Chewy Honey Cookies Recipe

Cookies are some of the oldest baked goods out there, with their origins traced all the way back to 7th century Persia A.D. (via What's Cooking America). Today, cookies are such an ubiquitous treat that there are an almost infinite number of variations depending on the part of the world you're in, who you ask, and what time of year it is. While some cookies are decorated for specific occasions and holidays like Halloween, Christmas, or Easter, creations like honey cookies can be enjoyed any time of the day or year.

Recipe developer Jessica Morone of Jess Loves Cooking has a simple but delicious take on this recipe that takes just a little bit of prep work and time, in addition to a quick 12 minutes to bake. If you're in need of a quick snack that satisfies your sweet tooth — no matter the occasion — this is the perfect treat. If that sounds right up your alley, let's take a look at the ingredients you need to get baking a batch of these chewy honey cookies.

This is a simple recipe with a pretty short list of ingredients that mostly come from the baking aisle. As a matter of fact, you may already have most of these ingredients in your pantry. To make your honey cookies, you'll need some butter, granulated sugar, honey, and one egg. You'll also need some vanilla extract, salt, baking soda, and all-purpose flour.

When it comes to picking your honey, you should first consider the flavor you want for your cookies. "The type of honey you use for these cookies will change their taste a bit," Morone says. "Clover honey is more light and neutral, while something like orange blossom honey has more citrus notes. Darker honeys will give you a more intense honey flavor. It's up to the baker to decide what kind of honey flavor they want for these cookies, but I'm sure all would taste great." So use your preference here in deciding on the honey, and you'll be ready to start mixing up some batter!

Start this cookie baking adventure by preheating the oven to 350 F. Next, you will cream the butter (room temperature), granulated sugar, and honey in a large bowl. Simply grab a mixer (hand or stand works just fine), set it to medium speed, and mix the ingredients for about five minutes. The resulting combination should be pale yellow in color. As for texture, it should be light and fluffy with visible peaks. Continue the creaming process until the mixture is well-combined. Note that it should have an even consistency throughout.

Once you've creamed the butter, sugar, and honey, it's time to beat the egg into the batter to give it some real volume. Crack the egg open, pour it into the combination, and use your whisk to make circle eights to break apart the egg whites. After you've done this, turn your mixing bowl to a 15-degree angle, switch to circular motions with your whisk, and keep beating the egg until the resulting batter is an even consistency.

After you've beaten your egg into the batter, there are a few more ingredients to mix in. First, add the vanilla extract into the mixture, and blend it in. Finally, add the salt, baking soda, and flour to your batter, and then mix thoroughly until it's an even consistency again.

Now it's time to scoop up your cookies. Start by dropping the dough by large spoonfuls onto non-stick cookie sheets. If you want to experiment, you can add some additional ingredients for extra flavor. "I think there are definitely a lot of mix-ins that could work with this recipe, but you want to make sure whatever is mixed in doesn't overpower the honey taste," Morone says. "I think white chocolate chips might be better than regular chocolate chips, or maybe even butterscotch chips or toffee bits. But even without anything mixed in, these are really delicious cookies with a strong honey flavor."

Once you have your cookies shaped and ready to go, bake them for 12 to 14 minutes in the 350 F preheated oven until they have a light golden brown hue. Once they're done, let them cool. Then, you can put them on a platter and let everyone dig in! For any cookies that you can't finish, you can store them in an airtight container, and save them for about a week at most. But once these delights come out of the oven, it will be pretty difficult to not eat them all in one sitting!