Today I am sharing another very traditional recipe for Sabbat Cakes. With Yule on the way I like to take this time to plan out my winter and holiday baking. Like our Moon cakes from last week, these are more of a cookie than a cake. You can use the same prayer/blessing before you begin that I posted last Sunday. As always you can change the words or make additions to tailor it to your path.
Sabbat/Celebratory Cakes
This dough in particular makes me feel really connected to the old traditions with its whole grain flour, honey and wine. It is a heavy dough which feels strong in your hands, it looks so earthy with its molasses color and many oats. Let yourself connect through your sense of touch.
3 teaspoons honey
1/3 cup butter (vegetable shortening was in the original formula, but I prefer the rich taste the butter provides. However, you can use shortening. It is important to note that the cakes will vary slightly in texture from butter to shortening.)
Butter is associated with the Moon, Earth and spirituality.
½ gently packed brown sugar
Sugar is associated with Venus and love. Our celebrations are all about love. Our love for Spirit, our love between our brothers and sisters of the earth and our inner love for ourselves. Visualize the universal love that connects us. See it pouring out from the sugar and into the bowl. Feel it in your heart.
¼ cup applesauce (I’ve also tried strawberry applesauce in the spring and it was delicious)
Apples have long been used as offerings to the gods as well as eaten for health. Applesauce is a great ingredient to add to baking that requires liquid.
1 tablespoon white wine (or water if you prefer)
“Wine is the nectar of the gods” We could write an encyclopedia on wine, but for now we will just say that wine has been a part of religious acts since its inception. The change it goes through as it ferments can be symbolic of the change we go through from season to season and thus from one celebration to next, as well as the changes the earth goes through at the same time.
1 ½ cups whole grain flour (they do turn out with all-purpose flour as well, but they lose some of their nutty flavor)
Made from wheat, flour connects us to the earth, and thus the divine. It provides balance not only in our recipes but in us as well.
1 ½ cups oatmeal
Oats are associated with Earth. Connects us with earth and provides grounding. Keep yourself grounded as you cook.
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Earth and grounding. (Are you seeing a pattern?)
½ teaspoon allspice
Earth and Healing. Earth is the connection, and healing is a part of our rituals. Healing the spirit is a great part of rituals so we can continue to walk our paths in a balanced, healthy way.
Blend the butter and sugar first then the honey, applesauce and wine. Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Form into a ball of dough. See the ball as the earth and feel the earth energy. We are about to celebrate the earth in ritual so really connect with it. Roll out on a floured surface about ¼ inch thick and cut with a crescent shaped cookie cutter. (No crescent shaped cutter? No problem, use a water glass to cut circles and then a sharp floured paring knife to carve out a crescent shape, I could get two out of each circle.)
Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Place on a cookie sheet (we prefer to line our pans with parchment paper as it is healthier and recyclable, but you can used a greased cookie sheet as well) and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Yields about 2 dozen.
Blessings
Sway