While ingredients for honey cakes and honey bread vary from country to country, region to region all featured honey as the key ingredient. Honey was considered a sacred food embodying the power of the sun and was closely related to goddess worship in the ancient world – as were honey cakes! And so I infused my spices and herbs in honey for a little extra culinary magic.

Baba Yaga’s Wild Spice Honey Cookies

Ingredients

​• ¾ cup  spice-infused honey

• ½ cup butter

• 1½ cups rye flour

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup spiced sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 egg

• 2 egg yolks

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Melt the butter and honey together and stir just until they’re combined. Set aside.

​In a bowl, whisk together eggs and spiced sugar. Add the honey-butter mixture. Then, add the flour and salt. Using your hands, mix together until it holds its shape. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours and up to 24 hours.

​When ready to bake, allow the dough to warm up. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 of an inch, and use extra flour if too wet. Cut out your desired cookie shapes and stamp as you wish.

​Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges start browning just a little. Cool on a wire rack before glazing.

Butter Rum Spiced Glaze

Ingredients​

• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

• 1 tbsp wild spice sugar

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and warm

• 1 tbsp dark rum (or lemon juice)

• 1 tsp warm water

• Pinch salt

​Directions:

​Prepare the glaze while the cookies are still in the oven, it needs to be brushed on while they are still warm. Sift the icing sugar and wild spice into a bowl. Add melted butter, rum (or lemon juice) and water and mix with a spoon until smooth. The glaze will thicken slightly if it sits around, so stir through a little more warm water if you need to – it should be the consistency of runny honey.

​Remove the cookies from the oven, leave to rest for 5 mins, then brush or dab the glaze all over with a pastry brush. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Biscuits will keep for up to five days in an airtight container.

And for a little inspiration here are some of the other treats I made with these spiced sugars and honey! Baba Yaga Spice Honey Cake: Made with large saucer size Baba Yaga cookies (each stamped with magical symbols) then layered with sour cream frosting. (recipe available in the Gather Victoria Holiday Editon E-Cookbook at Patreon)

Sticky Apple Syrup Spice Cakes – so delish!

https://gathervictoria.com/2019/12/21/baba-yagas-wild-spiced-honey-cookies/