Honey Cookies Recipe Ingredients
Use your favorite honey combined with a little bit of citrus zest to make a sweet and tangy cookie. Then use honey citrus buttercream icing to sandwich two honey cookies together. A decadent treat! Personalize your cookies with your choice of honey, citrus, or even nuts.
This recipe is easy to make, and the finished product is even easier to eat. I’ve already received several requests from loved ones to make another batch!
The key to this honey cookie recipe is in your honey and citrus zest selection. Did you know that different honeys carry different flavors and levels of sweetness? For example, Greek honey carries slight aniseed and licorice notes. Australian eucalyptus honey carries a caramel undertone. These subtle flavor changes are dependent on which flowers the bees have access to. Experiment with whatever kinds of honey are available in your local area.
For my honey cookie recipe, I used red gum honey, which is mild with a subtle smoky flavor. Plum Deluxe's orange blossom honey sticks would work well in this recipe!
You'll start by heating the honey on the stovetop. The warmed honey acts as the binding agent for your dough and holds your honey cookie together. We all know how sticky honey is, after all! For this step, bear in mind that while you want your honey to become runnier, be cautious of overheating or burning it. Honey can become very hot quickly, so be careful and avoid touching whilst heating.
You may also like to change what citrus zest you include in your recipe. The inclusion of zest balances the sweetness of the honey beautifully, making this honey cookie recipe the perfect teatime treat. I used mandarin zest for my cookies, though orange or lemon would also work well. Ensure you zest your citrus fruit of choice finely so that the flavor is evenly dispersed throughout your cookie.
For the nut lover, top your cookies with pine nuts, macadamias, or chopped walnuts. Simply sprinkle nuts atop half of your cookies just prior to baking. The nut-topped cookie becomes the top of your filled cookie. This is an optional step.
When you remove these cookies from the oven they will be very soft but will harden as they cool. You may find using a spatula helps you to transfer the cookies from your baking tray to the cooling rack.
Before sandwiching your honey cookies together, wait until they have fully cooled. Otherwise, the residual heat from the honey cookies will melt the butter in the icing and you’ll be left with cookies that slide away rather than holding together nicely.
Once finished, these cookies look almost too lovely to eat – but once you have one you’ll crave more! They're the perfect honey cookie recipe to enjoy with your favorite tea blend.
Honey Cookie and Tea Pairings
Pair your cookies with any blend that has citrus notes and you’ll be delighted. Avoid overly sweet blends in favor of a strong black tea. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Kitchen Table Blend is a lemon/lime blend that combines both green and black tea into one delicious cup. Perfect to enjoy with friends!
Comfort Blend Black Tea. This cinnamon and orange blend pairs perfectly with the sweetness of a honey cookie. This is a relaxing cuppa for a quiet moment.
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Dessert Tea. On the sweeter side of the teas listed here, the vanilla and a unique spice blend pair for a warming and comforting brew.
Royal Wedding Black Tea. The lemon and elderflower flavors of this tea make for a delicate and refreshing blend. Just the right amount of citrus will pick up the subtle zest of our honey cookies.
Fog Cutter Black Tea is a classic blend for a reason. Perfect however you brew it, the hint of lemon and the strong black tea complement these sweet cookies nicely.
Honey Cookies Recipe
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
- 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cold butter
- 3/4 finely grated rind of 1 mandarin
- 1/2 cup honey (or approximately 10 honey sticks)
- 1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)
For the filling:
- 1/4 cup room temperature butter
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon honey (or 1 honey stick)
- 1/4 of a mandarin rind, finely grated (about 2 teaspoons)
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400F. Line two or three baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.
Sift flour, baking powder, and sugar into a bowl. Cut cold butter into cubes and add to flour mixture. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips. The mixture should begin to resemble fine breadcrumbs.
Using a wooden spoon, stir your citrus rind through the mixture.
Using a small pan on the stovetop, heat honey until it is warm (not hot). Once it has become runny, remove from the heat and pour over your mixture.
With your wooden spoon, mix until a firm dough is formed.
Using your fingers, roll dough into small balls. Place on your prepared baking tray, spaced well apart. Flatten balls slightly with either the back of a fork or your fingertips. Ensure you have an even number of dough balls on your baking trays.
Optional: Sprinkle nuts on the top of half of your cookie dough balls prior to baking.
Place in the oven and bake for 5-7 minutes, until cookies are golden in color. Use a spatula to transfer cookies to a cooling rack; allow to cool completely.
While cookies are cooling, prepare the filling. Place room temperature butter, sugar, honey, and zest into a bowl. Your honey doesn’t need to be as runny as when used in the dough, but still in a liquid form. Using an electric mixer on high, beat ingredients together until filling is light and fluffy.
Wait for cookies to completely cool. Then use your filling mixture to sandwich two cookies together. If you have used nuts, use a plain honey cookie for the base and a nut-coated one for the top.
Enjoy!