How would you like it if your wand snapped into two on Halloween? Not much, that is obvious. What if your wand suddenly got covered in blood? It would be scary, right? But you will surely like how my spooky wands snap inside your mouth, releasing their flavor. Here's yet another of my sugary Halloween treat recipes, bloody spooky wands, for my beloved readers.

These are made of pretzels and dipped in dark chocolate ganache and shaped perfectly like wands. They are then drizzled with strawberry sauce to make them look really covered with blood.

To start with,

gather your ingredients (serves 24 wands): -

Unbleached all-purpose flour - 1 and 1/2 cups (6 and 3/8 ounces)

Bread flour - 1 and 1/2 cups (6 and 3/8 ounces)

Instant yeast (not active dry or rapid-rise) - 1 teaspoon (1/9 ounces)

Kosher salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Warm water (warm like a hot bath or jacuzzi, not hot, not lukewarm either) - 1 cup (8 ounces)

Water - 8 cups and 1 tablespoon (64 and 1/2 ounces)

Cooking spray or vegetable oil

Baked soda - 1/2 cup (4 and 1/2 ounces)

Packed light brown sugar - 1/4 cup and 2 teaspoons (1 and 7/8 ounces)

Egg - 1 large

Pretzel salt or coarse sea salt - 2 tablespoons (1 and 1/2 ounces)

High-quality semisweet dark chocolate - 1 bar (6-8 ounces)

Fresh heavy cream - 2 cups (16 ounces)

Equipment: - Non-stick paper or waxing paper, Baking sheets, parchment paper, plastic wrap

The actual process of wandmaking: -

Take both the flours, the yeast, 2 teaspoons of brown sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix together, then add 1 cup of warm water and stir until a shaggy dough is formed.

Dust a surface lightly with all-purpose flour and knead the above dough on the surface for 5 minutes. The dough should have a smooth and satiny feel, when kneaded properly.

Take another clean bowl, then lightly but thoroughly paint the vegetable oil or cooking spray on the inside of the bowl with a paintbrush. Paint a piece of plastic wrap similarly. Wrap the dough in the now greased plastic wrap and place it in the greased bowl. Let the dough rise for 1 hour or until the dough is double in size.

Divide the dough into 24 equal sized dough balls. With a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a cylindrical rod-like shape and then use your hand and/or the rolling pin to shape them into different lengths and types of wands, adding in designs by carving with a fork if you like.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Line up your dough wands uniformly on the baking sheets and cover them loosely with the greased plastic wrap. Then, let the dough wands rise for another 30 minutes.

Pour 8 cups of water in a large, wide saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the baked soda and the remaining brown sugar into the water, stirring until dissolved. The water should foam slightly.

Gently drop the dough wands one by one into the simmering water and poach for 15 seconds, then lightly transfer them back to the baking sheets, with the help of tongs, a slotted spoon or a metal skimmer, carefully letting the excess water drip off.

In another large bowl, whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of water to make egg wash. Using a paintrbrush, brush this egg wash onto your wands, evenly.

Sprinkle your wands with the pretzel salt or sea salt.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (180°C).

Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake your wands for 30 to 35 minutes. When they are baked properly, they should be fully hardened, dark brown and glossy. If they haven't turned the same, bake them further until they do, checking back after a few minutes to ensure that they don't get overbaked. Once they finish, hardened up, and look as described above, take them out of the oven and set them aside to cool them completely.

Break the bar of chocolate into small pieces.

In a small saucepan, bring the fresh heavy cream to a simmer over low heat. Do not boil. Immediately pour the still warm heavy cream over the pieces of chocolate. Do not stir. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir with a spatula until the chocolate is completely melted.

Dip your wands in the chocolate with a pair of tongs, coating them evenly, let the excess chocolate slide off and then place your wands on non-stick paper or waxing paper. Let the chocolate coating harden.

Your wands are ready, drizzle them with strawberry sauce to make them look really bloody.

Source referred to for the pretzels: -https://www.seriouseats.com/pretzel-rods-from-classic-snacks-made-from-sc