Celebrating Lughnasa and Hot August Knights!
Happy Lughnasa—the first day of August! Lughnasa is Irish Gaelic and means "the násad (games or assembly) of the Celtic hero, Lugh. This day was also considered the first day of harvest. Lughnasa is also called Lammas Day, from the Anglo-Saxon hlaef-mass, meaning "loafmass." In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 921 A.D., it states as "the feast of first fruits." It marked the first harvest when the grain was gathered, ground, and baked into a loaf. If you are able, spend some time outdoors and notice the shifting of the sun. In the Celtic wheel of the year, Lughnasa is also the first day of autumn. Though the temperature will be near 100 degrees in my part of the country today, I can long for the cool autumn breezes that will follow in the coming months.
And to celebrate, why not try out these delicious cookies!
Lammas Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 cups flour
¼ cup Irish Whiskey
¼ cup candied lemon peel, chopped
¼ cup golden raisins
¼ cup almonds, chopped
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until blended. Add flour and Irish Whisky and beat until smooth. Add fruit and nuts and mix well. Drop dough from a tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet or silpat for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from sheet while cookies are still warm. Makes 5 dozen.
Perfect with a glass of cool lemonade or a wee dram of whiskey.
If you've been following along with the Medieval Monday Blog Hop, you know that Dragon Knight's Ring is the featured book. To celebrate, I'm having a "Hot August Knight" sale! For the entire month of August (Aug 2 - 30), the e-book of Dragon Knight's Ring will be on sale for 99cents! Grab your copy (or gift one to a friend) of this award-winning book today!
