Here are some simple cookies we just love to enjoy during the holidays. They feature one of our favorite Organic Honey varieties, Organic Spelt flour, and our Organic Almonds.
Our Organic Multi-Flora Honey comes to us from the Big Island of Hawaii—one of the most isolated islands in the world. From its windswept coastal grasslands to high-elevation ranches and wild forests, a family of two generations of beekeepers tends to bees. They operate an organic apiary nestled among the native ‘Ohi’a Lehua trees on the slopes of Mauna Kea—Hawaii’s tallest volcano.
This family of beekeepers are committed to environmentally-responsible practices which preserve the health of the bees and of the land they steward. This delicious honey is produced in small batches without the use of heat, straining or filtration which preserves beneficial enzymes and small grains of pollen and propolis.
INGREDIENTS
2 c Organic Spelt Flour
½ tsp Baking Soda
⅛ tsp Pink Sea Salt
⅓ c Organic Cane Sugar
⅓ c Organic Multi-Flora Honey
6 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Almond Extract
1 Large Egg white
¼ c whole Organic Almonds
Keep that butter wrapper for greasing hands later in the recipe!
DIRECTIONS
STEP 1
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Combine sugar, honey, and butter in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add extracts and egg white to sugar mixture. Beat until well-blended. Stir in flour mixture (dough will be sticky).
STEP 2
Coat hands lightly with oil (or use the butter wrapper); divide dough into 2 equal portions. Shape each portion into a 9-inch log. Wrap logs individually in plastic wrap (or use a reusable beeswax wrapper); freeze 3 hours or until firm.
STEP 3
Preheat oven to 375°F. Then cut each log into 12 (3/8-inch) slices, and place 1-inch apart on baking sheets coated with butter. Press almonds into the tops of the cookies. Bake at 375°F for 9 minutes. Cool 2 minutes or until firm.
Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks. Enjoy!
Baking with Honey instead of Sugar
QUICK TIPS:
- 1 cup of sugar = ¾ cup honey
- Decrease liquid called for in recipe by ¼ cup for each cup of honey used
- For each cup of honey in baked goods, add ½ teaspoon baking soda
Honey is a more healthful substitute for refined sugar - it has more minerals and is actually sweeter than sugar. Honey also has a lower glycemic index than sugar, which means it raises blood sugar more slowly. Using honey from Hummingbird Wholesale means you are baking with pure raw unfiltered PNW (or Hawaii) sourced goodness! Honey is not only a healthier alternative to sugar, it also can help your recipes stay moist longer and provides a lovely aroma and rich flavor.
We recommend taking some time to experiment with your recipes and even start with replacing half the sugar with honey to ensure you get accustomed to this new approach to baking. Here are some good tips for substituting honey for sugar:
- For up to one cup, honey can be substituted for sugar in equal amounts. For example, you can substitute 1/2 cup of honey for 1/2 cup of sugar. For recipes that call for more than one cup, use about 2/3-3/4 cup of honey for every cup of sugar. This is because honey is actually sweeter than sugar.
- Honey is a liquid sweetener, so you'll need to reduce the liquid in the recipe a bit. For every cup of honey used in a recipe, reduce the other liquids by 1/4. This is something to play around with a bit to start, so you find the right balance and don't eliminate too much of an ingredient that contributes key flavor to the recipe.
- Honey is slightly acidic. In order to balance this, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda for every cup of honey used.
- Baked goods made with honey can tend to brown more quickly, so reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees F and watch carefully as the time gets close.
Here's t0 some fun experiments!