Learn how to make these simple but oh-so-good Honey Cookies! With their sugared tops, slightly crisp edges and super soft, honey-sweetened interiors, these are absolutely irresistible! Recipe includes a how-to video!
These honey cookies are one of the sweetest and simplest treats of summer (rivaling my lemon cookies)! While I’d hoped we would have harvested at least some honey from Zach’s bees this year, beekeeping is a little tricky and my husband’s a novice beekeeper, so maybe next year the bees will stick around and I’ll be making these honey cookies with our own honey.
Regardless of whether you have home grown (home harvested?) honey or store-bought, you can still make these perfect and simple cookies quickly and easily (minimal patience required, as the honey-sweetened dough necessitates some chilling). Let’s get to it!
Honey results in a moister, fluffier texture. Cookies and cakes made with sugar tend to be more dry and to crumble more easily. Meanwhile, goods made with honey are deliciously moist and have a tighter crumb that does not disintegrate as easily.
What You Need for Honey Cookies
- Honey. Our most important ingredient here! Use a honey that you enjoy the taste of. While clover honey will work, wildflower honey, orange blossom honey, and even lavender honey are all great options that impart their own subtle, distinct taste.
- Flour. All-purose flour is your best bet for today’s recipe. Self-rising is not recommended. I have not tried this recipe with gluten-free flour, but if you do please leave me a comment and let me know how that worked out for you!
- Sugar. I love using brown sugar in my cookie recipes because it adds flavor and moisture and lends itself to a chewier cookie. However, for today’s recipe I also found that if I used too much it had a tendency to bully the more subtle flavor of the honey (which is meant to be our star here!). Instead, I primarily use the more neutral granulated sugar and use just enough brown sugar to enhance the honey flavor (without overwhelming it) and to add to the softness of the cookies.
- Corn starch. Corn starch is one of my favorite secret weapons when making cookies and other baked goods. It makes a soft, tender cookie (though too much can make them cakey or even crumbly — it’s a balance!). Here it helps to compensate from the added moisture of the honey. While adding more flour could make the cookies dry, cornstarch keeps the dough manageable and not too wet and yields soft cookies.
- Vanilla extract. A small bit (use homemade vanilla extract if you have it!) accentuates the honey flavor.
SAM’S TIP: Make sure your butter is softened, but not so soft that it’s oily. If it’s too soft, your dough will likewise be soft. This will necessitate a longer chilling time in the fridge, otherwise you’ll have a sticky, difficult-to-manage dough and honey cookies that spread too much while baking.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
The BEST Honey Cookies Recipe
FAQ
What is the effect of honey in cookies?
What happens if you use honey instead of sugar in cookies?
What happens to honey when you bake it?
What brings out the flavor in cookies?
What does Honey do to cookies?
Honey adds flavor and moisture and acts as a binding and also browning ingredient in the recipe. It has a distinct flavor that can add a unique taste to cookies. Honey also retains moisture in baked goods, so the cookies will be softer and tender, with a chewy texture.
Are there any home remedies that use honey?
A common use for honey is in homemade cough suppressant. The best way to use it is combining honey with cayenne pepper, ginger, apple cider vinegar, and water. This can help to sooth your through and eliminate a cough. There are also many other combinations that have claims of benefiting health in many ways, the list is too extensive to go through all of them. There are some for skin health, fixing stomach ailments or pain, and many other uses.
What are honey cookies?
These Honey Cookies are a deliciously sweet cookie recipe with a lovely honey flavor throughout. They’re soft and chewy in the middle with irresistibly crispy edges. They are so easy to make, and you only need a handful of ingredients. These honey cookies are the perfect cookies!
Why do honey cookies have leavening agents?
Leavening agents — the baking soda and powder help keep the cookies from being dense, as they help lift the cookies. Sugar — white sugar is neutral in flavor compared to brown sugar’s caramel notes, so this honey cookie recipe uses white sugar to prevent the honey flavor from being overpowered.