Spooky Witches' Fingers

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter , softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2.67 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 0.75 cups whole almonds
• 1 tube red decorating food gel or seedless strawberry jam , .75-ounce

Instructions

1. 1

   Beat butter, confectioners' sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add flour, baking powder, and salt, continually beating until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.

3. 3

   Remove dough from the refrigerator in small amounts. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon at a time onto a piece of waxed paper. Use the waxed paper to roll dough into a thin finger-shaped cookie. Press 1 almond into one end of each cookie to give the appearance of a long fingernail. Squeeze cookie near the tip and again near the center of each to give the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into dough with a sharp knife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. Repeat with remaining dough. Arrange shaped cookies on the prepared baking sheets.

4. 4

   Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are slightly golden in color, 20 to 25 minutes.

5. 5

   Remove almond from the end of each cookie; squeeze a small amount of red decorating gel into the cavity. Replace almond to cause jam to ooze out around the tip of cookie.