Oh rest ye merry, paganfolk,
Let nothing you dismay.
Remember that the Sun returns
Upon this Solstice day.
The growing dark is ending now
And Spring is on its way.
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy!
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.
– Adapted from PaganLibrary.com
The Solstice is approaching, and like with most Sabbats that we honor, food and feasting is a heavy part of the traditions. This is true for most celebrations around the world, even outside of the vast Pagan umbrella. The Winter Solstice falls near Christmas and so, in my home, we celebrate both – or rather I celebrate the Solstice myself and then we all celebrate Christmas together.
Anyway, one of the many, many ways to celebrate the Solstice is with food. In my case, this means baking. I talk a bit about my relationship with baking and the holidays in my newest video (coming Sunday, so subscribe if you want!), but every holiday involved baking cookies, making pies, and crafting glass candy.
I am not much of a baker myself, but I decided to make something I call Sunshine Cookies. I know, very original 
Anyway! They are so easy to make and can be crafted with Solar Magic in mind. After all, the entire reason for calling them Sunshine Cookies is because we are welcoming the return of the Sun!
Let’s Bake!
This recipe is originally from BellyFull (click here to find it) but I have added a few steps to make it a bit more ritualistic. Plus, I have added in my commentary on the ingredients and how they can correlate with your magic and celebrations.
You will need…
- 1 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional, but recommended)
To make them…
- Preheat the oven to 325F (~163C)
- In a bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until creamy. This is best done with a hand mixer or other machine, but by hand works too. You just have to add in a bit of elbow grease!
- Add in the flour and mix well. It gets a bit hard to mix with a mixer, so this part is best done by hand at first.
- Add in the vanilla extract if you are using it.
- Roll the dough into small balls and then flatten. The cookies should be no more than 1/4 inch thick. Any thicker than that and they will not bake right.
- Place the cookies on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for about 14 to 16 minutes.
- Remove them from the oven and let them rest before taking them off the baking sheet. This is important! Do not touch the cookies for about 15 minutes. They will still be a little wobbly when you take them out of the oven. That is normal. They need to cool and set!
- When the cookies are cooled, frost them with your choice of frosting and sprinkles! I made my own buttercream frosting and used glittery gold sprinkles on top.
Okay, so now for the magic bit!
We know sugar is an amazing sweetener and it tastes pretty good, too. It is also great in magic for sweetening relationships and bringing people together.
In my cookies, I used the yellow buttercream frosting as a symbol of the sunshine and warmth that it provides. I added on to this symbolism by loading the top of the cookies with sparkly gold glitter. Hey, what can I say? We couldn’t help ourselves!
If you want to bake these in tandem with the Sun, the best way to do it would be as the Sun rises in the sky. You are welcoming the Sun back as it approaches Earth again. As the Sun rises, bake your cookies and frost them. You can even create a little chant or sing a song to welcome the sun back around.
This was just the trial run for my first batch of cookies, but we will definitely be making more for the solstice. We made about 18 cookies a few days ago and they are all already gone!
Continuing the discussion from 
Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Solar Magick
They look amazing and I can imagine how they sparkle and shine in the sunlight too, what a perfect addition to a sunshine cookie! 
thanks! I may have to make these with the kids! I’m sure they’ll love eating them 
