Catholic Recipe: Spicy "Doughnut" Muffins

On November 2 each priest may say three Masses for the holy souls in Purgatory. Our prayers will also help to relieve their suffering, and we should offer such prayers as an act of charity and piety. In many Latin countries, notably Mexico, the macabre is emphasized on All Souls' Day even when it comes to food. Families troop to cemeteries, and there they feast on cookies and other sweets fashioned in shapes of skulls, hearses, coffins, and bones. Because this is All Souls' Day, why not serve doughnuts, sometimes called soulcakes, or another version of doughnuts, such as the one that follows. This recipe is easier to make — no frying in oil, and healthier on the heart.

DIRECTIONS

Cream shortening and 1/2 cup sugar. Add egg; mix well. Mix and sift flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg; add alternately with milk to shortening mixture. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pans at once. Roll in melted butter or margarine, then in remaining sugar mixed with cinnamon. Makes 12 to 18 muffins, depending on size of cups.