Halloween is not popular in Poland. The media do what they can, but it is hard to change traditions. We celebrate All Saints’ Day on 1st of November. We visit the graves of our dead and bring candles and flowers. Cemeteries look beautiful then, but it’s the day of thoughtfulness. Even radio stations play only nostalgic and melancholic music.
So this year it will be so different. I can’t wait to see Halloween in Ireland. All my friends say it is the nicest holiday here.
I got myself into the Halloween mood and prepare some food.
Witch’s fingers are the first recipe I tried. They are so creepy and funny. It’s good to have some artistic talents when making them, but even when you are lousy like me, you can still have great fun.
Witch's fingers
Ingredients
- 225 g soft butter
- 3/4 cup icing sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 2/3 all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup almonds (whole or cut in half, depending on how thick you want the nails to be)
Directions
Put all ingredients, except the almonds, in a bowl and knead them (you can use a food processor). Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop one heaped teaspoon of the dough and shape it into a finger (it should be skinner than yours, because they will spread during the baking process). Press an almond into the end of each cookie to form a nail. Squeeze in the centre of the dough to create a knuckle shape. To make knuckles creases simply cut the dough a few times with a knife.
If the dough gets too sticky, put most of it into the fridge or even freezer and work with a few pieces of it. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.
If nails fall off, reattach it with a jam (red one will be perfect).
Transfer the cookies onto a wire rack to cool. Be careful they are very fragile.
Magda's Cauldron 