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A spookilicious treat for you today. Halloween shortbread biscuits. Halloween, Hallowe'en, or All Hallow's Eve has its origins in different pagan and Christian traditions in the British Isles. The ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, had people lighting bonfires and wearing costumes to ward off ghosts.
In modern times, Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “sow-win”) is usually celebrated from October 31st to November 1st to welcome in the harvest and usher in the dark half of the year. Irish and Scottish immigrants brought the tradition to the US in the 19th century.
Christians celebrated All Saints Day on November 1st, honouring people who had gone to Heaven. All Saints Day could also be called All Hallows (holy) Day. The day before All Saints day was All Hallows Eve, which eventually came to be called Halloween.
Ingredients:
For the biscuits:
180gms plain flour
125gms unsalted butter
55gms caster sugar
For the icing:
Icing sugar
Water
Method:
Preheat oven to 190⁰C
Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the flour and continue to mix until a smooth dough-forms. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface and using a rolling pin roll out until approx. 1.5 cm thick. Use cookie cutters to make your Halloween shape biscuits, then place them on a lined baking tray.
Place baking tray in oven and bake for approx. 8-10 mins, until slightly golden around the edges. Take out the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
For the icing, mix a splash of water with 2-3 large tablespoon of icing sugar. The amount will vary depending on how many biscuits you are decorating. Start with a little water and keep adding until you have a thickish consistency that you can pipe, (you don’t want it too runny). Depending on how many colours you want to use you can split this and then add the dye, (or start again with the icing for your next colour). Use a piping bag to decorate.
Gaby Van Clarke
None of us know what’s going to take us out. Life’s full of surprises. But we do know that the body starts to degenerate from about age 30 (more cells destroyed than created, barring excess weight gain) and also, crucially, that we can affect the speed of that ageing process.
Introduced by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century, and adapted over time to suit Japanese tastes, this light bouncy sponge is considered a traditional Japanese speciality. More delicate and airy than a regular sponge cake, castella ( カステラ, kasutera) is famous for a fine and moist crumb.
