Samhain Recipes

Remembrance Cookies

These cookies can be made on Samhain Eve. They can be shaped like people (use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to achieve this easily) and the herb rosemary is added to the dough as a symbol of remembrance. Some of the cookies are eaten while telling stories or attributes of special ancestors, reminding us that we still have access to their strengths--or perhaps a predisposition to their weaknesses. The rest of the cookies are left outside by a bonfire or by window next to a black candle as an offering. This can be a solemn ritual, but it need not be.

Ingredients for the cookies:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine (softened)
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cream of tartar
1 1/2 T. chopped fresh rosemary (substitute dry)

Heat oven 375 degrees. In a large bowl, beat sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, almond extract, and rosemary until creamy. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Fold flour mixture into sugar mixture. Beat until dough forms and refrigerate for three hours. Divide dough into halves. Roll out one portion to 3/16 of an inch on a floured surface. Cut out with gingerbread women or men cutters and place on an un-greased cookie sheet. Repeat rolling and cutting with second portion of dough. Bake for 5-7 minutes. You can also punch a hole in top of each cookie with a wooden skewer (BEFORE baking) and thread black ribbon through; these can be hung for decorations, or top gifts.

Recipe by Barbara Morris

CAKES FOR THE DEAD

Makes about 3 dozen, dough must be chilled several hours to overnight.

1/2 c veg. oil
4 sq unsweetened chocolate (4 oz) melted
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups pastry flour (not hard, sifted or cake flour)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup confectioner's sugar

Mix oil, chocolate, and granulated sugar. Blend in one egg at a time until well mixed. Add vanilla. Measure flour by dipping method or by sifting. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt into oil mixture. Chill several hours to overnight. Heat oven to 350 degree F [175 degree C]. Roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball (yes, it's messy). Drop balls into confectioner's sugar & roll around until coated. Place about 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 min. They will be a little soft but should not be mushy. Edges should be firm.

 

HOT APPLE CIDER

 

1 1/2 gallons Apple Cider
5 cloves
1 large orange, sliced thin with peel left on
1/2 lemon, sliced thin with peel left on
1/2 cup sugar

Directions: In large pot, combine cider, cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange and lemon slices, and sugar to taste. Serve hot.

All Souls' Day Bread 

 

4 yeast cakes (fertility and money)
2 cups milk
8 cups flour (fertility and money)
1 teaspoon salt (protection)
8 egg yolks (fertility)
2 cups sugar (love)
1 teaspoon grated orange peel (love and money)
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (protection)
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon poppy seeds (luck and invisibility)

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of milk, and add 1 cup of flour. Sprinkle a little flour on top and let rise until size doubles. Add salt and egg yolks, beat until thick. Add sugar and peels and mix with other ingredients. Add 2 cups flour and remaining milk, alternating each so that the mixture doesn't get too dry or too wet. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes, saying:

Blessings upon the living
Prayers for the dead.

Hum if you like or chant. Add remaining flour and butter and knead until dough comes away from your hands. Set dough in a warm place, covered with a warm, damp cloth, until it rises double in bulk. Separate into 4 parts, braid. Brush top with beaten egg yolks and sprinkle with poppy seed. Let rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Silver RavenWolf "Halloween"

 

Pumpkin Bread

 

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (fertility and money)
1 1/2 cups sugar (love)
3/4 teaspoon salt (protection)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (spirituality and protection)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (luck and health)
1 cup canned pumpkin (abundance)
1/3 cup water (cleansing)
2 large eggs (fertility)
1 teaspoon vanilla ( love and mental powers)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (health and wishes - will counteract a fertility spell)
confectioners sugar

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. In a different bowl, combine pumpkin, water, eggs, vanilla, and oil. Mix well. Add dry ingredients slowly and beat thoroughly. Stir in nuts and pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 75-80 minutes (but watch different ovens may lengthen or shorten that time). Cool 15 minutes before removing from pan. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Makes 1 loaf.

Silver Ravenwolf "Halloween"