Samhain Recipes

Halloween Pumpkin Muffins

by Gerina Dunwich

4 cups Flour
3 cups Sugar
1-3/4 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 tablespoon Ground Cloves
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Nutmeg
1/2 tablespoon Ginger
1-1/2 cups Raisins
1/2 cup Walnuts (chopped)
4 Eggs
2-1/2 cups Mashed Cooked Pumpkin
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Water

In a large mixing bowl, combine the first eleven ingredients, and then make a “well” in the middle of the mixture. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs lightly and then add the pumpkin, vegetable oil, and water. Mix together well. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. (Do not overstir!)

Spoon into paper-lined muffin pans, filling about two-thirds full. Bake for 20 minutes in a preheated 375-degree oven and then immediately remove the muffins from the pans to prevent them from scorching and drying out. (This recipe yields about 3 1/2 dozen muffins.)

(The above “Halloween Pumpkin Muffins” recipe is from “The Wicca Spellbook: A Witch’s Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions and Recipes” by Gerina Dunwich, page 171, Citadel Press, Carol Publishing Group Edition, 1995.)

Cauldron Cookies

by Gerina Dunwich

3/4 cup softened butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans

Cream the butter in a large cast-iron cauldron (or mixing bowl). Gradually add the brown sugar, beating well. Add the eggs, lemon juice, and rind, and then beat by hand or with an electric mixer until the mixture is well blended. The next step is to stir in the flour and pecans.

Cover the cauldron with a lid, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

When ready, shape the dough into one-inch balls and place them about three inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Bake in a 375-degree preheated oven for approximately eight minutes. Remove from the oven and place on wire racks until completely cool.

This recipe yields about 36 cookies which can be served at any of the eight Sabbats, as well as at Esbats and all other Witchy get-togethers.

(The above “Cauldron Cookies” recipe is from “The Wicca Spellbook: A Witch’s Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions and Recipes” by Gerina Dunwich, page 167, Citadel Press, Carol Publishing Group Edition, 1995.)

Granny McCoy’s Pumpkin Pie

by Edain McCoy

This recipe makes two nine-inch pies.

3 cups Cooked Pumpkin (canned is fine)
1-1/4 cups Evaporated Milk
2-1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
1/2 heaping teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/2 scant teaspoon Salt
1/4 rounded teaspoon Allspice
1/2 rounded teaspoon Cinnamon
4 well-beaten Eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and pour into two deep, unbaked pie shells. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a knife comes out of the center clean.

(The above “Granny McCoy’s Pumpkin Pie” recipe is quoted directly from Edain McCoy’s book “The Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways”, page 32, Llewellyn Publications, 1994.)

Colcannon

by Edain McCoy

Potatoes, harvested from August to October, were a part of the feast in Ireland where they were made into a Samhain dish known as colcannon. Colcannon is a mashed potato, cabbage, and onion dish still served in Ireland on All Saint’s Day. It was an old Irish tradition to hide in it a ring for a bride, a button for a bachelor, a thimble for a spinster, and a coin for wealth, or any other item which local custom decreed in keeping with the idea of the New Year as a time for divination. If you make colcannon with these little objects inside, please exercise caution against choking.

(Serves eight)

4 cups Mashed Potatoes
2-1/2 cups Cabbage, cooked and chopped fine
1/2 cup Butter (avoid corn oil margarines as they will not add the needed body and flavor)
1/2 cup Evaporated Milk or Cream
3/4 cup Onion, chopped very fine and sauteedbr> 1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon White Pepper

Saute onions (traditionalists saute in lard or grease, but butter is acceptable). Boil the potatoes and mash them (do not use artificial potato flakes). In a large pan place all of the ingredients except the cabbage and cook over low heat while blending them together. Turn the heat to medium and add the chopped cabbage. The mixture will take on a pale green cast. Keep stirring occasionally until the mixture is warm enough to eat. Lastly drop in the thimble, button, ring, and coin. Stir well and serve.

(The above “Colcannon” recipe is quoted directly from Edain McCoy’s book “The Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways”, page 38, Llewellyn Publications, 1994.)