Honey Cookies
on Dec 11, 2023
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These Bulgarian Honey Cookies, also known as Medenki, remind me of my entire childhood in Bulgaria 🇧🇬. Imagine if a honey cookie and gingerbread cookie had a baby, and then we dipped that sweet, soft, chewy cookie baby into melted milk chocolate 🤤! My grandma would buy a pack of these for me every week, and I’d finish them within a day. These cookies are one of many Bulgarian staples and a must-try for anyone who loves cookies.
Why You’ll Love These Honey Cookies
Soft and chewy in the center and encased in decedent milk chocolate, these cookies are simply irresistible 🍪! Although traditional, these cookies are quite versatile and can be shaped and decorated in various ways. Prep work is also a breeze. Once you have all the ingredients, it’s truly just a matter of combining them all in a mixing bowl 🥣. No kneading or extra fuss!
How to Prepare
🥣 Combine the first 11 ingredients (one at a time, mixing in between) into a bowl. Now, gradually add the flour in intervals and mix until you form a tacky dough. Wrap and refrigerate the dough mixture for a minimum of 30 minutes.
🍯 To make cookies of equal size, use a cookie scooper and scoop out equal-sized balls of dough. Then, roll each ball into a smooth sphere and flatten it into a disk shape. Alternatively, you can sprinkle some flour onto your work surface and dough, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough, and cut out circles or various other shapes using a cookie cutter or cup.
♨️ Space the cookies apart on a baking tray and bake at 350F for 6-8 minutes. Do not over-bake as you will be left with a hard cookie.
🍫 While you let the cookies cool, melt the milk chocolate and dip the cooled cookies in it. You can choose to dip one-half of the cookie or the entire top.
Let the chocolate set and enjoy!
Nonna’s Tip
Do NOT over-bake the cookies. The cookies should be soft, if they turn out harder it means they are over-baked. Also, make sure to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before baking. Chilling your cookie dough in the fridge allows the flour to hydrate and gives all the ingredients time to come together. Cooler dough will also expand more slowly, allowing the cookies to hold on to their shape and texture while being baked.
Honey Cookies Variations and Substitutions
Make these Bulgarian Honey Cookies entirely your own by implementing some of these suggested variations and substitutions:
- Experiment with different flavor profiles by adding vanilla, almond or orange zest to give these cookies a unique twist.
- Instead of golden yellow sugar, feel free to use brown sugar, coconut sugar or granulated sugar based on your preferences 🤌.
- If you’d like to make these gluten-free, substitute the cake flour with a gluten-free flour alternative. Keep in mind that I have not tried making these gluten-free, so the consistency may be slightly different.
- Instead of dipping the cookies in melted milk chocolate 🍫, try dark chocolate, white chocolate, or a combination of both. Additionally, sprinkle chopped nuts, shredded coconut, or colorful sprinkles on top of the melted chocolate for added texture and appearance.
- Create a cookie sandwich by spreading a layer of jam, Nutella, or peanut butter between two cookies before dipping them in chocolate 😮💨.
- Instead of making disks, try using cookie cutters to create various other shapes.
Popular Cookie Recipes
Italian Amaretti Cookies
25 mins
Pignoli Cookies
28 mins
3 Ingredient Sugar Cookies
20 mins
Puff Pastry Cookies
34 mins
Snowball Cookies
30 mins
Other Bulgarian Favorites
Banitsa
1 hr 20 mins
Grilled Zucchini Recipe
10 mins
Feta Egg Toast
15 mins
Bulgarian Stuffed Peppers
1 hr 20 mins
Common Questions
Yes, you definitely can. You can substitute the honey with maple syrup, agave or molasses, but keep in mind these substitutions may alter the flavor profile and how much flour you need.
You can use regular all-purpose flour instead, but keep in mind you will end up with slightly different textured cookies since cake flour has less gluten and, therefore, yields a softer texture when used in baking. You can also make your own cake flour by combining all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
If you’d like to make these gluten-free, substitute the cake flour with a gluten-free flour alternative. Keep in mind that I have not tried making these gluten-free, so the consistency may be slightly different.
Yes, you most certainly can. These cookies are absolutely delicious all on their own or you can even make a ginger glaze to go on top as well.
When stored in an airtight container at room temperature, they can stay fresh for about 1-2 weeks. If refrigerated, they can last up to 2-3 weeks. For longer storage, freeze the cookies for up to 2-3 months.
Chilling your cookie dough in the fridge allows the flour to hydrate and gives all the ingredients time to come together. Cooler dough will also expand more slowly, allowing the cookies to hold on to their shape and texture while being baked. You can proceed without chilling the dough, but keep in mind your cookies may spread out while baking.
While 1 cup of flour weighs 160g in my kitchen, it might weigh anywhere from 120 to 180g in your kitchen and there’s a few reasons for that. The weight of ingredients may vary due to the brand of ingredients, the brand and style (wet vs dry) of measuring cups and spoons, and the technique for measuring into cups: scooping and leveling versus spooning the ingredients into the cup measure. For best results, go by the weight listed in the recipe.
Honey Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 egg, large
- ½ cup golden yellow sugar, any sugar will work
- ½ cup avocado oil
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon clove
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tablespoon unsweetened cacao powder
- 2 ¼ cups cake flour
- 200 grams dark chocolate, or milk
- chopped nuts, optional (not traditional)
Instructions
- Note: you can use a mixer or stand mixer for ease. I do everything with a whisk, spatula, and then incorporate with my hands.
- In a big bowl, add the egg and sugar. Whisk well until light and pale yellow. Add the honey, oil, and spices (cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, cacao) and mix.
- Now, add the cake flour a LITTLE at a time as you mix in between. You do NOT want to dump in the flour all at once because it's important to always look at the consistency.
- I added exactly 300 grams of cake flour which gave me a perfect tacky (soft) dough. The dough should be soft and tacky, not wet or sticky. It should not stick to your hands when shaped into a ball.
- Mix well and when it becomes hard to mix with a spatula or wooden spoon, I switch and use my hands.
- Shape the dough into a disc (or ball) and wrap it up with saran wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, take out the dough and preheat the oven to 350F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, take a small ice-cream scoop and scoop 20 equal-sized balls from the cookie dough.
- Roll each one to form a smooth ball, and gently press down to form a 2-2.5 inch disc.
- Place each disc onto the baking sheet.
- Note: if the cookies start to stick to your hands as you flatten them, wash and dry your hands and continue the process. Alternatively, you can also have some oil handy and oil your hands so that nothing sticks.
- Bake the cookies at 350F for 6-8 minutes. You do NOT want to over-bake these as they will become harder if you do. 7-8 minutes is the sweet spot for me, but it will depend on the oven.
- Take them out and let them cool a bit while you melt the chocolate in intervals in the microwave OR over a double-boiler on the stove.
- After melting the chocolate, spoon it over the cookie, covering half of it. Alternatively, you can dip the whole cookie in chocolate to cover the entire surface.
- I like to add some crushed nuts on top for presentation and let the chocolate set for a few hours.
- Store them in an air-tight container at room temp (or the fridge) for up to 2 weeks! Enjoy 🙂
My Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
