Children of all ages will enjoy these cookies on Halloween. They add a spooky touch to your party table, trick or treat bags or after school Halloween snacks. They are not only fun to scare your little goblins but they are easy and fun to make.

There are a few tips in making these cookies fun all the way around. The egg wash can be omitted if you prefer. The reason for the egg wash is to give the cookies an old washed out look. It doesn’t change the taste but it may help in solidifying the almond into the fingertip.

This recipe does not tell you that you can slip a few slivers of almond into the cookie to give you the exposed bone effect. You can also add a few line of red gel decorating icing along the cookie to resemble blood or veins. These should be added after the cookie has been baked.

Be sure to roll these cookies very thin. It will help when the cookies spread out in the oven. If the cookies look as if they need to be reshaped during the baking process just remove them from the oven 5 minutes before they have finished baking. Carefully use your fingers to reshape the cookie into the finger shaped form.

Here is what you need to make your Halloween claws: 2 T of red food coloring; 30 almond slices; 2 large eggs; 1/4 t of vanilla extract; 1/2 C of butter at room temperature; 1/2 C of confectioners’ sugar; 5 T of regular sugar; a pinch of salt; 1 2/3 C of flour; 2 drops of almond extract

To make these scary cookies preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place the red food coloring into a shallow bowl and add the almond slivers being sure they are covered with the food coloring. Set the bowl aside until the almonds have reached a bright red color. Remove the almond slivers to paper towel to dry.

Break one of the eggs into a separate bowl. Separate the second egg and add the egg yolk to the first egg. Place the egg white into a separate bowl and set aside. Whisk the whole egg and egg yolk together until well combined. Whisk in the vanilla.

Place the butter into another bowl. Add both types of sugar to the butter. Using an electric mixer on medium speed beat the butter mixture until blended together well. Add the whisked egg mixture and the almond extract and beat 2 minutes or until smooth. Dump in the flour. On low speed beat with the electric mixture just until the flour is moist. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes or until firm.

Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and divide into two parts. Re wrap one section and return to the refrigerator. Lightly flour a smooth work surface and place the remaining dough on the floured surface and separate the dough into fifteen strips. Roll each strip of dough between lightly floured palms to from a finger. Pinch the dough about 1/4 of an inch down to from a knuckle. Place the finger dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Continue until all the strips are formed then repeat with the reserved chilled dough.

Lightly brush each finger with the egg white. Press the red almond slivers into the fingers to form a fingernail. Bake 12 minutes or until a light brown. Cool on wire racks.