I recently received a lovely jar of raw desert flower honey as a travel gift from family who vacationed in Arizona. They came across The Health Foodie at the Arizona Farmer's Market and thought of me (hugs). The honey is delightfully sticky, has a pleasant floral aroma, and I am addicted. It goes in my coffee, on toast, and there have been a few occasions when it found its way directly from pot to mouth. This liquid gold popped in mind when I was craving something sweet over the weekend. How do I make cookies using only honey as sweetener?
After scavenging through cookbooks for a few helpful tips these soft, bite-sized cuties were born. The honey imparts a flowery sweetness while dried cherries and walnuts add chew and crunch.
Raw Honey Oatmeal Cookies (adapted from Ellie Krieger)
Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup canola oil
½ cup raw honey
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla paste
1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses
1 cup whole-wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ¾ cups rolled oats
½ cup dried cherries
½ cup walnut pieces, toasted
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pre-butter 2 baking sheets and set aside. In a mixer, beat the butter, oil, honey, egg, vanilla and molasses until fully combined.
In another bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two batches, stirring to combine (be sure not to over mix). Stir in oats, cherries and walnuts.
Scoop small spoonfuls of batter and place about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden, about 8-10 minutes. Let the cookies cool then store in a loosely covered container.
These didn’t last longer than 24 hours in my house. Makes 2 dozen small cookies
Tips for Cooking with Honey
- Replacing the sugar in a recipe with honey? Use ¾ of a cup of honey for every cup of sugar, and reduce the other liquid ingredients by ¼ cup per cup of honey.
- Honey is a natural preservative. Use it in baked goods for a longer shelf life
- Spray the cup or spoon with cooking spray before measuring the honey to help it glide out with ease.
These look so rustic and hearty, too bad neither of us has any more for a trade! The use of the wheat flour, molasses and honey is an unusual blend, but I am sure it has a tasty result. I want some in my cookie jar-yum!
ReplyDeleteOh, these look fabulous! I love oatmeal cookies...and adding dried cherries and the honey make these extra special....mmmmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteI have never used honey in cookies or cakes. Thank you for such a "sweet" idea! :) Thank you also for all the helpful tips... very useful indeed.
ReplyDeleteI love honey and will happily use it on pretty much everything. Some great tips on cooking with honey - thanks! Love these little cookies. They wouldn't last too long in my house either!
ReplyDeleteLove the name of the post--and these cookies look GOOD!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that honey was a preservative and extends the shelf life of baked goods. That's great to know! I am always looking for ways to take refined sugar out of my baked goods and honey is perfect for that. Thanks for a good hearty cookie recipe.
ReplyDeleteLove the name of the post. The cookies look great.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I bet these taste phenomenal, and they're totally healthy too! Did you know that raw honey is really good for treating allergy symptoms? Buzzed!
ReplyDeleteI love your tips, I find them very useful! The cookies look absolutely delicious!
ReplyDeleteLove your tips! These cookies look so hearty and delicious!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! These cookies look wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThese sound fantastic! I love that you used molasses - it give such a nice depth to desserts without being overly-sweet.
ReplyDeleteWow! These are amazing and honey bunny is crazy about Oatmeal cookies! Thanks for the tips on cooking with honey - I had no idea that you would use less and it never occurred to me to reduce the liquid! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGosh, that brings back memories of Scottsdale 12 years ago, driving around Arizona. Love the look of these cookies and with the raw honey, they are extra special. Cooking spray, eh? Great idea! Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI would love to try making these, but couldn’t figure out if they’ll be crisp or chewy? Is there any way to make sure they’re nice and soft?
ReplyDeleteerecipe
Wow, so easy! Can't wait to give the recipe a try:)
ReplyDeleteAnother tip when baking with honey - if there's an egg in the recipe just crack the egg into your measuring cup, swirl it around, set the egg aside to use later, add your honey to the cup and it'll slide right out. This works well with peanut butter, too.
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