Fixin' Leaks and Leeks

A whirl of pumpkin guts, studded with candy wrappers and spider rings, just flew past my window. And I am so tired.

Last night, it rained and rained and rained—and there were trick-or-treaters and Alex’s guitar. “Hotel California” briefly drifted into view. A pumpkin got carved, rolls got baked, and Alex played “The Greatest Song in the World/A Tribute,” originally done by Tenacious D, but re-created on the front porch in a wolf costume. We have video of me, in cat ears, waving a chocolate bar around like it’s a BIC lighter at a concert. That video will not see the light of day.

I had more fun than I could shake a broomstick at, but now I don’t want to see a single soul. Unless it’s in the form of a cake. A soul cake. Just in time for All Souls’ Day.

I’d always wondered what a soul cake was, so I finally dug up a recipe online—and it’s basically a spiced cookie-cake with dried fruits.

I followed this recipe here from the Sugar Maple Farmhouse blog, but I added a quarter of a teaspoon of dried orange peel and a generous splash of brandy—instead of the vanilla. Also, I didn’t have cranberries, so I used some unusually large raisins. Seriously, I had never seen raisins quite that big, but hey. The instructions say to bake them for around 26 minutes or so, but those cookies, bless their hearts, would have flashed an SOS if I had done that. I only baked them for 10-11 minutes and then sprinkled sugar on them at the end. Also, I omitted the apple slice instructions because, smash my pumpkins, I’m pooped.

Results: These definitely taste like fall. I’d put them in the category of a snacking cookie/cake. They’re not exactly going to bowl you over, but they’re very good and mild, especially when the night before has been wild. I could taste a little bit of the orange flavor from the peel, and there was a soft cake-like texture as well. Ginger would probably go well in this recipe, too.

Serve these with:

• The last smashed pumpkin of the season
• Memories of the family cat who used to wait by the door to greet the dead on All Souls’ Day (RIP, SeaTac, the best cat ever)
• Cauldrons of apple brandy
• Rivers of leaf-shaped pillows
• A roomful of gourd-shaped lamps, lit by very helpful squirrel-guardians
• A BIC lighter shaped like a Hershey Bar, just in case “The Greatest Song in the World” starts playing
• Someone’s wig from a Halloween costume, left on the front step

Your Turn: What’s your favorite treat this time of year—wherever you are in the world?