Cut a fringe into little blocks of natural cheese, add carrot handles, and you have a plate of witches’ brooms for Halloween. The extra carrots and chopped celery go beside them, so the whole plate is ready for snacking.
Allow about 15 minutes for cutting and arranging. If you want homemade yogurt ranch dip alongside, make and chill that separate recipe ahead of time.
Where These Brooms Fit on GAPS
Make these witches’ broom snacks for Full GAPS after natural cheese, raw carrots and raw celery have been introduced and tolerated. Wait until diarrhea, abdominal pain and other digestive symptoms have completely cleared before introducing raw vegetables.
Choose natural organic cheddar or Swiss made without preservatives or other non-GAPS additives. This complete raw vegetable and cheese snack is not an Introduction Diet recipe.
Natural cheese comes later in the GAPS dairy introduction. Use a cheese you already tolerate. The optional ranch has its own ingredients, including egg and homemade yogurt; follow its linked recipe and introduction conditions if you serve it.
Prepare the Vegetables
Wash and peel two medium carrots, then cut them into narrow sticks. Some will become broom handles; keep the rest for the serving plate. Wash the celery, chop it and measure two cups of the prepared pieces.
This recipe makes four snack servings of cheese brooms and vegetables. The number of individual brooms depends on how you cut your cheese block.
Cut the Cheese Bristles
Start with eight ounces of natural cheddar or Swiss in a block. Cut it into rectangles about 1½ inches long and ½ to ¾ inch thick. Use a small knife to make several parallel cuts into one end of each piece, leaving a solid band at the other end. Those cut strips are the broom’s bristles.
Keep the solid band intact. It holds the broom head together and gives you a place for the carrot handle. If the cheese is crumbling before you can make the cuts, choose a natural block that slices more cleanly.
Add the Carrot Handles
Use the knife tip to make a small opening in the solid end of each cheese piece. Choose a narrow carrot stick that fits and gently slide it into place. If the cheese begins to split, stop and adjust the opening or use a narrower carrot stick.
Arrange the brooms on a serving plate with the chopped celery and any carrot pieces left over. Set the prepared ranch in a separate small bowl if you are using it.
Recommended Equipment
Use a cutting board, a small knife, a kitchen scale or an eight-ounce cheese block, a measuring cup and a serving plate. A small bowl is useful for the optional dip.
Serving and Storage
Serve the brooms soon after arranging them. Keep cheese, cut vegetables and prepared dip covered in the refrigerator until needed, and refrigerate leftovers promptly. Store extra dip separately and follow its shorter remaining yogurt or mayonnaise storage time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Use Swiss Instead of Cheddar?
Yes. The source allows either cheese at the same eight-ounce amount. Use a natural organic block that you have introduced and tolerated.
When Do I Cut the Bristles?
Cut the cheese bristles and the handle opening before inserting the carrot. The snack stays uncooked.
Does the Ranch Belong Inside the Cheese?
Serve it alongside in its own bowl. The carrot fits directly into the opening in the cheese.
Cheese and Carrot Witches’ Brooms Recipe
Cheese and Carrot Witches’ Brooms for Full GAPS
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- If serving the optional ranch dip, have the linked recipe fully prepared and chilled before beginning. Its preparation and minimum one-hour chill are separate from this snack assembly.
- Wash and peel the carrots, then cut them into narrow sticks. Wash and chop the celery and measure the prepared pieces. Keep extra carrot sticks for the plate.
- Cut the cheese into rectangles about 1 1/2 inches long and 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Cut several parallel slits into one end of each piece to form bristles, leaving a solid band at the opposite end.
- Make a small opening in the solid end of each cheese piece with the tip of a small knife. Do this before inserting the handle so the broom head stays together.
- Gently insert a narrow carrot stick into each opening. If a cheese piece begins to split, stop and adjust the opening or choose a narrower carrot stick.
- Arrange the brooms on a serving plate with the measured chopped celery and remaining carrot pieces. Serve promptly, with the prepared dip in a separate bowl if using. Refrigerate leftovers promptly.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Other Halloween Recipes
- Raw Jack-o-Lantern Pepper Vegetable Holders give the rest of your vegetable tray a carved face.
- Halloween Chili With Homemade Sausage Toes makes a warm, gruesome centerpiece.
- Candy Corn Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits bring yellow, orange and white to the snack table.
Other Variations
Cheddar and Swiss use the same measured amount and cutting method here. For another vegetable snack with a prepared dip, follow the separate yogurt ranch recipe and choose the vegetables it suggests.
Recipe Source
The cheese-and-vegetable method comes from the Witches Brooms recipe on page 4 of Warren County Health District’s Halloween Meal 9/26 menu. This version uses the source’s carrot-handle option, with its measured chopped celery served alongside.
Plan More Halloween Food
The planned Halloween on GAPS Cookbook is listed in the WFLI shop.
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