Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel or orange peel
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg white
1 teaspoon water
Red-colored decorating sugar

 

Directions - Honey Flower Cookies:

Materials needed: Flower-, or star-shaped cookie cutters, colored decorating sugar.

Thoroughly beat the butter in a large bowl. Add sugar, honey, lemon peel, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda. Beat butter-mixture until light and fluffy in texture.

Beat in the large whole egg until well-combined. Next, beat in the flour (a cup at a time) until a soft dough forms. Mix well and divide the dough in half. Cover and chill for 2 hours or until the dough become firmer and easier to handle

Grease a large cookie sheet and set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until 1/4-inch thick. Using a floured 2 1/2-inch flower-shaped cookie cutter, cut out the dough.

In a small bowl beat together egg white and water. Brush egg white-wash over tops of cookies; immediately sprinkle with coarse decorating sugar.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.

Recipe yields about 36 cookies.

 

Flower Cookie Recipe Tips:

• "Use paper cut-outs to create shape templates for sprinkling on the decorating sugar. In the picture above, I have chosen a heart-shaped to decorate the cookies."

• "I found that the dough for this recipe does become very manageable after the refrigeration step... If you skip this step, however, the cut-outs have a tendency to fall apart."

• "Don't be afraid to use different colors when you decorate your cookies... Red is great for a Valentine- or even Christmas-theme, but your imagination is the limit."