Herbed Breadkstick Witch Fingers

Don’t wait for Halloween to make these breadsticks - they are wonderful any time….minus the green and the gore!

Halloween parties can be so much fun and were a family tradition when our children were growing up. The invitation read: Come to our house and eat warm but scary sweets and savories to reward your trick or treating efforts! Most of the children were already full from eating candy by the time they arrived but the adults were grateful for the spicy chili, with floating plastic eyeballs in it, the cheese and vegetable dips with plastic lizards and frogs climbing about and the gnarly witch-finger herbed breadsticks, so realistic-looking that the older generation had to be careful not to put their own fingers too close to the serving platter!

What fun we all had making the dishes and table look as creepy as possible and defying guests to reach in among the fingers and reptiles to take what they wanted to eat. These breadsticks are so much fun to make and children love to help shape them. My grandchildren use my own fingers as their model and gnarl the dough to create knobs and swollen knuckles to achieve a witchy look. And the almond finger-nail!

If that weren't enough, the Italian herbed dough is soft and fragrant, a perfect accompaniment to chili or marinara sauce, or ranch dip or cheese dip - great with anything that is a friend to bread, though perhaps not to witch's fingers!

herbed breadstick witch fingers

1 tablespoon (1 pkg.) active dry yeast

1/4 cup lukewarm water

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup soft butter

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 egg beaten

1 tablespoon crushed basil

1 tablespoon crushed oregano

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried parsley

2 tablespoon minced dried onions

whole almond slices

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon paprika

-Combine yeast with lukewarm water and allow to stand 10 minutes. Add butter, milk, water, sugar, salt, egg and spices. Mix in 2 cups flour and beat well. Add the rest of the flour. Knead for 6 - 8 minutes with a dough hook on mixer or by hand on floured surface. Place in oiled bowl, turn over so dough is covered with oil and cover with plastic wrap or towel and let rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2 hours.

-Push down dough and knead for a minute or so. Working with half the dough at a time, roll dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Cut strips of dough, finger- size, about 3/4 inch wide and 4 inches long. Roll each finger strip between your fingers to create knobs and indentations in the "fingers".

-Place finger strips on greased cookie sheet. Shape one end to a point and brush with a bit of egg white to help the "finger nail" adhere. Press a whole almond slice into the end of the finger. With a sharp knife, score knuckle creases at 2 points on the finger. Brush the breadsticks with melted butter. Combine Parmesan cheese and paprika and sprinkle breadsticks lightly with finely grated parmesan cheese.

-Let rise 15 minutes at room temperature. Bake in a 375 degree oven until slightly browned, 15 - 20 minutes. Let cool and serve with chili, chili dip or spicy marinara sauce.

Roll out the dough to 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickness.

Cut into thin strips 4 - 5 inches long.

Create gnarly fingers, by twisting or pushing, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and paprika. Let rise 15 minutes.

PERSNICKETY NOTES:

**Try coloring the dough a dark green by adding a drop of black food coloring and a few drops of green to make them particularly ghoulish.

**A great way to get the effect of gnarly witchy fingers, is to push each end of the length of dough toward each other, which naturally creates wrinkles and misshapen fingers!

**Why stop here? Try making actual "finger" sandwiches, slicing the fingers in half and filling with chicken salad, cream cheese and cucumbers or pimento cheese!