It's not Christmas without Honey Cookies

There were many sweets, especially with chocolate and nuts. And then there were the inevitable honey cookies, which were rather hard  to chew, and were made first, because they would have softened with time. They were also the last to be eaten. They were considered the least special.

The Christmas tree appeared like magic on Christmas Eve, decorated with sugar candies, wrapped in colored paper, and small real candles. The children did not participate in the decoration of the tree, but instead received it as a gift in the Christmas night.

One of the most beautiful gifts were oranges. A fruit in winter with the scent of distant countries.

In Croatia it is used to plant wheat, on a plate, for Christmas. We starts on December 8th. In the middle we place a glass, which will welcome a small light on Christmas night.

The first shoots can be seen.

My grandmother's honey cookies are made of honey, flour, a little sugar, a little butter, two eggs and some nuts as decoration. The recipe is in "measures", perhaps cup. For years I have been using a precise glass to make the doses, and here I have tried to translate it into grams.

For Christmas I like to enrich these cookies with a little spice or chocolate, so I divide the ingredients into two: on one side I use whole wheat flour, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, and on the other I use chocolate, cocoa and orange peel. And so they became one of my favorite cookies.

My grandmother added bicarbonate to make the cookies softer. You can add a teaspoon of baking powder.

with walnuts and spices

250 g wholemeal flour

75 g sugar

100 ml honey

65 g butter or margarine

1 egg

1 tablespoon ginger powder

1 tablespoon cinnamon powder

a little grated nutmeg

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

some walnuts or hazelnuts to decorate

with chocolate and orange

250 g flour (type zero)

75 g sugar

100 ml honey

65 g butter or margarine

1 egg

100 gr chopped dark chocolate

1 tablespoon cocoa

1 grated orange peel

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

Make two quick dough with the ingredients. The dough will be very soft and sticky, but that’s how it should be.

Form little balls of dought about 4-5 cm in diameter, lightly crush them and lay them on a buttered baking sheet. Put in a hot oven at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until they begin to brown.

In the first spicy version, decorate with pieces of walnuts or peanuts.

If you really want the original recipe use these ingredients, with the same procedure:

500 g flour

150 g sugar

200 ml honey

130 g butter or margarine

2 egg

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

some walnuts or hazelnuts to decorate