Spooky Witches Fingers (Eggless)

Its that time of the year where scary and spooky are mainstream. Halloween brings with it a carnival kind of atmosphere where everyone wants to pretend to be someone else. Going by the number of Halloween Express shops that open up in October, its a mad rush to get out of the skin of one's own life. Before my blog goes all philosophical and analytical on this top I will turn the focus back to food. Pumpkins are everywhere for halloween but not really as a dish. Jack-o-Lanterns adorn many lawns and door steps. Wildly imaginative cookies and cupcakes are also the norm.

I decided to bake the spooky witches fingers to celebrate the Halloween mood early and also as part of the Home Bakers Challenge. The recipe here is a keeper and gives consistent good results. My biggest tip while baking cookies is to chill the shaped dough for atleast 5 minutes before popping it into the oven. This slows down the spread and ensures you dont have to get it off the tray with a spatula.
My daughter refused to even come close to them in the beginning but enjoyed eating it after we demonstrated that they were really harmless. But the whole episode made me gloat with pride at such a life like creation! The hubby who, as my blog readers will know, hates sweets also devoured many many of these fingers.

Spooky Witches Fingers (Eggless)

Recipe Adapted from here
Servings: 30 pieces
Prep Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 25 mins per batch

Ingredients 

1 1/3 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Butter (softened)
1/2 cup Sugar
Ener-G Egg Replacer equivalent of 1/2 egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla essence
30 Whole Almonds with skin

Instructions

1. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Sieve and set aside.
2. Whisk the sugar and butter till well combined (whitish and fluffy). This took me around 3-4 minutes.
3. To this add the egg replacer and vanilla essence and whisk for another couple of minutes.
4. Add the dry mixture in parts to the wet mixture and mix till combined.
5. The whole thing comes together as a soft dough. Cover and refridgerate for 20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 325 F.
7. Remove small portion of the dough at a time from the fridge, shape into desired form and place an inch apart on a cookie tray.
8. Refridgerate the cookie tray for atleast 5 minutes and then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove when base is lightly browned. 
9. Leave the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes and then cook on a wire rack. 

To shape like a finger

1. Pinch of a small ball of dough and place on parchment paper.
2. Working quickly press and elongate to a log of around 4 inches long and 1/4 inch diameter. 
3. Pinch the edge on one side to give a tapered look. That's the nail side
4. Pinch in the log along the length
5. Using a blunt knife (butter knife) make indentations cross-wise on the log to give it a natural look
6. Press a whole almond on the tapered edge