Soul Cakes Recipe

Soul cakes are a huge part of Halloween's history and in particular the sweet part of Halloween...the trick or treating aka souling. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about and want to find out a little bit more about why we trick or treat I did a little post about it which you can find here  but basically soul cakes were given out like sweets are given out today to beggars who went from door to door on Samhain.
If you're a fan of barn brack on Halloween then this also stems from soul cakes as they were smaller versions of the brack but with a cross on top and no ring so the recipes are similar but if you want to be very traditional this Halloween then this is the recipe you need:

I use the recipe from Babble and it works perfect for me everytime:

Ingredients:
340 grams all-purpose flour, sifted
170 grams granulated sugar
170 grams butter
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp of apple cider vinegar
Raisins

Instructions:
1.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the egg and white wine vinegar Thoroughly mix all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl sifted flour, spices, and sugar. Rub in the diced butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add in the beaten egg and vinegar and mix with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a ball. The dough will be firm. Use your hands to press the dough together into a ball, if necessary. Cover the bowl and chill for 20 minutes.

3.Lightly flour a clean, flat surface and roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into large rounds using a cookie cutter. Use the end of a wooden spoon to press a cross shape into the cakes. Place the cakes onto the baking sheets and press raisins into the top of the cakes, if desired. Gather the scraps together and roll again until all the dough has been cut into cakes.

Bake, one sheet at a time, for 12-15 minutes, or until the cake tops are lightly golden. Can be eaten warm or at room temperature.Store in an airtight container for about a week.