New Look

Thank you so much to Emily from the Harestad Herald for helping me turn my blog in to something great! I look forward to doing more posts on cooking, reading, and all the other good stuff! Emily is Brian's cousin...I guess that makes her mine too!

Here is a fun recipe to try:

Witch Finger Cookies:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 egg

1 t. almond extract

1 t. vanilla extract (can use 2 t. of vanilla if you don't have almond extract on hand)

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

whole or sliced almonds for the nails

1 small tube of red decorating gel (or strawberry jam)

Combine first five ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat together. Gradually add flour, baking powder, and salt. Refrigerate dough for 20-30 minutes (this is important).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheets.

Remove dough from fridge in small amounts. Roll the dough in to a thin finger-shaped cookie. You can use wax paper to help you roll the fingers to prevent sticking (although I didn't find this necessary). Press an almond into the end of the finger to make the appearance of a nail. Gently squeeze the finger near the top middle and bottom middle to make a knuckle. You can also use a knife to make lines at the knuckle before cooking as well. Arrange the fingers on a baking sheet.

Bake the cookies until golden, about 20-25 minutes.

Remove the almond from the end of each cookie. Dab a small amount of the red gel on the imprint and replace the almond.

A few personal notes: I added green food coloring to the dough to enhance the spookiness of my fingers. I also added mini chocolate chips to a few of the fingers to make warts. These are fun to bring to any party, even if it isn't Halloween. To my enjoyment, the cookie didn't turn out like a sugar cookie but rather like a shortbread cookie with more of a crunch (how fitting). Also make sure you roll the fingers really thin. The cookies do enlarge a bit in the oven. Unless of course, your witch has fat fingers.