German Honey Cookies (A Soft & Chewy Holiday Classic!)
A simple, old-fashioned recipe for traditional German Honey Cookies (Honigplätzchen). This recipe features a soft, drop-style dough made with a unique method where sugar, butter, and honey are first melted together in a saucepan and cooled. The dough is spiced with ground ginger and baked until the edges are golden, resulting in a chewy, flavorful cookie perfect for the holidays.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup butter or shortening
- 1 cup honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a saucepan, heat the sugar, butter (or shortening), and honey over low heat, stirring until the mixture is melted and combined.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool completely.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and ground ginger.
- Gradually stir the cooled honey mixture into the egg mixture until it is well blended.
- Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition until a soft dough forms.
- Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
- This is a traditional German-style cookie, often enjoyed during the Christmas holiday season.
- It is crucial to let the melted butter-sugar-honey mixture cool *completely* before adding it to the egg mixture. If the honey mixture is too warm, it will scramble the eggs.
- This is a soft, drop-cookie dough and is not intended to be rolled out like a cut-out cookie.
- This recipe yields a very large batch, making it perfect for holiday cookie exchanges.
Find it online: https://www.eatswithsoul.com/german-honey-cookies/