Samhain Recipe: Soetkoekies

Soetkoekies

These traditional biscuits are not only fitting for Samhain with their spicy notes, but would make wonderful ‘cakes’ for any Samhain ritual’s ‘cakes and ale’.

Ingredients:

500g cake flour

5ml ground cinnamon

5ml ground cloves

5ml ground ginger

300g sugar

150g butter

15ml baking powder

2ml salt

1 egg, beaten

Extra sugar for sprinkling

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200⁰C and grease baking trays.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Once pale and fluffy, beat in the egg.

3. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and spices; mix into the butter and sugar mixture to form a soft dough.

4. On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough and cut out circular biscuits using cookie cutters or an inverted glass. Arrange the biscuits on greased baking trays and lightly sprinkle with sugar.

5. Bake at 200⁰C for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to several weeks.

Tips:

• When baking biscuits it is better to use butter instead of margarine as it gives a crisper texture and a ‘morish’ flavour.
• If the dough is too stiff, then add 1-2 tablespoons of milk; if too soft add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of flour.
• The cinnamon, cloves and ginger and be substituted with 15ml mixed spice.