Drunken Honey Cookies

I was in the mood for some cookies last weekend, but I didn’t really feel like venturing out into the cold for a bunch of ingredients. So I thought I would throw together some things I had in my pantry and see how it worked in cookie form.

I came up with what I like to call Drunken Honey Cookies:

Looks simple. Tastes amazing.

These guys look unassuming, but they are packed with flavor from Brandy and a good shot of honey. If I did them again, I think I would sprinkle them with raw sugar instead of plain sugar to give them some color.

Drunken Honey Cookies
(Makes 24 cookies. 20 if you eat 4 cookies worth of dough like I did.)

I adapted this recipe from Bittman’s basic butter cookie recipe in this book. I adjusted almost every ingredient though so you might not recognize it. His recipe is a solid base for experimenting.

- 8 tablespoons butter, soft
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons Brandy (left over from eggnog)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

The stuff of drunken cookies.

These cookies are about as easy as cookies can be I think. Start with your butter and sugar and cream them together. Creaming is baker-speak for beat the crap out of. The best way to do this is with a mixer of your choice, either stand or hand held. The goal is the get all those little granules of sugar equally coated in butter.

A simple start.

You will end up with a light, fluffy, tasty substance. I like to eat this with a spoon.

Butter abused.

Next, add in your Brandy (or other delicious liquor), and egg. Continue to beat.

Once all of those things are combined, add in half of your flour and keep beating. If you are playing along at home, that’s 1 cup of flour.

Half of the flour goes in.

Next, add your honey and milk. Mix this in well.

Honey and milk. The honey really makes this cookie.

Then add your last cup of flour and you should end up with a pretty thick batter. Take about a tablespoon sized amount of batter and roll it loosely in your fingers to form a ball. Line these up on a baking sheet (don’t need to grease it) or parchment paper is even better. Give them a few inches apart to grow.

Sprinkle with lots of sugar.

Should make about 24 of these guys.

These guys need to bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees or until the edges are just brown. Cool the cookies on a rack as per usual.

These were so delicious.

As you can see my cookies turned out pretty poofy. This is what I was going for. They are kind of cakey but very light and you can really taste the honey and Brandy. If you prefer a thinner cookie though just add some more milk (maybe 2-4 more Tablespoons).

There are a lot of cookie recipes floating around the Internet Kitchens these days. I tried to veer away from something overly complicated. These guys will give you delicious results.