Zombie Finger Cookies

We are looking for spooky edible things to make for halloween,I was searching pinterest and really loved the idea of witch fingers/zombie fingers.I chose to do the zombie fingers since I don’t like using artificial colors in food items for witch fingers and zombie fingers would naturally be skin colored.I used a basic sugar cookie recipe to get the spooky effect.This is the first time I baked a sugar cookie and I must say I liked the taste quite a bit.

Preparation time:45 minutes
Serves:75 fingers

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter(room temperature)

pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg (at room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

75 blanched almonds(see procedure for blanching here)

Red food gel

Procedure:
1.Preheat your oven to 350.Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.Beat sugar and butter together.

3.Add the egg and vanilla and almond extract and mix.

4.Add the flour and baking powder and mix until combined.Wrap in a food wrap and place in freezer for 30 mins.

5.Use a cookie scoop and scoop around 3/4 of the scoop sized balls and roll them into sticks(finger shaped).Keep in mind the cookies will spread a little bit so roll thin cookies to make them look like fingers.(I think mine were still quite large)

6.Put the fingers on the baking sheets and press down a blanched almond on each end of the finger.Repeat for all dough and press down lines with a toothpick to give the ridge effect.

7.Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are very very lightly browned(remove as soon as you start to see color on the edge).If your cookies still spread out a lot,while they are warm you can gently but quickly press them close to shape them into a cookie,if they cool down they will break if you do this.

8.Remove each almond and press some gel color and press it down so it looks like blood oozing out of the fingers,you can also blotch some red gel around the fingers/cracks for the bloody effect.