French Honey Butter Cookies

One of the things that we tend to keep on hand in our kitchen is local honey. These cookies are French Honey Butter Cookies, but I have no idea in what way they are French. None the less, I thought a French-named cookie would be appropriate for the first day of the Paris Olympics. I don’t follow many sports, but I’m a huge gymnastics fan, and have been since the 1980s. What I love about the Olympics is the chance to see athletes from all sorts of places- not just the few folks regularly shown on television.

This is a slice-and-bake cookie, which is perfect when the house is warm. I made the dough one day, and then baked them first thing the next morning. This makes an extremely small batch of cookies, about18, so I was able to bake them all at once. This recipe used an interesting method, where you chill the dough to firm it up, then shape the dough into a cylinder. This recipe makes so few that I didn’t even divide the dough into two rolls!

The honey I used for this recipe had been picked up by my husband at a local food festival. It isn’t exactly a clear honey, nor is it a spread. It’s something in the middle, which was interesting to use. It didn’t mix in as quickly as a liquid honey, which is why you need to take some care with the glaze. I started with just a bit of milk, made sure the honey was incorporated, before adding milk to get the glaze to the right consistency. Watch the cookies while they bake, as I felt a couple of mine could have baked a minute less. The glaze covered perfectly, making for some lovely cookies.

French Honey Butter Cookies
½ cup butter, room temperature
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
¼ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon honey
1 ⅛ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon milk

In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and powdered sugar until well combined. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and honey and mix on medium to make a consistent mixture. With the mixer running on low, gradually stir in the flour and salt. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, the dough should be firm enough to form into a log, about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap the dough log in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Slice the dough into discs, about 1/3” thick. Place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until set. The cookies should be barely browned along the edges (at most). Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.

Make the glaze: in a small bowl whisk the powdered sugar, honey, and 1 teaspoon milk. Add more milk as the glaze starts to come together, until the glaze is thick but still somewhat liquid. Using a small teaspoon, spoon the glaze on the cooled cookies in a circular pattern. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from The Gardening Foodie