Miniature broomsticks combine pretzels, mozzarella cheese and chives into a savory Halloween snack.
                                 Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader

Miniature broomsticks combine pretzels, mozzarella cheese and chives into a savory Halloween snack.

Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader

Cheese Broomsticks may transport you

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“This would definitely be a cute appetizer/finger food for a Halloween party,” reporter and Times Leader taste tester Margaret Roarty said when she tried a tiny witch’s broomstick made quite simply from string cheese for the straw, a pretzel for the handle and a chive for decoration.

“I don’t know about that green thing,” columnist Bill O’Boyle said of the chive, which he had viewed with suspicion from the onset. “It got caught in my throat.”

Other than that, Bill had been pleased with the taste of his sample. “Mozzarella is always good,” he said.

“I had a little of the chive with the cheese,” Margaret said. “They tasted good together.”

Other tasters — Mark, my mom and neighbor Roger — also liked the addition of the chive.

“It adds a bit of zing,” Roger said.

But reporter Kevin Carroll wasn’t a fan of the main ingredient. “I wouldn’t just eat cheese,” he said.

“Maybe I should have brought some mustard for dipping,” I said.

“That might have helped,” Kevin said.

Still, he had to admit the broomsticks were cute.

“The presentation is 10 out of 10, without a doubt,” he said.

They did look pretty good, I think, after my second attempt to make them.

Over the weekend I’d tried making broomsticks with medium-size pretzel sticks, and that didn’t work well at all. Take 2, on Monday, worked better. That’s when I used thin pretzel sticks and hollowed a little space in the cheese to insert each pretzel. Or perhaps I should say we used thin pretzel sticks, because by then Mark was helping.

Following is the recipe, from sargento.com/. Coincidentally, Sargento’s is the brand of string cheese I used. And the thinnest pretzels I could find were by Tom Sturgis. The chives were fresh-picked from my mom’s backyard. And I didn’t bother with the optional ranch dressing. If I’d used any kind of dipping sauce, I would have gone for mustard. Happy Halloween!

Cheese Broomsticks

pretzel sticks

string cheese

fresh chives

6 ounces ranch dressing, optional

Directions: Cut string cheese sticks in half. Cut bottoms of string cheese sticks to resemble broom sticks. Insert a pretzel stick into the tops of each string cheese to resemble a broom. Wrap each string cheese at the top with a chive to form a knot.

Optional: Serve broomsticks with ranch dressing.

Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on X @BiebelMT.