Out & About #945 | Halloween Baking Feat. Finger Cookies

Halloween decorations have undeniably grown more gruesome over the years, even prompting some degree of disgust as decapitated plushies make their way to seasonal Hallmark displays. Even the skull-themed installments at Dollarama and the eerie inflatable lawn figure assortment from Canadian Tire are enough to send me in the opposite direction. These fixtures are truly not for the faint of heart.

On the contrary, Halloween treats often lack effort and consideration. Chocolate- and marshmallow-topped "Ghost Krispies", Oreo spiders, Candy Corn sugar cookies, and Strawberry jam-drizzled "Brain" Jello are notable easy, family-friendly creations, but unfortunately only engage the visual senses. Yet, the treats of gustatory adequacy tend to entail some degree of time and/or expertise - think Pumpkin Pies and Tarts, lavish charcuterie boards, or marbled loaves - with visuals more commonplace than creepy.

1) Halloween Finger Cookies

But Finger Cookies are different.
In fact, they constitute one of my favourite childhood memories - possibly the second most momentous occurrence in the kitchen since decorating Christmas cookies!

Frankly, they're easier to make as well, as the fingers are formed organically rather than a repetitive routine of rolling, cutting, chilling (if needed), and re-rolling. The dough was derived from our go-to butter cookie recipe. Half was kept plain, while the other half was made matcha. I had added all but 20 g of the required quantity of flour before roughly dividing the dough in half. Ten grams of AP flour and Momo Tea's Matsu were added to each bowl.

In this iteration, I had accidentally reduced the amount of egg yolks by one. As a consequence, the dough would emerge drier and with noticeably less structure. That said, the blunder worked in my favour, as frightening fingers aren't usually smooth and seamless, but rather wrinkly and grotesque.

​A blend of icing sugar, milk, and food colouring could have easily been whisked together for the bloody finishing touch. Though, we decided to give Wilton's food gel a chance when it was found on the shelves. The microsparkles had me worried at first, for glitter ought be reserved for the holiday season to come. Thankfully, the shimmery components were hardly visible in the final product.

​Sliced blanched almonds work best in mimicking the appearance of fingernails. While on the pricey side, this ingredient should be sourced wherever possible, for whole almonds simply do not exude the same ghoulish appearance. Do be mindful of their brittleness however, and press them into the cookie at the base instead of the tip - physics!

At first, I hadn't been entirely convinced I could recreate the image from my childhood, and even added a ring to prompt the recognition of the cookies as being finger-shaped. Slowly but surely, the Halloween Fingers came together, looking very much realistic.

2) Marbled Banana Bread

These loaves require no introduction, having been constructed at least thirty times in my kitchen.

While the chocolatey, sugar-topped specimens were placed in the oven, I turned my attention towards ghost- and pumpkin-shaped rollout cookies. These would be without faces this time, as stamping on soft dough had previously proved excruciating during the cleaning process.

3) Black Sesame Financiers

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
When life gives you extra egg whites, make financiers. (Or an omelette.)

Crafting the Halloween Finger Cookies had left me with an excess of egg whites, enabling financiers to be prepared for the first time in six months (!). The original plan had been to make a pumpkin rendition, though I was prompted to shift gears in the face of time - and counter space - constraints.

In search of a guideline, I combined Sunday Baking's Chocolate Financier (for its honey-less formula) and scaled up Hanbit Cho's Black Sesame Financier. The ingredient list comprised of:

• 193 g unsalted butter → 147 g brown butter (reduced by 30%)
• 135 g egg white (roughly 4 x 30 g)
• 157 g icing sugar
• 76 g almond flour
• 44 g black sesame paste (more than proportional)

​The first batch involved filling the pan to 90% full, as specified, then baking at 350 F for about 13 minutes. As I only have one 8-count financier pan, the second batch was chilled for about 30 minutes before baking. In order to reduce waiting time, I filled the pans to 100% full, then baked at 350 F for 13-15 minutes.

Alas, the decision had been the pragmatic selection as to commenced dishwashing sooner, but the consistency of the financiers suffered drastically as a result. The second batch adopted a chunky character, as opposed to the coveted leanness of gold bars. They did not bear crisp, golden edges and, instead, were exceptionally moist and cakey.
​Being mistakenly perceived as mini coffins from a distance, it dawned that a bit of icing sugar could render them fitting for the Halloween baking theme, in spite of not contributing to depth of flavour.

​4) Granola

With more egg whites leftover, I took to using 55 grams - the approximate equivalent of 1.5 egg whites - as a binder for granola.

​After baking at 350 F for 35-40 minutes, a gratifying, crunchy medley emerged. Although I did not measure any of the ingredient amounts, results were splendid, and paired great with creamy Balkan yogurt. Oats, almonds (chopped, blanched/sliced), dried cranberries, raisins, sesame seeds, a generous swig of olive oil formed the remainder of the constituents.

​Four and a half hours later, I had finally wrapped up all dishwashing, pan-drying, and portioning duties.

It is with some degree of disappointment that neither a Pumpkin Loaf nor Sunday Baking's new brownie recipe could be attempted. That said, there is always the next availability.

In the meantime, I shall settle for Lindt truffles in Larry's company.