Happy Holidays Honey-Sweetened Cut Out Cookie Recipe
Reminiscent of an animal cracker in taste, albeit softer, these honey “sugar cookies” are a delight to make and eat. I like that the recipe doesn’t require large amounts of honey, so cost wise it’s not an expensive refined-sugar-free treat.
A couple weeks ago, I sent this recipe to my friend Marissa (her instagram) asking if she wanted to try them gluten free, as her family eats fully gluten free due to a celiac in the family. She made them the next morning, and on the second try she had them figured! See her recipe here.
A friend asked me if they are more of a “chewy” or “crispy” sugar cookie and it could be either, depending on how long you bake them for.
We enjoy these just on their own as little cracker cookies, not overly sweet but deliciously “more-ish” as my Grandma would say. I don’t feel too guilty having these around for the kids to snack on. They are also perfect for freezing so you don’t find yourself eating too many at once.
While we do enjoy them plain, if you need a vehicle for dressing up and decorating at Christmas, Valentines, Easter, etc…these are just the ticket! Just whip up your favorite frosting and go to town with the sprinkles. Both you and the kids will have a blast. (Okokok sometimes it makes me want to spike the eggnog too ?)
This is definitely an all day sort of recipe. You’ll want to give the dough time to chill in the fridge so that it’s easier to roll and cut. Do keep watch of the time though, as you don’t want them in there too long. You can make it the night before, but then just let it rest on the counter a bit before rolling out so it isn’t too firm.
If you don’t have a bunch of cookie cutters on hand, don’t fret. Just grab a jar or drinking glass and cut out circles. Your biscuit cutters will also work and in a pinch, just cut out rough squares using a knife. The flavor and homemade nature make up for the lack of pretty shapes.
Honey Sweetened Holiday Cut Out Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened/at room temp
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat honey and butter until well combined, scraping the bowl a few times if needed. Add in egg, vanilla and salt, mix well. Mix in flour until well combined.
- It will still be a little sticky but scoop it into a container and chill for 30-60 minutes (If it ends up in fridge overnight, you may need to let it sit on counter a bit to warm up as it may be too firm…)
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Divide dough in half and roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out your desired shapes, and transfer to cookie sheets lined with parchment or silpats. Re-roll scraps and cut out some more!
- Bake for 8 minutes, turn trays around, and bake another 5 minutes, until edges are just getting gently browned. If you want them crispy and not chewy, bake a few more minutes.
- Cool, decorate to your hearts content, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Want more holiday goodies to warm your home?
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35 Comments
Jayna
I cannot wait to try these! Weren’t they going to have a gluten free option as well?
kateschat
A friend is working on it! I will link it when its up on her blog.
HollowayShalyn
These are so good! A perfect shortbread cookie. I baked them on the backs of muffin tins to make cookie cups for chocolate pudding pies!!
Marissa
It’s there now!
Wendy
Any suggestions to make it dairy free? My brother has issues. I am going to attempt commercial lard as I don’t have any good stuff at present.
Wendy
I turned out great, they have lots of vanilla taste. They are a cross between shortbread and sugar cookies in texture. We love them.
kateschat
I’m so glad you love them!
Rebekah
Coconut oil is a good one to one replacement for butter in baking.
Kate
So delcious and makes so many!
Ruth
Really enjoyed these cookies- we went with the gluten free adaptions. Perfect for snacking!
Candice
We made these this past weekend. They are so good. I haven’t even decorated them yet as they taste so good!
Amanda
We love these! They hold their shape way better than any traditional recipe we’ve used. And I don’t mind the kiddos eating a bunch because they aren’t full of sugar.
Arreanna
Can i use salted butter instead of putting salt in?
Wendy
Yes, most recipes can be modified like that. I only use salted butter and if a recipe calls for unsalted I use a 1/4 tsp less salt in the recipe per cup of butter.
Leesif
These are great. They hold together well and are a great alternative to the sugar-filled holiday season without giving up traditions ?
J Cal
Can’t wait to try these!
Cathie
These are amazing. Both my boys loved them
Wendy
This is totally a comment for the giveaway, as I already commented when I first made the cookies, but I love the cookies. I made them dairy free because my brother is coming next week and there aren’t any left already… I have 5 kids who love cookies though so maybe I just need to make more…
Tisha
Put these on my to make list!
Stephanie M Wienert
I just tried these last week and they were absolutely delicious!
Rachel
They are so simple to whip up and a great alternative to my great grandma’s sugar cookies that we normally make. Thanks for sharing a healthier alternative!
Nathania R Norman
Made these yesterday and they were a hit with 2 of 3..the 3rd wanted more sugar…?. But I love that these are low sugar! We didn’t get 5 dozen but will be making them again!
Krystine
A-MA-ZING holiday cookies! The list of ingredients is super clean, the dough is EASY TO ROLL and the whole family LOVED them!
mogrma
I will try cause I like animal crackers
HealthyLivingwithChristene
I was hesitant to try these because my family already has a cut out cookie we love but these were so good too. My husband preferred these to our normal.
Nicole
Excited to try these! Love that they are sweetened with honey, looks like a great recipe.
Leah
These look delicious! Hoping to try these sometime soon!
Amanda Mowery
Made these with a 1:1 GF flour, mixed up so easily! I did roll them a bit thin and then over cooked them so they were a bit tough but that didn’t stop us from eating them! I’ll make it again with GF flour and because they were so easy will probably make some with regular flour as well.
Mariah Babcock
Mmm, these sound so good! I love sugar cookies without frosting and these sound perfect for that. May give them a try this Christmas.
Melissa
I made these in the gingerbread version you shared on IG. They were delicious and a wonderful texture!
Lauren
Just made these. They exceeded my expectation! I like honey in my tea but I’m not an overly huge fan of it. The dough smelt and tasted very much like honey so I was a little sceptical. But once baked you can hardly taste the honey. They’re delicious! Love them.
Crystelle
Just made these for the first time today. Can’t wait to eat them!! ?
Mackenzie Norlander
Making these as we speak!
Had one off the first tray already and they are so good!
I made them gluten free using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF baking flour. Turned out great!
Amanda
These are SO awesome. Added a tsp of cinnamon to one of my batches (yes, we made many batches of these!) And they turned out so great! The regular ones are also delicious, but the cinnamon addes a holiday spice that my family loved! Gave these as a gift to my raw dairy farmer, who also loved them! As always, amazong recipe, Kate! Love that they are honey sweetened, too. I feel better about my kiddo eating these at will lol
Sheila
I was only searching for a recipe without refined sugar, but made other replacements as necessary for the person I was making them for. I used 3 cups of oat flour instead of wheat flour, 1 Tbs of chia seeds and 3 Tbs of water instead of an egg, and olive-oil-based dairy-free spread instead of butter. These are DELICIOUS!! And vegan (well, some vegans eat honey and some don’t, but anyway…) and gluten-free, too.