Spiced Vanilla Honey Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does honey do to cookies? ›

Honey results in a moister, fluffier texture.

Cookies and cakes made with sugar tend to be more dry and to crumble more easily. Meanwhile, goods made with honey are deliciously moist and have a tighter crumb that does not disintegrate as easily.

Vanilla does offer more than just a bit of floral flavor. Sometimes it's a flavor enhancer and sometimes it's a flavor balancer. But to be honest, unless it's a vanilla cookie, it's not a true dealbreaker. Especially if you're making cookies that have lots of other flavors going on, like coconut or dark chocolate.

But when it comes to using honey in a recipe instead of sugar, it's not as simple as a one-for-one swap. Honey is sweeter than sugar, so if the incorrect ratio is used, your baking will be too sweet, can have a strange chewy texture, and the cooking time will be different.

Honey is sweeter than sugar, so you need to use less. Decrease other liquids in the recipe by 1/4 cup, because there's water in the honey too. Lower the baking temperature by 25°F. Honey makes baked goods brown faster.

If you don't have any on hand, you can almost always omit the vanilla without impacting the final texture of your baked goods; although the rich flavor extract—or any form of vanilla—brings will certainly be altered. Just remember one thing: flavor comes first.

If you don't put vanilla extract in a cake without any other flavoring, it will taste of butter, of sugar and a bit like sweetened eggs. If you don't use butter it will just taste sweet and a bit eggy.

Maple Syrup or Honey

Its rich and sweet flavor makes a decent vanilla bean substitute and a great vanilla extract substitute. Honey's floral and bright sweetness is delightful in recipes like blondies, muffins, quick breads, cakes, and cookies.

While clover honey will work, wildflower honey, orange blossom honey, and even lavender honey are all great options that impart their own subtle, distinct taste. Flour. All-purose flour is your best bet for today's recipe.

Honey. Honey adds a bright, floral sweetness to desserts. Like maple syrup, it can also enhance the texture of baked goods. Use 1 tablespoon of honey to replace 1 teaspoon (tsp) of vanilla extract.

What happens if you bake with honey? ›

What Does Honey do in Baking? Honey is a 'humectant'. This means that it retains moisture- great news for baking as it helps keep biscuits and cake moist. Honey compared with traditional refined sugar, also means you gain a richer colour and fuller flavour.

Tenderizing: Honey can act as a dough conditioner, making the bread softer and more tender. It can improve the texture of the crumb, making it less dry and more enjoyable.

“Heating up raw honey will change the makeup of the honey, and potentially weaken or destroy enzymes, vitamins, minerals, etc. … Heating the honey can damage its nutritional benefits; however, it depends on how much the honey is heated and for how long.

Spices: Experiment with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, or ginger to give your cookies a warm and aromatic quality. These spices can complement the sweetness of the dough. Extracts: Besides vanilla, consider using other extracts like almond, coconut, or maple for unique and flavorful cookies.

Honey should not be heated rapidly, over direct heat. Basically, the hotter you heat it, the more potential for reducing nutritional value. Excessive heat can have detrimental effects on the nutritional value of honey. Heating up to 37°C (98.6 F) causes loss of nearly 200 components, part of which are antibacterial.