Today – Witches Halloween Finger Recipe – Soft pretzel dipping sticks with a spooky Halloween look – witch finger pretzels
I am getting just a little excited about Halloween. I have been obsessively ‘Pinteresting‘ all things pumpkiny and today I press ganged E into our first bit of spooky cooking courtesy of the Martha Stewart Halloween Handbook (sent to me from America by my lovely Mum). I’ve not had much experience of baking bread but these turned out just like those yummy warm German pretzel and although they were sculpted by a four year old I think they look pretty fab.
- Flaked almonds
- Food colouring in your choice of colour
- 2 cups warm water
- 1tbs sugar
- 1 sachet dried yeast
- 5 cups plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 1tbs salt
- 2tbs baking soda
- 1 egg (beaten for egg wash)
- Sea salt
- Vegetable/olive oil cooking spray
Witch Finger Pretzels
- You can paint food colouring onto the almonds. However I diluted the colour slightly with a little water, left the almonds to soak in it for a while and then left them on some kitchen role to dry.
- Add the sugar to the warm water and, once dissolved, add the yeast. Leave the mixture to stand until the yeast begins to bubble (about 5 min).
- Beat in one cup of flour (ideally using a mixer with dough hooks but you can do it by hand if your feeling strong). Then add the salt. I had to use some garlic and rosemary salt as we didn’t have any normal stuff and it was lovely. So don’t be afraid to add some flavours if you like.
- Add the rest of the flour bit by bit while mixing. Keep going until it comes together in a dough (about 3/4 minutes with a mixer but longer by hand). If it is still too sticky add up to another half a cup of flour.
- Spray the inside of a large bowl with cooking spray and drop in the dough, turning it over to coat it all in the oil. Cover with cling film or a cloth. Leave it somewhere warm to rise to double its size for about an hour. I use my oven on a 40 degree defrost setting which is a bit quicker.
- Heat your oven to 200 and bring a large saucepan of water to a gentle simmer before adding the baking soda.
- Split the dough into quarters and then the first quarter into 12. Leave the rest covered to stop it drying out.
- Roll each lump into a finger shape, slightly thinner at one end and pinched to create knuckles. I made an indent with the end of a knife to help position the almond nails later.
- Put the first 12 into the simmering water for 1 minute. Then remove with a slotted spoon to a greased baking tray.
- Add the coloured almond nails, brush with egg and sprinkle a little salt on the top if you like. You can score a couple of lines on the knuckles with a knife if you’re going for real authenticity.
- Bake for about 15 minutes (or a little more if your fingers are a bit thicker).
- Halloween fingers are great to eat while still warm. However you can keep them in an airtight container for a day or two.
I hope you enjoy our Witch finger pretzels. Don’t forget to check out the rest of out fun Halloween Activities for Kids
How cool?!
I have to admit I’m quite surprised by how well they turned out.
Blimey, they are super scary!
*evil cackle*
Oh they look so great! And no pumpkin in sight, woohoo. I love pumpkin but not in sweet dishes and so many kid’s Halloween recipes have pumpkin in them. Will definitely give these a whirl!
Oh good, let me know how you get on.
These are soooo awesome!!! I love the nail color too, different from the red, can’t wait to make these!! 🙂 Michelle
Oh these are so fabulous!! Going to have to give these a try! 🙂