Today's Halloween traditions are all about feasting on chocolate and sweets by the bucket-load, but you might be surprised to learn we’ve actually been celebrating this time of year with sugary treats since medieval times. ‘Souling’, the ancient precursor to trick-or-treating, involved the giving of a small, round cake in exchange for prayers to commemorate the dead during All Hallows' Eve (Halloween), All Saints' Day (1 November) and All Souls' Day (2 November). Known as soul cakes, they're actually more like shortbread in look and texture, and are traditionally fragranced with sweet spices and dried fruit, then topped with the mark of a cross.
The tradition of giving soul cakes was particularly prevalent in Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages, and was encouraged by the church as a way of replacing the pagan tradition of leaving food and wine for wandering spirits. At this time, ‘souling’ involved poorer members of the community going to the doors of wealthier neighbours and asking for charity on the days around Halloween and All Souls' Day. They would be given the sweet soul cakes and, in return, would say prayers for the souls of their benefactors' deceased relatives.
Halloween as we know it today is a real melting pot of ancient traditions, and the practice of giving and eating soul cakes still continues to an extent in some countries. In the Philippines, families traditionally give out rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves as a tribute to lost souls, while in Portugal, sweet buns flavoured with lemon or vanilla (known as pão de deus) are given out on All Saints Day. Meanwhile, in the UK, ‘souling’ apparently still took place in areas like Sheffield until the 1990s.
Hungry for something sweet? Read on for our ultimate cookie and biscuit recipes, perfect for Halloween and beyond.
Achieve cookie-decorating perfection with our step-by-step guide to making royal icing with decorating techniques and tips. The cookie dough is a chocolate gluten-free mixture, which is quick and easy to make.
The fig jam lends a more sophisticated flavour to these buttery, orange cookies. Feel free to replace it with strawberry, raspberry or blackcurrant for kids. The dough is mixed up in moments using an electric mixer. They take just 10 minutes or so to bake, and will keep for up to three days in an airtight container.
These cute little biscuits are lovely with ice cream or just a coffee. Matcha powder (you only need a teaspoon of it) provides the vibrant colour, then crunch is added with cornflakes and chopped pistachios. White chocolate chips add extra sweetness. They freeze well, and you can bake them from frozen.
These biscuits are a hybrid of a cookie and a brandy snap. They would make a lovely gift – crunchy, nutty and nicely chewy, with half the biscuit dipped in chocolate. They are made in one saucepan, so no beating or whisking is involved. Store for up to two days in an airtight container in a cool cupboard, as they go a bit soggy if left in the fridge.
For a fancy twist on a classic British Bourbon biscuit (basically a chocolate sandwich), this is a recipe for when you have more time, as the chocolate biscuit dough needs plenty of chilling. Instead of the standard chocolate buttercream filling, pipe the edges with a creamy chocolate almond mixture, then add cherry jam to the centre.
White chocolate and cranberries are such a great combination, with the slight tartness of the cranberries contrasting with the sweetness of the chocolate. These are made with gluten-free flour and baking powder, which gives a softer texture to the baked cookie. For a slightly crisper bake, you can use normal flour.
Get the recipe for wheat-free cookies with white chocolate and cranberries here
Shop-bought shortbread can never touch homemade, and the dough is so quick to make with a food processor. It's quite a stiff dough, but it's meant to be, so don't be tempted to add any water to it. The addition of orange zest is particularly lovely with the dark chocolate, though you could dip them in white or milk chocolate, if you prefer.
Everyone will love these gooey chocolate cookies. The recipe uses a bar of chopped up chocolate, so to make it easier, pop the bar in the freezer for 10 minutes. Otherwise, use milk chocolate chips for speed and uniform size, though you may miss those occasional lumps of melted chocolate! Cookies spread out further than you may think in the oven, so space them well apart on your baking sheet.
The trick to these cookies is to chill the dough before cutting them; this helps them to keep their shape and stops them from spreading too much in the oven. A silicone mat or baking parchment will prevent sticking when baking any biscuit or cookie, too.
Melt-in-the-mouth buttery little biscuits, infused with ground cardamom. They are crisp and crumbly, from a combination of three flours to give texture – plain, semolina and gram (chickpea flour). Topped with chopped pistachios and almonds, they are easy to make and will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.
Here's a twist on a classic, buttery Scottish shortbread, with the addition of lemon zest and finely chopped pistachios. Use the juice of the lemons for another recipe, or freeze until needed. The trick is also to retain some texture in the nuts, so don't blitz them to a powder. This recipe makes around 18 biscuits, which will keep for up to two days in an airtight container.
Get your slow cooker to do the hard work to create this indulgent cookie-meets-dessert. Think of it as a rich butter cookie, sandwiched with a chocolate butterscotch sauce. It's wonderfully simple to make, perfect served warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Use this recipe to make perfectly decorated butter cookies for any time of year. Just use different cookie cutters and colour the icing accordingly. If you've ever struggled to make the best royal icing for decorating, you'll have it nailed with this easy recipe.
These soft, buttery biscuits are a fun bake with the kids. Laced with orange (or use lemon if you prefer), they're easy to put together with no mixer required. Just ensure your butter is very soft. As a final flourish, drizzle them with melted milk or white chocolate.
Rustled up in 15 minutes, these biscuits have a crumbly, soft texture. The dough is made in a pan, adding the dry ingredients to melted butter, sugar and golden syrup. This is an easy store cupboard recipe, and the biscuits will keep for up to four days in an airtight container.
Biscotti are little, twice-baked Italian biscuits. Satsifyingly crunchy, they're traditionally served dipped into coffee or a glass of sweet wine. Here, pistachios replace the usual almonds and add a lovely, pale green hue. There's some dried apricot in there, too, but you could also add dried cranberries. The biscotti will keep for two weeks in an airtight container, and make lovely gifts, too.
These small, buttery, lemon biscuits are made with polenta, or fine cornmeal flour, for a slightly crunchy texture. The dough is quite wet, so rather than rolling it, it needs to be piped on to the baking sheet. Use a disposable piping bag and put it into a measuring jug, pulling the wide end of the bag around the sides for easy filling.
Here's a really chocolatey cookie, made with gluten-free flour and replacing sugar with maple syrup and agave nectar. The dough is quite sticky, so the easiest way to transfer it to the baking sheet is to use a measuring spoon or ice cream scoop dipped in flour. That way it shouldn't stick, and you'll have even-sized cookies.
A custard cream is a British favourite, and it's been around for over a hundred years. It really is a biscuit for custard-lovers – both the dough and the creamy filling use custard powder. The dough is best made in a food processor to save time and effort. Make sure you rest it for at least 20 minutes in the fridge before rolling it out.
For the ultimate indulgence, this combination of a crumbly biscuit base, topped with caramel and dark chocolate, is a winner. The recipe is vegan, using a dairy-free butter, but feel free to use real butter. Although this is a simple, speedy recipe, the decorated shortbread needs two hours in the fridge to allow it to set fully.
Lightly spiced with ground ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice, these crumbly, buttery, honey biscuits are perfect with a coffee. They're also surprisingly easy to make, and although the recipe makes 20 biscuits, they'll keep for up four days in an airtight container.
A 'brookie', in case you were wondering, is a chocolate chip cookie crossed with a brownie. It's soft and squidgy in the centre, crisp on the outside – what could be better? You can use crunchy or smooth peanut butter, but the crunchy version does add more texture. It's also best made with very dark chocolate (at least 70%), so it's not too sweet. Just be careful to melt the chocolate slowly and gently in a bain-marie (bowl over simmering water), so it doesn't overheat and seize up.
Get the recipe for chocolate and peanut butter brookies here
This is a crisp, crumbly shortbread with a difference. As well as some olive oil, ground almonds are added which make it richer and more buttery. Because the dough is rich, it needs to be chilled for a few hours before rolling out. Enjoy the lovely shortbread as it is, or serve with fresh berries or a berry compote.
This recipe makes 16 large cookies, and you could always freeze half the dough for another time. Roll it into a cylinder in a sheet of cling film, wrap well and freeze. From frozen, you can slice it into rounds and bake. Just add a few more minutes to the cooking time.
This is the French version of a shortbread or sugar cookie, with dark chocolate chips added. Sablé means sandy, which gives an idea of the crumbly texture. The trick is not to overwork the dough, or you'll end up with a tougher biscuit rather a soft, crumbly one.
Ready in 20 minutes, the buttery, caramel, peanut dough for these Florentines is made in one pan, and they're really quick to bake. Once cool, dip in melted dark chocolate. Use baking parchment or a silicone sheet to line your baking trays to ensure they don't stick.
Get the recipe for salted peanut and chocolate Florentines here
Old favourites are always worth re-discovering. Crumbly, buttery shortbread contains just five everyday ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, cornflour and salt. You don't have to roll the dough, either. Just press into a tin, bake, then cut into triangles or circles while still hot before leaving to cool.
With dark chocolate chips, brown sugar and chopped walnuts, these cookies have a hint of toffee in them. Walnuts go rancid very quickly, so store any opened packets in the freezer. Alternatively, pecans make these biscuits a little sweeter. Toast the nuts before chopping to give the cookies a more intense, deeper flavour.
Using dark muscovado sugar in these very chocolatey cookies gives them a slightly toffee-caramel taste. The recipe offers plenty of options to make twists to the basics, with the addition of coconut, peanut butter, banana or oats. The possibilities are endless for chocolate chip cookie enthusiasts.