Big Soft Honey Ginger Cookies

I recently cleaned out the cabinet over my stove. Somehow, I wound up with about 4 quarts of honey, all in various jars, bears, and squeeze bottles. Most of it is produced by a local bee-keeper, but a couple are not. So what do I do with all this honey? So I set out on a search to find some sort of baked goods to make with honey.

Honey is sweeter than sucrose (white table sugar), so you can't evenly substitute honey for sugar. Plus, honey's a liquid, so if that is not taken into account, it will mess up the batter or dough and the final product will not be as it should. So rather than spending hours coming up with a conversion chart, I decided to find recipes calling for honey to begin with. My first attempt was successful. This recipe came to me from an online friend. About the only sweetener she bakes with is honey, so I trusted her recipe. It was nice, and is below.

This makes a tender, cake-like cookie that's not too sweet. If you eat them still-warm from the oven, the outside is crispy and the inside tender. I stored them in an airtight container overnight, and now they are soft throughout. But very nice with a cup of hot tea or coffee for a change of pace. I made these very small (about 2-3 dainty bites each) and they needed 11 minutes to bake. Give them a try and let me know what you think.

TIP: Spray your measuring cup w/ nonstick cooking spray before measuring the honey and molasses. Both will pour out cleanly from the measuring cup with hardly stuck behind!

Soft Honey Ginger Cookies
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
¾ cup honey
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
¼ tablespoons granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF . Stir together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and honey. Beat in the egg, then stir in molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the granulated sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.