Realistic Hallowe'en Severed Finger Cookies

SKILL LEVEL: Child



Realistic Hallowe'en Severed Finger Cookies are fun and easy to make for kids and adults. Here i will make plain human, and green witch versions (just add green food colouring with the wet ingredients).

I am using plain sugar cookie dough from scratch, but you can use whatever cookie dough you want, you can buy the dough pre-made if you want. Adding peanut butter would be simple and easy.

Tools REQUIRED:

Mixing bowls
Wooden or other large spoon
Small teaspon
Small paintbrush (or possibly Qtip)
Cookie sheet (optional aluminum foil)
Paper Towel
Plastic Baggie (for green version)
Oven or toaster oven

Creepy Tray for serving

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Sugar Cookie Dough (2 dozen cookies)

1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup margarine or butter
2 Teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
2 eggs
2-3 cups flour
2 dozen almond slices ( or pumpkin seeds if you have allergies)
some dry  hot chocolate powder mix, cocoa, cinnamon powder or other brown powder

optional:

2 dozen mini white marshmallows for bones
red and green food colouring

optional blood:

red icing ( 1/4 cup icing sugar and a bit of butter/margarine), red jam, or something red to hold the marshmallow "bones"

Step 1Making the cookie dough

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Put 1 cup of white sugar and 2/3 cup margarine/butter in a mixing bowl and cream the butter (mix it with large or wooden spoon) until it is a uniform paste.
3. Add both eggs, salt, baking powder, and any optional flavouring, and mix thoroughly
4. If you are making green witch fingers, add a few drops of green food colouring now while it is wet, and mix

Step 2Adding flour to make a soft dough and prepare surfaces for sculpting

1. To your wet mixture add a cup or so of flour, and mix.
2. If the dough is sticky, keep adding flour a 1/2 cup at a time until it is not sticky, and you can roll it in your hands easily.
3. flour your counter top a bit
4. prepare your cookie sheet with ( optional foil)  and grease it with a bit of butter/margarine on a piece of paper towel, and sprinkle flour on the top of the sheet

Step 3Basic Finger Sculpting

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The cookies with expand 1.5-2 times the uncooked size, so make them smaller then you think you should and they will turn out more realistic. I suggest making a couple test sizes to see the results before you cook them all.

1. Sort your almond/pumpkin seeds for the best looking ones while your hands are clean, set aside in a convenient location.
2. Use your kindergarden skills to take a 1/2" ball size of dough and roll it in your hands to make a "snake" like modeling clay when you were a child. Kids love this step.
3. Put the snake dough on the floured countertop and using your own fingers as a guide add some contours and make the palm end of the finger kinda flat vertically. Work thinner than the final version and flatten a bit.
4. With a small teaspoon, use the point at a low angle to get some nice crevices about half way through the dough from the top (about 4 each location) for the knuckle wrinkles at the 1/3 and 2/3 marks of the snake. The palm end should  should have more rounded wrinkles and deeper.
5. Move the fingers to the cookie tray.
6. With the teaspoon bowl up, create a nail bed on the finger tip for the almond slice (or pumpking seed)
7. Add the almond/pumpkin seed slipping them a bit under the nail bed so they hold,  and tweak your finger sculpture so it is finger like
8. Bake 375F for 10-12 minutes (don't burn them)

Step 4Enhancing Wrinkles

1. Let the cookies cool to the touch
2. With the small paintbrush, paint in the brown powder (hot chocolate/cocoa/cinnamon) into the wrinkles and the rim of the nail bed fairly generously
3. Wait a bit and then shake and blow off the excess powder, and clean up any powder not in crevices with the brush or whatever works.

This is a great place to stop if you want or you can add some GORE with bones and blood.

Step 5Bones and Blood

1. Roll your mini marshmallows so that they are half the width and longer to make the bone sticking out
2. Add some red food dye to half of the marshmallow
3. Stick it on with red icing/red jam/ or melted marshmallow

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Icing:

1/4 cup of icing sugar
Tablespoon of margarine/butter
Several drops red food colouring

mix thoroughly with the back of a spoon in a small bowl until creamy

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Serve on a creepy black or orange plate, a wooden plank with a cleaver, or something creative and scary

Step 6OPTIONAL Green Witch Fingers

Most of the steps are the same as before:

1. cream sugar and margarine/butter, and then add the eggs, salt ,and baking powder mix well.
2. add a few drops of green food colour while the mixture is a liquid, much easier at that step than when it is already dough.
3. add the flour as with the plain version.
4. make your snake shaped dough forms as before
5. add a few small balls of dough for warts on the fingers to add excitement
6. sort your almond slices for the best ones

Step 7Dying The Fingernails

1. place the almonds/pumpkin seeds in a small plastic baggie
2. add a few drops of green food colouring
3. add a bit of water to the bag
4. squish the bag to mix the colouring with all the almond/seed "fingernails"
5. put a paper towel on the work surface
6. dump the seeds onto the paper towel and fold over drying them off and not getting food colour on your fingers (or you will be green for days)
7. make nail beds in the fingers and add the (now green) fingernails to the witch fingers
8. bake 375F for 10-12 minutes
9. As before enhance the wrinkles with the brown powder (hot chocolate/cocoa/cinnamon) and remove excess

Step 8Present your creations

1. makes a nice tray for hostess gifts if you use a creepy black foam tray recycled from the grocery meat department (they will give you clean ones if you ask if you don't want to recycle)
2. Also would be good in a martini glass sticking out of some red dyed milkshake drinks or something dip-able.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Realistic-Halloween-Severed-Finger-Cookies/?ALLSTEPS

Walking Trails in North Wales Borderlands

The North Wales Borderlands is full of outstanding trails for keen walkers. There are many areas to explore in the borderlands of North Wales that are full of natural beauty and stunning countryside that would be hard to match elsewhere.

The Clwydian Range

The Clwydian Range consists of 35 kms of hills and limestone cliffs running from North to South. The highest point in the range is Moel Famau, which has become a very large and popular park that experiences 200,000 visitors every year. At the top of the range you can find the ruins of a tower that was built in 1810 to mark the golden Jubilee of King George III, from where you can admire the magnificent views of the hills concealed in their cloak of heather.

There are two trails through the Clwydian Range, the National Trail known as Offa's Dyke is the longest and runs for 177 miles, starting near Chepstow, from the Sedbury Cliffs and finishing in Prestatyn on the coast of the Irish Sea. The shorter trail is a 99 km route and is a less well-known trail, which runs from Shropshire to Holywell, finishing at Basingwerk Abbey, this trail is known as Wat's Dyke Way and can be traced as far back as the sixth century.

Ceiriog Valley

The Ceiriog Valley rises in the Berwyn Mountains and flows quickly through the valley until it joins the River Dee. The valley cradles the river, which is an integral part of the area's history, as shown by the ancient trees and structures that can be found along the rivers banks. Each season provides walkers with their own unique experience as they amble through the valley marvelling at the wildlife as each flower takes its turn to bloom and colour the slopes.

Coed Llandegla Forest

The 650 acres of conifer forest, which was planted in the early 70's, is a commercially owned and managed venture that has become a popular spot for tourists and local people alike. The forest borders Ruabon Moor and the village of Llandegla, it comprises one of the most important Black Grouse habitats in the country.

There are trails through the forest to suit all abilities, ranging from 2 miles to 7 miles walks, as well as mountain bike trails for those who would rather not walk. The Pendinas Reservoir in the centre of the forest provides water for the locality and is also good for fishing and wildlife. The forest makes for an ideal family outing due to the local wildlife, natural beauty and that none of the walking trails cross main roads.

courtesy of http://www.northwalesborderlands.co.uk

Is Wales the castle capital of the world?

This is a little known fact, Wales has more castles  than any other country in Europe! Wales’ history has left a landscape scattered with Iron Age hill forts, Roman ruins and castles from Medieval Welsh Princes and English Kings.With over 500 castles, wherever you go on holiday in Wales, you won’t be to far from a historic castle.

If you don’t have time to visit every single one, here’s 5 interesting castles to visit

Conwy Castle

Walk the famous Conwy Town Walls
Conwy Castle  and town walls are amongst the finest surviving medieval fortifications to be seen anywhere in Britain. No wonder they are a World Heritage site. It’s hard to believe that they were built at breakneck speed in four short building seasons between 1283 and 1287. Climb the towers and turrets and follow the Time Detectives Trail to find out how the Welsh captured the castle in the 15th century.

Denbigh Castle

Denbigh Castles great gatehouse
Denbigh Castle’s triple-towered great gatehouse is the gatehouse to end all gatehouses. Despite the best efforts of parliamentarian troops to bring down the walls in 1660 after the Civil War, there’s still a lot to see. Explore the mysterious sally port where people could creep in and out of the castle without being spotted, spot the difference between the round towers and polygonal towers built in two separate phases around 1282 and 1295, and drop into the new visitor centre for a break.

Raglan Castle

Raglan Castle, one of last medieval castles to built in England & Wales

Raglan Castle was one of the last medieval castles to be built in England and Wales — still formidable, although designed with comfort and luxury in mind. Climb the Great Tower on its moated island and explore the newly restored undercroft beneath the castle. This cellar housed some of the finest wines in Europe, served at the high table to impress guests. In keeping with Raglan’s reputation for entertainment, the castle regularly plays host to poetry, plays, singing and dancing.

Kidwelly Castle

Kidwelly Castle standing majestically above the river 

Kidwelly is everything a castle should be — steep earthworks, high towers, tall walls and a great gatehouse that took at least a century to complete. Peel back the centuries to the earliest earth-and-timber castle built by the Normans. You can trace its distinctive half- moon shape by walking along the outer stone walls built almost 100 years later. Don’t leave without exploring the great gatehouse or the beautiful little chapel overlooking the river. Plus check out Sculpture Cymru’s exhibition, on until September.

Caerphilly Castle

Caerphilly Castle with it’s famous leaning tower

This is a big castle ; the biggest in Wales. It’s almost complete and it’s surrounded by a series of moats and watery islands. Climb to the rooftop of the massive east gatehouse. From here you can see the rings of stone and water defences that made Caerphilly so strong. Explore the dark passage known as the Braose Gallery and look out for the south- east tower — which out leans Pisa’s famous tower — the mighty siege engines and special firing events.

Discover even more castles

Find out more about Wales’ Castles and heritage attractions .

http://blog.visitwales.co.uk/10918/is-wales-the-castle-capital-of-the-world/

End-of-summer desserts (best of berries)

WOW. Summer just flew by. I can’t say it went particularly fast because it was so hot every day and from so early on that all I’ve done since is ask when the heat will be over! It is finally a normal summer temperature where I live (with no end in sight), but you can still find a few raspberries at the market and blackberries on the vine. But I realize that for many of you, now may be your last chance to snap up some of the seasonal fruit, which will soon be replaced in markets by pears, apples and autumn bounty. I looked through our archives and saw that many of our guests have loved berries, so I thought I’d round up our best berry desserts. If you have a fruit that you think would fit better in these desserts, try it out and let us know about it! — Kristina

Images above and below: Molten-Center Chocolate Cake with Blackberry Sauce by Italy-based Justyna Miziolek

Absolutely one of the most beautiful pies I’ve ever seen was featured earlier this summer. This recipe for a Blackberry Balsamic Pie with Sea Salt Walnut Crumble comes from food stylist and creator of PieBox, Adrienne Blumthal.

A few years ago, Swedish ceramicist Karin Eriksson shared the perfect summer dessert to help beat the heat: Meringue and Raspberry Ice Cream Cake .

Crumpets anyone? British food personality Rachel Khoo’s Crumpets with Raspberry and Long Pepper Curd can go well into fall. What’s not to love about starting the day with a toasty crumpet as the weather cools?

Montreal-based art director and food stylist Christelle knocked our socks off with her Raspberry and Rosewater Cheesecake . If you love raspberries and cheesecake, you’ll love this.

Stacy Newgent brought us a recipe from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Homefor Sweet Corn and Raspberry Ice Cream . I wish they had flavors like this at my usual gelaterie!

Food stylist Dani Fisher has brought some of the tastiest recipes to the column. Her Ricotta Cheesecake asks nothing more than to be topped with your favorite fruit. She chose beautiful blackberries.

Lena Corwin’s recipes are always among our readers’ favorites. Her Fresh Fruit Cake is a cake for all seasons, starting with late summer berries.

Tess Darrow, designer and founder of Egg Press, brought us a Dutch Baby , which is similar in versatility to the fruit cake Lena shared. She makes a quick raspberry preserve to top her Dutch Baby. If you hurry, you could make preserves, too, and extend the season (at least in your pantry) a bit longer!

Food blogger Tim Mazurek of Lottie + Doof shared a simple dessert of Blackberry Napoleons made with Orange Shortbread Wafers . So simple, yet so good. His recipe was adapted from a recipe by Claudia Fleming.

http://www.designsponge.com/2012/09/in-the-kitchen-with-end-of-summer-desserts-best-of-berries.html