Looking for a unique sugar cookie recipe? You'll love these delicious, chewy Honey Cookies! This easy recipe is an old fashioned, family favorite that comes straight from my mom's cookbook!
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Do you have any holiday recipes that transport you right back to your childhood? These Honey Cookies are one of mine ... I have so many memories of making this holiday treat with my mom when I was a kid!
My mom made these Honey Sugar Cookies every Christmas without fail. They were her favorite, and of course, the rest of my family also loved them ... and you will, too.
These delightful cookies are crisp around the edges, chewy in the middle, and oh so delicious! Their wonderful honey scent will draw your whole family to the kitchen as they bake, and they'll probably steal one or two while they're there!
With their colorful sprinkles, this is one festive Christmas cookie. Don't let that stop you from making them anytime of year though! This is a truly unique cookie recipe that you're sure to cherish just as much as I do.
Ready to start baking? Then keep reading for all the details!
🎄🎄🎄 P.S. This holiday season, I'm joining my food bloggers friends to raise money for Cookies for Kid's Cancer (a truly amazing nonprofit) and to share our favorite cookie recipes! You can find out more about this wonderful organization (plus, pick up some delish recipes!) below.
Ingredients
These cookies made with honey use simple ingredients that you'll find in any store! Here's what you'll need:
- Honey - Obviously, the honey is the star of these cookies! Feel free to use your favorite kind, just make sure it's good quality. You can really taste the honey flavor it in the finished cookies.
- Spices - The cookies are seasoned with a combo of cinnamon and cardamom ... two spices that really complement the flavor of the honey.
- Nuts - Chopped almonds are optional, although they add a wonderful texture to the cookies. You could also experiment with other nuts, such as walnuts or pecans.
- Other Ingredients - To prepare the cookie dough, you'll also need unsalted butter, granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt (I recommend using kosher salt.)
- Sprinkles - The sugar sprinkles are optional, but they do make the cookies extra festive. I used red, but feel free to use any color you'd like.
You'll Also Need
This recipe makes a lot of dough, and a stand mixer makes the process quick and easy. You'll also need some cookie sheets. These Circulon Baking Sheets are my fave ... they're super heavy duty and perfect for cookies (or any recipe).
How to Make Honey Cookies
These yummy old fashioned cookies are so easy to make! You'll find a detailed recipe card below, but here's an overview of the steps:
- Mix butter and sugar. You'll start by creaming together the butter and sugar with your mixer. Keep mixing until it's light and fluffy. Tip: These cookies have no eggs ... so don't worry, you're not missing an ingredient!
- Add dry ingredients. Next, you'll whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt) in a separate bowl. Then, add the flour mixture to the butter, alternating it with honey and a baking soda/water mixture. Tip: Mixing everything together this way helps ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Mix in the almonds. After you've added the flour, blend in the chopped almonds.
- Shape + freeze dough. The dough for these cookies is fairly soft. To help them keep their shape while baking, you'll shape the dough into logs, then freeze them. Tip: Do not skip this step! If you do not chill the dough, the cookies will not hold their shape and will run together.
- Decorate with sparkling sugar. Once the dough is firm enough to handle, remove it from the freezer and roll it in colored sugar. I like using Wilton Sparkling Sugar, because the crystals are larger and more brilliant than regular decorating sugar.
- Slice + bake. Next, you'll slice the cookies about ⅜-inch thick, then bake them just until they're lightly browned on the bottom (lift one of the cookies to check). Tip: Do not over bake these cookies. With all the sugar and honey, they will get hard.
And that's all there is to it ... your homemade Honey Cookies are ready to eat!
Variations
Feel like experimenting? Here are a few easy ideas to try:
- Honey - Try using different varieties of honey to change up the flavor.
- Nuts - You can make this recipe with or without the almonds. Try using other types of nuts too, like pecans, walnuts, or pistachios.
- Decoration - Feel free to skip the sparkling sugar for a simpler cookie.
- Rolled Cookies - Instead of slicing the cookies, trying rolling them instead. After mixing the dough, shape it into a flat rectangle about 1 ½-inches thick, then wrap it and chill it for at least two hours (in your refrigerator). When you're ready to bake the cookies, roll out the dough, then cut it with your favorite cookie cutters.
Storage
This Honey Almond Cookie recipe makes a lot of treats ... perfect for sharing with friends and family during the holidays! Store them in an airtight container, and they will stay fresh for about one to two weeks. You may also freeze the cookies for up to two months.
Related Recipes
Looking for more cookie recipes? Try one of these tasty treats next:
- Curry Shortbread Cookies
- Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies
- Black Bottom Cupcakes
- Poppyseed Kiss Cookies
- Chewy Ginger Cookies
- Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
- Pecan Finger Cookies ... my all-time favorite!
- Stamped Cookies
- Classic Gingerbread Cookies
- Sour Cream Cut Out Cookies
- Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Looking for even more cookie recipes? Then you're in luck, because I'm joining Erin from The Speckled Palate and Susannah from Feast + West for the Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange! If you're looking for creative cookie recipes, then you'll love this awesome virtual cookbook with hundreds of delicious cookie recipes from my fellow food bloggers.
Help support a great cause! I'm especially excited about this year's exchange, because we're raising money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to funding research for new, innovative, and less-toxic treatments for childhood cancer. Since 2008, Cookies for Kids' Cancer has granted nearly $20 million to pediatric cancer research in the form of 100+ research grants to leading pediatric cancer centers across the country. From these grants have stemmed 35+ treatments available to kids battling cancer today.
Please join me supporting this wonderful organization by making a donation. This year OXO is matching all donations through the end of 2024 for up to $100,000. So anything we donate will be doubled!!
Honey Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup honey
- ¼ cup chopped almonds
- sugar spinkles
Instructions
- Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Whisk together flour, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Combine baking soda with 2 tablespoons hot water.
- Blend ½ the flour mixture into the butter; then, mix in ½ the honey and ½ of the baking soda mixture. Mix in remaining flour, then add the remaining honey and baking soda mixture. Mix well after each addition, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Mix in almonds, stopping to scrape down sides a couple times, until thoroughly blended in.
- Divide dough into quarters. Working on a piece of parchment paper or lightly floured surface, shape ¼ of the dough into a log about 1.5 inches in diameter.
- Place log on parchment paper-lined baking sheet, then repeat process with remaining dough. (Feel free to work with smaller pieces of dough if its easier.)
- Freeze dough logs for about 45 minutes (or refrigerate for at least 2 hours) or until the logs are firm enough to handle and slice easily.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll chilled dough in sugar sprinkles, then slice about ⅜-inch thick using a sharp knife. (Keep unused dough in freezer until you are ready to work with it.)
- Place sliced cookies on parchment lined baking sheet at least 1-inch apart, then bake for about 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned on bottom. Do not overcook.
- Let cookies cool for a few minutes on baking pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container until ready to eat. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Do you have a favorite Christmas cookie that's been passed down in your family?
Hi There
I'm looking for a Stamped Honey cookie. And it has to be a soft cookie so my hubby can it eat them. (he has throat cancer and difficulty swallowing)
I came to this recipe from your Stamped Cookie webpage which linked to this recipe.
I haven't tried it yet, but looking forward to making these cookies from your Mom's recipe!
Thanks you.
These! Are! The! Best! My husband has been a bee keeper for about 5 years now and I've been searching for just the right Honey Cookie recipe.Tried many that were nice. But, this one... oh my sweet honey bee! Thank you for sharing your Mothers recipe. Very much loved the photo of her handwritten notes!
I'm so glad you loved the cookies, Genevra! You are so lucky to have a beekeeper in the family. If you're a fan of halloumi, you might like my Honey Glazed Halloumi recipe, too 🙂
Oh, my! These sound so good.
They are such a fave in my family, Paula, and very unique!