• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add extracts and orange zest.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
• Mix in dry ingredients about a third at a time until incorporated (dough will be a little crumbly but not dry).
• Stir in white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and pecans.
• Drop by rounded spoonfuls on to a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet (I roll my dough into 1 ¼” balls for more uniform cookies). Allow your baking sheets to cool a bit between batches (placing dough on a hot baking sheet causes the cookies to flatten out too much).
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden. Cool cookies for 2 minutes on the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

• In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
• In a medium bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
• Add vanilla extract and beat in eggs one at a time until completely blended.
• Mix in the flour mixture in thirds until just incorporated, do not over work.
• Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if desired.
• For best results place dough in the fridge for 24 hours (of course you can always bake the cookies right away if you prefer not to wait).
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350°F.
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Using a small ice cream scoop, place the balls at least 2″ apart (do not overcrowd).
• Bake for 8 – 10 minutes or until edges are golden. The centers should look a little under done.
• Cool cookies for two minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.
• Allow baking sheets to cool between batches, or alternate baking sheets (placing dough on a hot sheet pan makes the dough melt and spread out more than desired) .

• Heat oven to 350° F. Prepare an 8" x 8" baking pan or an 8" round cake pan by spraying with non-stick spray, and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
• Mix flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In another bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Slightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and add to the sugar mixture. Add vanilla and stir just enough to combine.
• Blend in the flour a mixture, then add the coconut, nuts, pineapple, butterscotch and white chocolate. Do not over mix (overworking the batter will make the bars tough). Spread evenly into the pan (batter will be thick).
• Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until lightly golden (baking times will vary based you your oven and choice of pan). Do not over bake. Cool for thirty minutes before turning out on a wire rack to complete cool.
• When the blondie's are completely cool, cut into 1½" squares (remember they are rich).

• In a mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and extracts.
• In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour to the creamed mixture in thirds, mixing into a soft dough.
• Divide the dough into four balls, cover and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.
• While dough is chilling, heat oven to 325° F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Working with one piece of dough at a time (It is important to keep the remaining dough chilled until you are ready to form the fingers), roll into 1″ balls (I use a melon baller).
• Shape the balls into 3″ by 1/2″ fingers between the palms of your hands (don’t worry if they are not perfect, it adds to the effect). Using the flat tip of a table knife, make an indentation for each fingernail. Make three slashes in the middle to create a knuckle.
• Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until slightly golden (the ends of the fingers can tend to burn a little, again, don’t be concerned, it adds to the overall look). Transfer to wire racks to completely cook before decorating.
• While the cookies are cooling, sort out some unbroken almond slices to use as finger nails. I dump the almonds into the center of a plate and then place the ones I intend to use around the edge (makes them easy to grab).
• Arrange the cooled cookies up along the edge of your wire rack finger nail out. Place a good-sized drop of red gel in the middle of the nail bed area, and top with an almond slice. Gently press the almond slice into the gel (a chopstick can prove handy to help position the almond). Allow the gel to dry for an hour or so before moving them.
• I hope you have a “scream” making these cookies with your kids. Happy Halloween!

Dough

• Cream together the sugars and butter. Beat in the vanilla, orange zest, and egg until fluffy. Fold in the flour and salt just until a soft dough forms. Cover and chill the dough for about an hour.
• While the dough is cooling you can make the filling.

Filling

• Beat all ingredients together until smooth, fluffy and easily spreadable.

Icing

• Whisk ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Using a piping bag or spoon drizzle the icing over the cookies.

Assemble

• Remove dough from the refrigerator, lightly dust with flour, and roll between two pieces of plastic wrap to about a 12″ x 16″ rectangle. Gently remove the top layer of plastic and spread the filling evenly over the dough.
• Using the bottom piece of plastic wrap, gently roll the dough into a log trying to prevent air pockets.
• Wrap the roll of filled dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours (once you have wrapped the dough you can gently work it in to an even shape).
• While the dough is chilling, heat your oven to 350° F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• When dough has chilled, unwrap and slice into 1/4″ pieces and place at least 1″ apart on your prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden. Place cookies on a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
• Using a piping bag or spoon to drizzle icing over cookies. Allow icing to set up until firm and not sticky before storing.
• Tip: To easily drizzle icing over a large number of cookies, line them up on wire racks over wax paper. You can then pipe the icing back and forth over the entire row at once.

Shortbread

• In medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together the flour with the salt. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl beat the butter until smooth and creamy using an electric mixer. Add the sugar and cream together until smooth . Mix in the vanilla extract.
• Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated, do not over work dough (over-working the dough will cause the cookies to be tough).
• Flatten the dough into a disk shape and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for about an hour or until firm.
• Position the rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350° F Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough ¼” inch thick.
• Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter.
• Place on the prepared baking sheets, sprinkle with sanding sugar, and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. (This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked.)
• Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned.
• Cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate

• Temper the chocolate in the microwave. When the chocolate has become the right consistency, add the orange brandy oil and stir well.

Assemble

• Using your cookie cutter for a pattern, trace the outline on a sheet of wax paper about 2 inches apart with a black marker. Turn sheet over (ink side down) and place on a baking sheet, outlines will show through the wax paper.
• Transfer chocolate into a piping bag with a small tip. Pipe a bead of chocolate about a ¼ of an inch inside the outline of the cutter, and then flood.
• Place cookie directly over the outline and lightly press into the chocolate.
• Place sheet pan in the fridge for about 15 minutes to set the chocolate. Chocolate may take several hours to completely harden depending on room temperature.