A Family That Bakes Together …
… Ends up in a home filled with sweet aromas for the holidays
Pro tip: If you want jolly ol’ Saint Nick to be extra generous this year, leave him a plate of Santa’s Honey-Kissed Chocolate Chip Cookies. Sweetened with Sue Bee® honey, Santa Claus will love these ho, ho, homemade treats.
Need more holiday baking ideas? Try our Honey-Spiced Gingerbread Elves or Mrs. Claus’ Honey Holiday Delights – two more Sue Bee® honey-sweetened cookies that the whole family will enjoy making – and eating! – together.
First, a note on baking with honey
One of the many great things about baking with natural honey rather than refined sugar is that that you use less in the recipes. (Because honey is sweeter than sugar, you’ll need less of it.) The general rule is: For every 1 cup of sugar, use 1/2 to 2/3 cup of Sue Bee® honey.
Also, remember that honey contains a small percentage of moisture, so, when substituting honey in recipes that call for 1 cup or more of sugar, reduce the other liquids in the recipe by 1/4 cup for every 1 cup of honey.
If the recipe doesn’t already call for it, you’ll need to add a little baking soda, which helps balance honey’s natural acidity, allowing the baked goods to rise properly. In cookie recipes using eggs, or in recipes with no other liquids, increase the flour by 2 tablespoons for each cup of honey.
Ready to bake? Let’s go!
Santa’s Sue Bee® Honey-Kissed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
1/2 cup Sue Bee® honey
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 300 F.
Mix flour, salt and baking soda together; set aside.
Mix Sue Bee® honey, sugar, butter and vanilla until well blended and slightly fluffy; scrape sides of bowl.
Add flour mixture to sugar/butter mixture and blend together. Do not over mix.
Add chocolate chips.
Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough onto an un-greased non-stick pan, and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until browned around the edges. For crispier cookies bake 18 to 25 minutes.
Set on wire rack to cool.
Honey-Spiced Gingerbread Elves
Ingredients for the Cookies
6 tbsp Sue Bee® honey
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger
Ingredients for the Frosting
1/3 cup Sue Bee® honey
1 package of cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Food coloring (red and green)
Directions for the Cookies
Combine butter, honey and molasses in a bowl. Add dry ingredients until a dough is formed.
Let dough chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Divide in half and knead each ball gently, as dough will still be soft and buttery.
Roll each ball to a thickness of 1/4 inch on a lightly floured board and cut dough with a cookie cutter.
Place shapes on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 F for 5 to 7 minutes. Watch carefully, as they burn easily.
Directions for the Frosting
Mix all ingredients until well-combined. Split into three portions and add red food coloring to one, green to another, and save the last for the white.
Place into separate piping bags (red, green and white) with small tips and frost cookies. Serve and enjoy!
Mrs. Claus’ Honey Holiday Delights
Ingredients
1 cup Sue Bee® honey
1 egg
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour + 1/2 cup for rolling/dusting
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter
Ingredients for the Frosting
1/3 cup Sue Bee® honey
1 package of cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Directions for the cookies
Cream butter and honey.
Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
Mix all dry ingredients, then slowly incorporate into the wet mix.
When the dough becomes too hard to mix, turn out onto floured surface and work dough until smooth.
Roll dough on floured parchment paper and cut with cookie cutters.
Bake at 350 F for 6 to 8 minutes.
Allow to cool before decorating.
Directions for the Frosting
Mix all ingredients until well-combined.
Place into piping bag with a small tip and frost cookies. Serve and enjoy!
