The Pumpkin-Spiced Crucible
“He was a widower with no interest in children, or a talent with them. He regarded them as young adults, and until this strange crisis he, like the rest of Salem, never conceived that the children were anything but thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak.”
When I think about this book, I think about rumors flying everywhere. I think about families fighting and people being condemned for being who they are and for doing what they do. I think of people getting hurt over the smallest things.
I think of God and religion.
It reminds me of the winter holidays.
People get beaten and trampled to death on Black Friday over TV’s and children’s toys.
Rumors are spread throughout families and can sometimes tear them apart.
This person is mad at that person because they said/ did something wrong.
Some people argue that the holidays aren’t about religion any more—that it’s been twisted and is nothing more than an excuse to buy/ receive gifts.
The girls in this book use religion as the fuel for their fire, but religion isn’t the real reason the witch hunts started. They’ve twisted everything until nothing is recognizable.
Religion has become an excuse.
In Act II, on page 75, Hale says, “Proctor, I cannot think God be provoked so grandly by such a petty cause.”
There’s more to life than revenge and more than gifts.
I wanted to make something Holiday for this book.
With Thanksgiving just passing, I thought it would be fitting to focus on the holiday that is all about being thankful for what you have.
Because, if you aren’t lucky, it typically goes downhill from there.
And the girls in this book definitely weren’t happy with the way things were in their town.
I decided on cupcakes to represent the mobs of townspeople that hunted down the “witches.” Cupcakes are also really great to bring to parties/ family get-together’s: then you don’t have to worry about cutting a cake or pie, and everyone gets a little bit. If they want more, they can just grab another cupcake.If they don’t like it, then you only lost one cupcake instead of a huge piece of cake.
I wanted to make something light, too. You don’t want something heavy after eating a holiday dinner.
I decided on pumpkin spice cupcakes for two reasons: One, it’s a fall/ winter flavor; and two, this town is run by teenage girls, and what flavor goes better with teenage girls than pumpkin spice?
But a lot happens, and there is a staggering amount of drama (obviously). People are fighting, some are having affairs, others are getting segregated and kept away from everyone else.
Some isolate themselves to stay out of everything happening.
See, it sounds a lot like the holidays!
Naturally, you need some alcohol to get through it all.
So I decided to brush the cupcakes with some Kahlúa and add some to the cream cheese frosting.
It’s the holidays. It’s the season of going big or going home.
The Kahlúa gives a bit of a coffee flavor to the pumpkin spice, which makes these cupcakes taste a bit more like pumpkin-spiced lattes.
Pumpkin-Spice Cupcakes
-2 c all-purpose flour
-2 tsp baking soda
-2 tsp ground cinnamon
-1 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
-1/4 tsp ground clove
-2 c white sugar
-4 eggs
-1 c vegetable oil
-2 c pumpkin puree (I just used a can)
1. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, eggs, and oil.
2. Stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, salt, baking soda, and sugar.
3. Whisk in the flour, half a cup at a time.
4. Spoon the batter into a lined cupcake pan. The batter should fill the liners 2/3 of the way.
5. Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 18-24 minutes. If you insert a toothpick into the center of the cupcake, it should come out clean.
6. Let the cupcakes cool, then brush the Kahlúa onto the tops of each cupcake with a little silicone brush.
7. Set them aside.
Kahlúa Cream Cheese Frosting
-8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
-2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
-4 c confectioner’s sugar
- 6 tbsp Kahlúa
1. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese.
2. Whisk in the sugar, a half cup at a time. This will ensure that your frosting is smooth.
3. Whisk in the Kahlúa.
4. Put the frosting in a piping bag and pipe the frosting on to the cupcakes (I used a closed star piping tip). I decided to really pile the frosting on, since excess is a holiday theme and we see a lot of things building up in this book (rumors, fear, the body count, you know, normal town/ family things).
Once you’re done putting too much on everyone’s plates, eat a light and fluffy cupcake and try not to throw stones (metaphorical and literal) at your loved ones.
Happy (Witch Hunting/ Hunger Games) Holidays!
