Severed Finger Cookies
Posted On 29 October 2021
Being Halloween I really should’ve made these instead of the brownie cookies but oh well. Had this recipe around forever. Used to make it every year to take to the office.
Updated 24 October 2026
Severed Finger Cookies
A great Halloween treat
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer.
Ingredients
- 226 grams butter, softened (1 cup)
- 200 grams granulated sugar (1 cup)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (not optional)
- 360 grams all-purpose flour (3 cups)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- sliced almonds
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder (optional)
- red decorating icing
Instructions
The Mixing
- In a bowl mix together the flour (360g), baking powder (½ teaspoon), and salt (1 teaspoon).
- In bowl of a stand mixer or a bowl with a hand mixer, cream together butter (226g), and sugar (200g) for 3-5 minutes until fluffy.
- Add the egg (1), almond extract (½ teaspoon) and vanilla (1 teaspoon) and stir to incorporate.
- With mixer on low, add in the flour/salt/powder/cocoa mixture until combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl (or scrape into another bowl), cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Some would say overnight is best.
The Forming
- Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping remainder refrigerated, use about 16-18 grams of dough at a time and roll into finger shape for each cookie. Press half-almond firmly into one end to act as a finger-nail. You'll notice that your hands are warming the dough a lot and making it easier to work with.
- Squeeze in center to create knuckle shape. Using paring knife, make slashes in several places to form knuckle wrinkles. (Look at your own finger.)
- Place each finger on a plate. Once you've done about 12-15 of them, put the plate into the freezer while the oven is heating (that's the next step).
- Heat oven to 375°F / 160°C
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- When the oven is heated, place the fingers onto a parchment-lined baking sheets. With the freezing they shouldn't spread too much so you can crowd a bit.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. (This would be a good time to form the next batch and put them into the freezer.)
- Let cool for 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet then move to a cooling rack to cool completely — 30+ minutes.
- Let sheet pan cool completely before doing the next batch.
The Decorating
- Once they're all baked and all cooled completely, use a pastry brush and brush the fingers with cocoa powder (optional).
- Lift up the almond/fingernail and squeeze red icing onto the nail bed and press almond back into place so that the icing holds it in place and oozes out a bit.
- Put more red icing on the "severed" end of the finger.
- Let all the icing set completely before transporting. Or not.
Notes
- If this is not something you do a lot, and I know I don’t, I found an icing like this that comes in an easy-to-use pouch with tip. Cookie Icing Pouch
