n e e w o l l a q H by Gill Dexter
A
s the children return to school and the nights draw in, I can’t help but notice that the shops are filling up with all things orange and black. Yes, it’s almost Halloween again. We tend to think of Halloween as a peculiarly North American tradition, which young children (and some not so young!) have embraced with gusto, providing as it does, a marvelous opportunity to dress up and accumulate large quantities of sweets! It may therefore surprise you to know that Halloween as we know it has its roots in the British Isles, in particular, the celtic communities of Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Like so many of our festivals, it originated as a pagan celebration, when it was believed that the dead could make contact with the living and all sorts of magical occurrences would happen—hence the proliferation of ghosts, ghouls, witches and wizards! The early Christian church gradually absorbed many of the pagan celebrations and so this festival of the dead became All Souls or All Hallows day, which fell on the 1 November. It was traditional to hold a vigil for the souls of the dead the night before, and so 31 October became All Hallow’s Eve, or as we now know it, Halloween. Today, Halloween provides a great opportunity for a children’s party and it’s not just about the trick or treating. There are all sorts of fun games, one of the oldest and most traditional probably being apple bobbing. For those who’ve never played it the idea is that apples are placed in a tub or large bowl of water. The guests then have to retrieve the apples using only their mouth, hands kept firmly behind their backs. For children it’s a good idea to make sure the apples are small and soft and the tub quite shallow. Prizes can be given for picking up specially marked apples or to the person who gets the most apples. Obviously have an adult on hand at all times. No Halloween party though is complete without the party food and children love helping in the kitchen. This biscuit recipe is quick, simple and very child-friendly. At this time of year, most cook shops will sell Halloween shaped cookie cutters, so your little monsters can produce as many plates of bats and flying witches as they and their ghoulish guests can eat!
Scary Shortbread Shapes —makes about 15, depending on the size of the cutters. Ingredients
Biscuits 200g soft butter 75g caster sugar 150g plain flour 150g self-raising flour 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence Icing 100g icing sugar 1 15ml tablespoon hot water
Method Heat the oven to 150˚C / 300˚F / Gas 2. Grease two baking trays with butter. Cream the butter and sugar together, either with a wooden spoon or electric handwhisk, until the mixture is pale and soft. Add the vanilla essence and sift in both the plain and self-raising flour. Beat all the ingredients together and then, using your hands, pull the dough together into a smooth ball. Dust your worksurface lightly with flour and roll out the dough to a thickness of about 5mm. Using your cookie cutters, cut out the shapes and place them on the greased baking trays. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to firm. Once the biscuits are cool make the icing by mixing 100g icing sugar with one 15ml tablespoon of hot water. Add a couple of drops of food colouring for extra effect! Let the icing drop from the back of a spoon onto the biscuits. Allow to set.
Next month: Remember, remember, the Fifth of November. Recipes to make your Bonfire Night go with a bang.