strawberry jam, they offer a delightfully eerie treat that’s both tasty and visually striking.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- green food coloring (optional for dough tint)
Decorations
- 1/2 cup whole almonds (for fingernails)
- red gel food coloring or strawberry jam (for blood effect)
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and powdered sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract thoroughly until fully combined.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add this dry mix to the wet ingredients, stirring until a cohesive dough forms. If desired, add a few drops of green food coloring and knead until the dough is evenly tinted a sickly green.
- Chill the dough: Divide the dough into two pieces, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up, making shaping easier.
- Preheat oven and prepare baking sheet: Heat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Shape the fingers: Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into finger shapes, slightly thinner than a real finger for a realistic look. Press a whole almond into one end of each finger to serve as the fingernail. Using a knife, make small horizontal slashes across the knuckle areas to add texture and realism.
- Bake: Arrange the shaped fingers on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them slightly apart. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges.
- Add the bloody effect: Remove the fingers from the oven and allow them to cool slightly. Carefully lift off each almond, dab a small amount of red gel food coloring or strawberry jam underneath it, and replace the almond to create a bloody nail effect. Additionally, dab red gel around the knuckle slashes for a gory appearance.
Notes
- For extra creepiness, tint the dough a sickly green before baking and emphasize the knuckle slashes after baking by lightly dusting with cocoa powder or melted chocolate.
- Almonds with the skin on provide a more realistic, eerie fingernail look than blanched almonds.
- These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
