The Main Thing I Get From Dylan Hollis Cooking Old Recipes Is This:

Soul Cakes and Halloween Costumes

“Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble” - Witches’ Speech, Macbeth

End of October and early November is an interesting time of year. Marking the end of the harvest season, October 31st - November 2nd share four separate holidays:

Halloween on the 31st;

All-Saints Day on the 1st; and

All-Souls Day and Samhain on the 2nd.

For such an interesting time of year, it’s no wonder that recipes have appeared across time to commemorate each occasion.

Traditionally baked to celebrate All-Souls Day, Soul Cakes are sugar-cookie-esque spiced cookies (or biscuits) that are made with none of the vanilla extract, baking powder, or baking soda that we’re used to seeing in modern recipes. Rather, they rely on their interesting blend of spices to treat your taste buds!

If you’re looking for something to keep the Halloween season going at school or work even after the holiday has passed, bring in these cookies to snack on!

Have a safe and happy Halloween/ All-Saints Day/ All-Souls Day/ Samhain everyone!

P.S: The fox in the picture is named Elphaba!

(Adapted from Helen Best-Shaw’s Fuss Free Flavours and Cooking Journey Blog)

Prep: 10 mins               Cook: 30 mins               Overall: 40 mins

Ingredients*:

¼ cup + 3 tbsp. (100 g) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar

2 egg yolks

2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour

1 pinch saffron or ground turmeric (for colour)

1 tsp. (2 g) all-spice

½ tsp. mixed spice**

2 ½ tbs. (35 ml) milk

50 g raisins***

* Makes enough for 15-18 2-inch (5 cm) diameter cookies or 24-27 ~2.6-inch (6.6 cm) diameter cookies.

** Mixed spice is a spice blend that includes cinnamon, coriander seed, caraway, nutmeg, ginger, ground cloves, and caraway. I don’t have access to this blend so I added ¼ tsp. cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves individually to make ½ tsp..

*** I didn’t have any regular raisins so I substituted for golden raisins.

To start, preheat the oven to 360℉ (180℃) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Next, in a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.

Then, whisk in the egg yolks.

Add flour, all-spice, mixed spice, and milk and stir until the dough holds together.

After, stir in the raisins until they are well distributed.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and roll it out to about o.6-inch (¼ cm) thickness. Then, cut the dough in circles using a cookie cutter.

Recombine and re-roll any dough scraps to get the most cookies possible!

Place the dough circles on the parchment-lined baking sheet - leaving space between each cookie. Cut a plus-sign (or cross) shape on each cookie (adding the raisin is optional).

Bake on the middle oven rack for 15-20 mins - rotating the pan halfway through - until they are golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Overall, I would give this recipe a 5/5. The spices used in the cookies made for a different and delicious spin on the sugary cookies we’re used to nowadays. I had a lot of fun diving into this medieval British treat and hope to try more in the future!

Happy Halloween/All-Saints Day/ All-Souls Day/ Samhain!

I don’t know what I was expecting.. but it was NOT this

Stuffed Egg-Battered Toast

“There’s nothing more comforting to a comfort-obsessed halfling than the warm intermingling scents of vanilla, maple, and walnuts filling their home.” - Heroes’ Feast, p. 120

French toast is a staple of Sunday Brunches everywhere, and it’s easy to see why. This fried breakfast bread is easily customized with whatever you want. Syrup? Eggs? Fruit? It’s all fair game to this tasty toast!

Taking a swing at its own version, Heroes’ Feast’s Stuffed Egg-Battered Toast looks to change it up by putting its toppings inside, rather than on top.

With each slice stuffed with mascarpone, walnuts, and a truly questionable amount of vanilla extract, your kitchen and taste buds are surely going to be treated to that homely vanilla smell that halflings crave so much.

Check out below for my notes on the results and for tips and tricks when making this yourself! Get Heroes’ Feast here: https://dnd.wizards.com/heroes-feast

Prep: 5 mins    Cook: 25 mins    Total: 30 mins

Ingredients:

4 ounces (½ cup, 120 g) mascarpone, at room temperature

¼ cup (25 g) walnuts, finely chopped

2 tsp. (10 ml) pure vanilla extract*

4 (1-inch-thick) slices of brioche or challah

2 eggs

½ cup (120 ml) whole milk

¼ tsp. (2 g) kosher salt

2 tbsp. (30 g) unsalted butter

½ cup (120 ml) maple syrup

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting**

* That uh… sure is an amount of vanilla for a ½ cup of mascarpone.

** I used chopped strawberries instead.

In a small bowl, stir together the mascarpone, walnuts and vanilla. (I forgot to take a picture of this each time I made it. L.)

Use a thin knife to cut a 2-inch-long slit through the side of each slice of brioche, creating a pocket.

Gently open the pocket and spoon 1 tbsp. of the mascarpone mixture into each slice.

TIP: As mentioned in the “cook’s notes” section, the bread is very delicate and tears easily- so take extra caution when opening and stuffing the pockets.

Alternatively, the notes mention that you could use ½-inch slices and spread the mixture between them like a sandwich. However, I worry about its structural integrity while dipping it in the egg mixture or flipping it in the frying pan.

But, since stuffing each slice is a pain, it might be worth going with the sandwich method.

NOTE: Only stuff the slices if they’re cut 1-inch-thick. ½-inch and even ¾-inch slices are way too thin and will tear.

In a pie dish or shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and salt.

BEFORE DIPPING the slices, melt 1 tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

Dip two stuffed slices into the egg mixture, turning to soak both sides and letting any excess batter drip back into the bowl.

TIP: You only need to let each side soak for a few seconds. Any longer than 5 makes the bread mushy.

Place the sides in a skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Use a spatula to transfer the toasts to a warm plate.

Repeat to cook the remaining two stuffed slices.

Meanwhile, warm the maple syrup in a small saucepan over low heat for a few minutes.

TIP: The “cook’s notes” section mentions that warmed marmalade can be used to replace the maple syrup.

NOTE: I misread the instructions for this step and cooked all four slices at once. To fix the uneven browning, I flipped the lighter parts to the middle of the pan for about 20 seconds after cooking each side.

NOTE: To save on dishes, I chose to not warm my syrup.

Top the toast with strawberries (and/or confectioners’ sugar), drizzle with the maple syrup, and serve.

Overall, this recipe has one thing really working against it: the vanilla extract.

Personally, I found the filling to be inedible with 2 tsp. of vanilla extract in the mascarpone mixture. The alcohol in the extract doesn’t have enough time to cook out and leaves everything with a distinctly alcoholic taste. 

This would be fine if other flavours used in the recipe complimented the taste of the alcohol or if the taste was expected (like an alcoholic french toast). Unfortunately, nothing here works with it and, being a breakfast food, it isn’t expected. So, it ends up overwhelming the toast and making it unappetizing.

My solution to this was to cut back the vanilla extract to ½ tsp. The taste was still a little strong, but there was an improvement. If you’re planning to make this at home, consider cutting the vanilla back even further, or try using vanilla bean instead to skip the alcohol entirely.

It’s also worth mentioning that the mascarpone makes these very rich. Interestingly, I found that the syrup and strawberries really helped cut the richness. You’re still only going to eat one though.

Finally, as mentioned in a previous step, although the structural integrity might be questionable with the sandwich method, it might be worth it just to skip spooning the mixture into the pockets. The mess it creates really makes you wonder if it’s worth it.

All in all, the unaltered recipe gets a 2.5/5, going up to 4/5 when the amount of vanilla extract is reduced. Still losing points for the remaining alcoholic taste and messy and needlessly difficult construction.

Tasty! I hope they turned out well :D

Earl Grey Cookies

“[…] a combination of shortbread and jam thumbprint cookies, made all the more interesting by the addition of tea - something different for a cookie exchange, or package them with a fancy cup and extra tea as a gift.” - ~mystery book~, p. 227

Sugar cookies are a staple of the holiday season. Whether decorated with frosting, cut into festive shapes, or sprinkled with powdered sugar, they are the go-to cookie for gifting!

When I first decided to try this version of sugar cookie, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But, I figured I’d give them a shot since it uses my favourite tea. In the end? Best. Decision. EVER! I’ve made them for myself and friends in past holiday seasons and I constantly get asked for the recipe and/or when I’ll be making more (the answer is always December, guys).

Like the Soul Cakes marking the overlap of four different holidays at the end of October, these cookies offer a twist on the traditional treats served this time of year.

Consider baking them with the Cranberry Banana Muffins to really spice up the holiday season!

(This recipe is an adaptation from a cookbook my grandmother has tucked away. However, I don’t have the title of the book and I can’t find her copy anymore so it’s of ~mystery origin~.)

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Man, they don't let you have any fun.