Welcome to Cooking with Grace! This is where Grace Singleton, a managing partner at the Deli, shares her delectable home cooking with us. This week, she brings us Honey Drop Cookies!

I found myself with several almost-finished jars of honey and wanted to make a different kind of Christmas cookie. I wanted to clean out my cupboard a bit before I let myself buy any more (I have a thing for honey!). There are so many different flavors and styles of honey, and each can transport you to a different part of the world or a different season—you get to taste the flavors of the land that were captured by the bees.

I had gotten a copy of a 1936 publication called “Let’s Cook with California Honey,” which was prepared for the California Beekeepers Association by UC Davis (Division of Home Economics and the College of Agriculture). It explains how to cook with honey, i.e. altering the water content of the recipe and also adding soda to counteract the acidic nature of honey. It also has a great section on why to cook with honey: “Why, then, is honey better than sugar for any kind of cooking at all? The answer is contained in one word: flavor.”

I adapted their Soft Honey Cookie recipe a bit (substituting butter for Crisco) and added some ground Silk Road Blend from Epice de Cru, which we sell at the Deli. I’ve been infatuated with the Silk Road Blend since I first saw it—it’s chock full of so many wonderful things, including fennel, ginger, rose, cassis, and szechuan pepper (just to name a few!).

Here’s the recipe:
cream 1/2 cup butter
add 1/2 Cup honey
add 1 egg

sift together:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp silk road blend (grind & be sure to sift out any large pieces)

Add dry mix to butter/honey/egg mix just to incorporate
Roll out and cut into shapes, or roll into small balls
Place on ungreased baking sheet at 375 F for 15 minutes

I really like the depth of flavor the honey and spices add to this cookie. If you want it a little sweeter, dust or roll cooled cookies with powdered sugar.

Now, which honey should I buy next?

—Grace