If you don’t have, or cannot find, icing color (which is also known as gel paste dye) you can substitute regular liquid food coloring, but you will have to use more of it to get a fully saturated color. It may not want to blend as well with the egg yolk, either, and it will created a diluted solution that may soak into the puff pastry too readily, resulting in a blobby look for the fingernails.

Solution? Only paint a small bit on at a time, allow it to dry and then apply a second (or even third) coat. Or you could skip this step of the recipe altogether. Everyone will get the point that these are hands, so it is not necessary to give them red fingernails.

 

INGREDIENTS

For the Crawling Hands

1 large egg yolk

Wilton Red Icing Color

1 package frozen puff pastry

You will need: Wilton hand-shaped cookie cutter

For the Chicken Pot Pie

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken broth

2 packages frozen mixed vegetables

3 cups roasted or rotisserie chicken, shredded

1 Tbsp. garlic salt

Pepper, to taste

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

To make Crawling Hands: Heat oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk egg yolk and 2 drops red icing color in a small cup until blended; set aside.

Roll out one sheet of puff pastry dough on a lightly floured surface. Using cutter, cut out 6 hands. Place on prepared baking sheet. Using a small paintbrush, paint egg yolk mixture onto tips of fingers to resemble fingernails.

Bake pastry 15 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining sheet of puff pastry dough.

To make Chicken Potpie: Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook, whisking, until bubbling. Gradually whisk in chicken broth. Stir over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a rapid boil and thickens. Stir in remaining ingredients. Return to a simmer; cook for 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Pour mixture into serving bowls and garnish with Crawling Hands.

USE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW

NEXT

Quick Tip:  To get the best results from puff pastry, completely thaw it overnight in the fridge, before you try to unfold it. Flour both your work surface and the rolling pin to avoid sticking and pulling of dough, which will make it tough. Roll it out gently, as too much pressure will compresses the layers and you will lose the flaky texture. After you have cut out the hands, pop them into the fridge while you preheat the oven, to solidify the butter for puffier results. Bake, and serve them immediately, as the puffiness doesn’t last long.

Recipe and image courtesy of Iain at Woman’s Day Kitchen