Celebrate the Spooky Season with Idaho® Potato Recipes
You've got the upper hand when you serve crunchy Potato Witch "Fingers" made with Idaho® potatoes.
Eagle, Idaho, October 25, 2021 -- The Idaho Potato Commission’s frighteningly delicious collection of Halloween recipes capture the spirit of the season! From ghoulish appetizers to spine-tinglingly witchy sweet treats you can celebrate Halloween all week long by serving up different dishes each day. A simple click on the Halloween category in the Idaho® potato recipe section will put lots of recipes at your fingertips.
Here are a few of our favorites:
Potato Puff Mummies: A vegetable medley made with Idaho® russet potatoes, corn kernels, carrots, green peas, onions, bell peppers and spices is wrapped in puff pastry and baked to resemble little mummies.
Idaho® Potato Candy Spiders: The secret to these creepy crawlers? Mashed Idaho® potatoes! Cold mashed potatoes are combined with butter, sugar, coconut and vanilla, chilled in a pan and shaped into individual balls that are dipped in melted chocolate to resemble the bodies of dangerous arachnids. Pretzel pieces are added for the spider “legs” and sugar sprinkle googly eyes are attached to make these (almost) come to life!
Frightening Fingerlings: It doesn’t get more eerily enchanting than bacon wrapped Idaho® fingerling potatoes dipped in a creamy cheese fondue sauce. The perfect horrors d'oeuvres for serving up to your hungry party guests, this easy-to-make starter will make you forget about grabbing candy from the bowl set out for the trick-or-treaters.
Chocolate Idaho® Potato Skull Cake: Don’t be afraid to take this fudgy and rich skeleton out of the closet! Mashed Idaho® potatoes are mixed with flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, butter, granulated sugar, eggs and buttermilk to create the cake. Covered in frosting, this sinfully spectacular dessert will disappear as soon as it's on the table.
Batwing Pies: Make all the vampires jealous by whipping up these flaky hand pies. Idaho® potatoes and other vegetables like an onion and butternut squash are mixed with ground beef, beef broth and spices to make the filling. Added to puff pastry sheets and baked to perfection, you’ll be sinking your teeth into more than just one.
The only reason you’ll hear screaming when you serve Potato “Witch” Fingers is because your kids will be thinking you’re serving real fingers with a side of blood (ketchup or hot sauce). Idaho® potatoes are mashed and shaped to resemble fingers while a half of an almond is attached to resemble nails. Use a knife to score ‘knuckles’ so they look nothing less than bewitching-- bake until they are brown and crispy!
Potato “Witch” Fingers
Ingredients
- 1 large Idaho® russet potato, cooked, peeled and mashed
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1-1 ½ teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 24 raw almonds, blanched and halved (for nails)
Directions
1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients, except the almonds and form a smooth dough.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
3. Using a measuring spoon, scoop two teaspoons of the mashed potato dough and roll into a ball.
4. Roll the ball into a finger shape, shaping one end 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 or hot sauce.
About the Idaho Potato Commission
Established in 1937, the Idaho Potato Commission is a state agency that is responsible for promoting and protecting the famous “Grown in Idaho®” seal, a federally registered trademark that assures consumers they are purchasing genuine, top-quality Idaho® potatoes. Idaho’s growing season of warm days and cool nights, ample mountain-fed irrigation and rich volcanic soil, give Idaho® potatoes their unique texture, taste and dependable performance. These ideal growing conditions are what differentiate Idaho® potatoes from potatoes grown in other states. For more information, visit www.idahopotato.com.