Looking for a quick and easy treat to enjoy during Rosh Hashanah? You'll love these delicious soft honey cookies with their soft, slightly chewy texture and lightly sweet flavor.
Looking for other cookie recipes? You'll definitely want to try these amazing ratafia biscuits.
Ingredients
In a rush to make a batch of these delicious soft cookies for your Rosh Hashanah celebrations or for an afternoon snack? Don't worry--you probably already have all the ingredients already. Let's discuss each one!
- Eggs: Four large eggs is all you need. If you're vegan, substitute with four flax eggs (mix ¼ cup ground flaxseed with ⅔ cup water and let stand 5 minutes), or with 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce.
- Oil: Use any neutral flavored oil, such as vegetable or light olive oil. (Those who would like to use butter can use melted butter instead of oil.)
- Honey: This is the key ingredient, of course! It keeps them moist, adds sweetness, and encourages browning in the oven. If you're vegan, you can use an equal volume of agave nectar instead.
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour is ideal for this recipe, but you can definitely use gluten free measure-for-measure flour if desired.
- Optional Decoration: I like to roll them in granulated sugar before baking, as it provides an extra touch of sweetness and makes the soft honey cookies extra pretty.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Gluten Free: Use your favorite measure-for-measure gluten free flour instead of the all-purpose. (I recommend either Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur.)
- Vegan: Swap the honey for an equal volume of agave nectar. Replace the eggs with four flax eggs or ¼ cup of unsweetened applesauce per egg (a total of 1 cup in this recipe).
- Extra Chewy: Use all brown sugar instead of white for a more chewy texture and darker colored cookies.
- Want to use butter? You can use 1 cup of melted butter (230g) instead of the oil for extra flavor.
How to Make Honey Cookies
Gather the ingredients.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until blended. Beat the eggs, oil, honey, and sugar together until smooth. (image 1)
- Gradually add the flour mixture until a smooth dough forms. Chill the dough for 30 minutes to firm it up. (image 2)
- Roll 1 tablespoon balls of cookie dough in granulated sugar if desired, then space the balls two inches apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets. (image 3)
- Bake at 350°F for 7-9 minutes per tray, or until they are lightly browned around the edges. (image 4)
- Let them cool briefly on a wire rack, then enjoy. (image 5)
- Everyone will love these soft treats during Rosh Hashanah or anytime during the year. Shana Tova! (image 6)
Recipe FAQs
Honey traps moisture in them as they bake, increasing their moisture and chewiness. It's slightly sweeter than regular white sugar, which can allow you to decrease the amount a little. It will also cause the dough to brown faster in the oven.
Yes, you can. This recipe uses both granulated sugar and honey in the dough, but you can substitute this sweetener in many other cookie recipes. You can use an equal volume of honey to sugar for amounts up to 1 cup, but for amounts greater than that, use ⅔-3/4 cup of it for each cup of sugar.
For other recipes, you'll want to reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe by ¼ cup for each cup of honey, and lower the oven temperature 25 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent overbaking. You can also add an extra ½ teaspoon of baking soda to encourage the baked goods to rise better.
Keep them soft by storing them in a plastic bag or airtight plastic container. Avoid storing with other baked goods in the same container, or they may pick up those flavors. They should stay fresh and soft at room temperature for 3-5 days.
Yes, you can definitely freeze them! Seal them inside of a zip-top plastic freezer bag or in an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost at room temperature or in the microwave.
Serve
Looking for other delicious desserts? You'll definitely want to try these recipes for easy challah bread, chocolate chip mandel bread, and vegan snickerdoodles.
Expert Tips
- Has your honey thickened too much or crystallized? Set the container in warm water to melt the crystals.
- Measure the oil in a measuring cup first, then measure the honey. This way, it glides out of the cup without sticking.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter once the flour is added, or the dough may get tough.
- Using an oven thermometer will help make sure your oven isn't baking too hot or cold.
- Watch the cookies as they bake. Take them out once they are lightly golden, or they will be overbaked.
More Cookie Recipes
Recipe
Soft Honey Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup neutral oil, such as vegetable or light olive oil
- ¾ cup honey
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground Saigon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Additional granulated sugar, for rolling (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until well mixed.
- Beat the eggs, oil, sugar, and honey together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until blended.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until combined.
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two 11x17-inch baking trays with parchment paper.
- Roll 1-tablespoon sized balls of dough in granulated sugar, then space the cookies at least two inches apart on the prepared trays.
- Bake at 350°F for 7-9 minutes, or until lightly browned.
- Let the cookies cool completely on wire racks, then enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Vegan Version: Use four flax eggs (mix ¼ cup ground flaxseed with ⅔ cup water and let stand 5 minutes) or 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce instead of the eggs. Use an equal volume of agave nectar instead of honey.
- Gluten Free Version: Use your favorite measure-for-measure gluten free flour. Good brands are Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur.
- Has your honey thickened or crystallized? Set the container in warm water to melt the crystals.
- Measure the oil first, then measure the honey. This way, it glides out of the measuring cup without sticking.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter once the flour is added, or the cookies may be tough.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Rye
I've never had these type of cookies so I dont know how they were supposed turn out, but they were really good! Almost cake-like and very soft. Was worried about runny batter from previous comments, but it wasn't as runny as I was expecting. I also used whole wheat flour for half the flour content, so maybe it absorbed more moisture? I also used melted butter since we were out of oil. Great recipe!
Emma Fajcz
Glad you enjoyed the cookies, Rye! Thanks for your kind words!
Rick
The batter comes out runny so best to use an ice cream scoop with a squeeze handle. I use the 5 cm and they come out nice and big, but you can definitely use a 4 cm as well
Emma Fajcz
Yes, the batter is pretty runny! Glad that you enjoyed the cookies, Rick!
Anna
I followed the recipe to the letter. Is the batter supposed to be so runny? I could barely roll the dough in sugar. I had to add more flour, about 1/2 cup more. And yes I refrigerated the dough for 35 mins and in between batches. They taste really good but what did I do wrong?
Emma Fajcz
I'm sorry that you found the batter so runny, Anna! The cookie dough is supposed to be very soft, and can be hard to roll in sugar. Did you happen to weigh the flour? Sometimes measuring it in cups is less accurate and you can get too much or too little. If you watch the video in the recipe card, that should give you a better idea of how the dough should look.
Alex
These honey cookies are slightly sweet and exterior is chewy. They are cake-like and tasty.
Emma
Thanks for your kind review, Alex!
Beth
Honey cookies are soft and cake-like. They are very unique and lovely. Rolling them in sugar before baking makes them much better.
Emma
Thanks, Beth! I'm glad you enjoyed the honey cookies!