Bring a little gruesomeness to your Halloween parties with these delicious Potato Witch Fingers. Dunked in ‘bloody’ ketchup, these delicious treats will bring a smile to all who feast!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Idaho Potato Commission. All opinions, as always, are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support Love is in my tummy.

I’ve always, ALWAYS felt drawn to all things magical.

When we were in college, as a joke, I convinced my husband (friend, then), simply through storytelling that I was an occult practitioner. It messed him up a lot (he still has his doubts).  What can I say? There was a storm outside, the power was out, I was bored and easy prey was at hand. 

So it should come as no surprise that Halloween is my favorite festivity of the year. That skull in these photos, I named him Ben. You’ll be seeing a lot of him this month.

Three years ago, I created a series of spookilicious recipes, which I’m republishing now with better, more spooky pictures.

Starting with these Potato Witch fingers. 

Don’t worry. No humans were harmed in the making of this treat.

Some delicious Idaho potatoes were, though.

I adore this scene from Alice in Wonderland, where the White Queen brews a potion for Alice to bring her back to normal human size, and she grabs a pair of ‘buttered fingers’, sniffs them and has a really funny gag reflex. Maybe next year, I’ll bake them from bread! Ha!

But for now, you can go ga-ga (no gagging necessary!) over these mashed potato Witch fingers, which can be served as appetizers, much like fries. While they’re at their crisp best when they’re fresh out of the oven, as they cool, they do soften a little and wrinkle, like regular fries do, at which point they achieve maximum creepiness. Neither forms affect taste though; you’re welcome, world!

These fingers can be shaped ahead of time and refrigerated. If you have bored munchkins around bugging you all day, delegate this creepy task to them, they may even enjoy the creepiness. Just remember to thaw them to room temperature before baking, so as to not mess up the baking time and texture.

As for the almond ‘nails’, you can buy them blanched, or make them yourself. I use this 1 minute blanching technique. don’t pre-roast the blanched almonds, and you’ll have that perfect aged nail look on your witch fingers.

Find a really creative way to display them on your table, and you are all set for a spooktacular night! Even better, along with regular ketchup, serve this Beet ketchup – it actually looks like congealed blood.

This post was first published on Oct 14, 2016. It has been re-published with new images.

This recipe is a part of the Halloween series. Here are the other spooktacular posts: Vegetable Puff Mummies| Puff Pastry Voodoo Dolls | Pumpkin Queso Fundido

And when you make these BAKED Potato Witch ‘Fingers’ (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here!

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BAKED Potato Witch 'Fingers'

Yield: 24 ‘fingers’

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Bring a little gruesomeness to your Halloween parties with these delicious Potato Witch Fingers. Dunked in ‘bloody’ ketchup, these delicious, yet simple 5 ingredient treats will bring a smile to all who feast!

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Ingredients

• 1 large Idaho® Russet potato (13 ounces / 376 grams), cooked, peeled, mashed
• ¼ tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1 – 1.5 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 24 raw almonds, blanched and halved (for nails)

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients together (except the almonds) and form a smooth dough.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
3. Using a teaspoon measure, scoop two teaspoons of the mashed potato dough and roll into a ball.
4. Roll the ball into a finger shape, shaping the ends to a point for the nail to sit on.
5. Place the shaped finger on the prepared baking tray. Repeat with the remaining dough.
6. Using a knife, score knuckle lines on the finger, 3-4 lines below the nail area, and 3-4 lines towards the end of the finger.
7. Place an almond half on the nail area.
8. Bake in the preheated oven at 400°F/200°C for 20-25 minutes, until the bottoms brown and crisp and the top is puffed and firm.
9. Serve hot with ketchup.

Notes

• The fingers can be shaped the day before and baked just before serving. Bring to room temperature before baking.