a little treat

So maybe it's a little early to be sending requests to Santa.

It is not too early to be thinking about Halloween. I know that for sure. Babies R Us had costumes for sale well over a month ago. I walked into my local Robert's craft store last week and was bombarded with their Halloween displays. I don't know how long they've been up. It's been a while since I was there. I'm guessing they've been up since July 5th, once their unsold red, white and blue goo-gahs had been safely stuffed into the 75% off bin in the corner.

I don't care for Halloween very much. All those years spent trying to teach kids while dressed in their silly little costumes and daydreaming about candy has pretty much ruined it for me. Oh, and the Great Costume Parade through the halls of the school. I know it's fun for the kids, but I shudder just thinking about it.

I do love baking though. Halloween gives me a good excuse to bake (and usually share) some kind of treat that's tasty and themed. My favorite kind.

I got a baking/sharing/Halloweeny idea while I was at Robert's. I saw some adorable treat boxes. They were shaped like those little Chinese food take-out boxes. They even had the little silver handle on them. They were somewhat see-through, covered with little bats, witches and spiders. I would have bought a few but there was no price tag and I was too chicken to ask.

I might go back and get some soon. How would you like to open your door and find a little treat like this on your front step?

Cookies shaped like severed fingers.

I've tried baking these before. They didn't turn out quite right. I hadn't made the dough fingers skinny enough. When they baked, they poofed way up and looked like they had belonged to someone who weighed about 400 pounds. It kind of spoiled the creepy factor for me.

And my recipe didn't have the red goo. I'm loving the goo. Is it too much? I kind of like it.

Anyway, I think this is going to be my Halloween treat for the neighbors this year.* Packaged up in little Halloweeny themed Chinese take-out boxes.

Cost of my little Halloween treat:

take-out style boxes...who knows? (hoping for a price tag next time I'm in the store)
ingredients for cookies...not much (I'll just have to buy the fingernails. I've got the rest.)
time spent baking and packaging cookies...probably way too much (most likely really late at night since that's the only time people around here leave me alone)
grossing out the neighbors...priceless (I hope..and if not grossing them out then at least helping them be slightly amused)

Maybe I'll end up liking Halloween after all. And the neighbors might end up wishing I had just gone with "trick" and egged their houses instead.

Candis, if you're reading this, just act surprised when your little severed finger cookies arrive on your doorstep.

*This totally depends on whether or not Cate is over and done with her All-I-Want-Is-For-Mommy-To-Hold-Me-All-The-Time-And-Never-Ever-Ever-Do-Anything-For-Herself phase by the middle-ish of October, of course. I'm crossing my severed fingers. And my toes.

You can find the recipe for Witch's Finger Cookies with Bloody Goo here.