Halloween Recipe ~ Soul Cakes

Soul cakes are rich cookies that have been used traditionally by the British and Irish during the Middle Ages on Halloween. As children and the poor would go door-to-door in hopes of money or blessings, many homes would give out soul cakes. This is where the origin of trick-or-treating came from.

Soul cakes have even been connected as far back as the ancient Druids, who would bake them during Samhain (Halloween) as part of their festival of the dying Sun God. Soul cakes are thought to hold special healing abilities that ward off evil spirits.

I tried baking soul cakes for the first time two years ago. They came out delicious but certainly left room for improvement, so I was excited to try again this year!

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• Handful of raisins

For salt, I used pink Celtic sea salt (thought it’d be more fitting for an Irish tradition!) And for sugar, I used stevia. You can also feel free to use other spices such as ginger.

Directions:

• First, set oven to 400 degrees.
• Beat one egg and then place in fridge — you’ll need this for later.
• Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl.
• In a pot or large sauce pan, melt butter and add 2 beaten eggs and milk.
• Turn off stove and combine dry ingredients. Mix together until a doughy texture is formed.
• Place dough on a separate plate and knead with hands.
• Place balls of dough on a cookie tray, flattening them out to be about 1/2 inch apart.
• Add raisins to cookies.
• Finally, drizzle beaten egg over cookies.
• Bake 10-15 minutes for soft/chewy texture, bake 20+ minutes for crispier texture.
• Let soul cakes cool down & then enjoy!

I only had a small cookie sheet that could fit six cookies at a time, but you can certainly make up to twelve or so, especially depending on what size you make your cookies.

They came out to be sooo yummy! Other pictures on the internet show them looking much harder and crispier. But personally, I like my cookies on the mushy side! If not, you can always bake them longer!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!