Potato Cheese Monsters, Cooking with Kids

These Potato Cheese Monsters was our Halloween project for Cooking with Kids this time and we had oodles of fun in the kitchen making them. Watch out guys ! These little fellows are dangerously delicious and they are coming to get you.

These potato cheese monsters are actually mini bread pies – not just very cute to look at but make very yummy snacks. Mashed potatoes are a perfect medium for sculpting different shapes and faces from, so you can use the same recipe to create different facial impressions or make animal/flower shapes to suit any occasion. Also these make great lunchbox or after school snacks that even picky eaters won’t be able to resist.

We have just made an army of 40 of these scowling little bad guys for my younger ones’ friends, and it took us only 45 minutes to do that including the prep and baking time. If you boil potatoes ahead of time, you can get them done in even less time. Involve your kids in this delightful project as they love to mash potatoes and mould faces out of that, using it like play dough. Make fun memories in the kitchen with your kids !
Also check safety measures for cooking with kids on the blog.

For Potato Cheese Monsters:

10 bread slices
1 cup cottage cheese/paneer, crumbled
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
4 medium potatoes, boiled
1 teaspoon white pepper powder
salt to taste
pickled black olives ( for eyebrows)
black peppercorns ( for eyes)
Pickled red peppers ( for mouth)
Or you can use any other available vegetables, cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots and tomatoes can also be used.

This Is What You Do :

Preheat oven at 160 degrees C.

Mash potatoes till they are smooth.

Add the cheese, white pepper and salt. Mash and mix till everything is combined.

Cut rounders out of bread slices using cookie cutter or a plastic glass.

Spread a thick layer of the potato cheese mix over the bread rounds using a butter knife. Save a little potato mix to make the noses.

Dip your knife in water to smoothen out the surface of monster faces.

Make tiny balls with the remaining potato mix, shape them like noses ( round or pointy).
Stick them onto the faces.

Bake the rounds for 10-15 minutes or till the bread rounds are crisp and potato faces slightly golden.

Meanwhile carve out facial features using the vegetables.

Place the rounds over a wire rack to cool. When they are cool enough to handle, gently place the eyebrows, eyes and mouths to complete the faces.
Serve with tomato ketchup.

Makes 10 rounds