Get the recipe for my Moon Spell Cookies and celebration the changing of the seasons. Save the moon cookies recipe so you can come back to it from season to season!
Moon Cookies or Moon Spell Cookies are treats made around Samhain, Beltane or any other Wheel of the Year celebrations and changing of the seasons. As I put together my Samhain Halloween table, I dove into the lore around the Samhain and Halloween holidays and the food that would have been made to celebrate the end of harvest. And while Moon Cookies are not technically something that’s “traditional” for Samhain, they do come up in a lot of Samhain menus I found. So I decided I wanted to make some to add to my Samhain Halloween table.
What’s the history of moon cookies?
As I looked around and looked at different moon cookie recipes, they all seemed to be a take on Yule Cookies or Vanillekipferl Cookies (Austrian vanilla cookies shaped like a moon) or Kossuth Kifli (Half Moon Cookies), a popular flaky, cake-like cookie in Hungry and Romania. They’re very often made to celebrate Christmastime. In fact, there were several comments on different Pinterest posts from angry Europeans about their holiday treats being associated with moon spells in general.
I only found a handful of recipes out there for these cookies. And there was almost no lore around them being associated with Samhain or Halloween, except for European Christmas celebrations. So, I decided to make my own variation of moon spell cookies for my Samhain table that revolved around more traditional Samhain type foods.
My Moon Spell Cookies
In researching traditional foods served around Samhain, it seemed that foods being served were less pastry consistency and more of a biscuit-like consistency. Foods like Irish Soda Bread and Soul Cakes were more often included in the celebration versus any specific cookie. This explains why I see a bump in my popular Irish Soda bread recipe {HERE} in October. I never understood why before!
So instead of upsetting the Austrians and Hungarians, I decided to make my moon spell cookies more biscuit-like. My Moon Spell Cookie recipe is more of a shortbread cookie. It is a variation somewhere between my Lemon Shortbread Cookies {HERE} and my Cranberry Shortbread Cookies {HERE}. They’re delicious. I can tell you that for sure because my kids begged me to let them have, “Just one more.” They lightly sweetened and the confectioners’ sugar on top seems to be the literal icing on the cake.
Moon spell cookie variations
Because my moon spell cookies are a variation on two other recipes I already have, there is even more fun to be had with making variations of these cookies. In fact, some of the cookie recipes I found included lemon zest, which is in my Lemon Shortbread Cookies and would taste delightful in these cookies as well. Here’s a few other variations I think you could try if you want want to have a true Wiccan-like celebration.
- Lemon zest and honey (If using honey, remove the maple syrup.)
- Cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin
- Chamomile and honey (Beautiful combo for Beltane. Use the honey in place of they syrup.)
- Rose water and pistachio (Swap the maple syrup for honey in this case.)
- Orange and chocolate (Use honey in place of the maple and add orange zest. Then dip the cookies in melted chocolate.)
- Lavender, lemon and honey (Swap the maple again and use lemon zest and 2 tsp. lemon juice)
- Thyme, basil and lemon (Use lemon zest.)
Tips for making Moon Spell Cookies
- After you mix this dough, it may seem piece-y. Get your hands in there and use them to bring it together. It may seem a little dry, but I promise the cookies will bake up really well.
- Keep 1/4 cup of flour next to you as you work the dough and make the cookie shapes. Use this on your rolling pan, hands or the dough as needed.
- I used this cookie cutter {HERE} to make my moon shapes, but you can also make them by balling the dough and rolling them out. You don’t specifically need the cookie cutter. I tried a couple different versions of this (one where I added blackberries too) and rolled them with my hands.
- Don’t over bake these. Really they only need a short time in the oven to bake up nicely. I even found that the tips of my moons browned a little more than I had hope.
- Let them cool completely. Then top with the confectioners’ sugar.
- Save them for up. to a week in an airtight container.
Thank you so much for visiting today, friends! I hope that you love this Moon Spell Cookies recipe and that the moon shines it light upon you this season. You can find the full, printable recipe for the moon cookies below!
Equipment
- Hand mixer
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1.5 sticks salted butter, melted but not hot
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. almond extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup confectioners sugar for topping
- Additional 1/4 cup of flour for rolling out
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375
- Combine the sugar and the butter using a hand mixer. Mix until it is fluffy.
- Add in the baking powder, egg, maple, vanilla, almond extract and cinnamon. Blend well.
- Add in the flower slowly, mixing about ½ cup at a time.
- Once everything is mixed, dough may seem piece-y. Use your hands to bring it together more before rolling it out and shaping it.
- Roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter to cut the shape. Use additional flour as needed.
- OR, roll out the dough and use your hands to form the moon shapes. You can use a small ice cream scoop to get consistent sizes.
- Add the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake on the center rack for 9 minutes.
- Cool on the cookie sheet a minute or two before moving them to a cooling rack.
- Let them cool completely and then top with confectioners's sugar.
Hi, I know this post is a year old, but I’m considering making these for a party! When you suggested ‘Cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin’ as a variation, do you mean pumpkin pie spice?
Yes, pumpkin spice. Thank you for pointing this out. I’ll clarify it! I hope you enjoy them. If you’re worried about the addition of the flavor maybe try them the plain way first so you can have a base idea for the flavor before adding anything in.