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honey biscuits or cookies, golden, glazed and in love heart shapes

Honey Biscuits with Lemon

Jill Colonna
Honey biscuits – easy homemade French cookies with lemon zest, baked in only 10 minutes for crisp texture and extra honey flavour. Baking in the oven for another 2-3 minutes makes a darker cookie that's even more intense in honey.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Snack, teatime
Cuisine French
Servings 40 biscuits
Calories 83 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 250 g (9oz/ 2 cups) plain flour (all-purpose)
  • 50 g (2oz/ ¼ cup) sugar
  • 150 g (5½oz/ ¾ cup) unsalted butter cold if by hand; softened if in mixer
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoon Acacia honey (runny) or dark mountain honey (strong flavoured)
  • 2 lemons, zest only unwaxed/organic
  • 1 good pinch salt fleur de sel (Maldon, Celtic or Kosher salt)

Honey Glaze

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • pinch salt

Instructions
 

  • Measure the flour in a large bowl. Add the sugar, cold butter, lemon zest, honey and salt. Mix all together well with the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (or sand - sable in French) then add the egg yolks.
    Alternatively, if you have a stand mixer, mix all the ingredients together (using softened butter at room temperature) for a couple of minutes maximum until well blended together.
  • Split the dough into 2, cover with cling film and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  • Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to about 5mm (¼ inch) thickness. Cut the dough using your favourite cookie cutters. Roll up the dough into another ball with the scraps and roll out again until finished.
    Place the biscuits on 1-2 baking trays covered with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
  • Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F (170°C fan/Gas 5).
    Mix the glaze together and brush lightly over each biscuit, removing excess liquid with the brush. Bake for 10-12 minutes (careful NO MORE than 14-15 mins, as the honey will burn)
  • Leave the cookies to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes then carefully transfer them with a pie slice (they'll still be soft and fragile) to a wire rack to cool and crisp up.

Notes

Honey Tips:
  • For a more intense honey flavour, use a dark, full-flavoured honey, such as a mountain honey.
  • To see if you're using genuine honey, spoon it into a small glass of water. If it doesn't dissolve, it's the real thing.
Baking Honey Biscuits/Cookies: 10 minutes is all they need in the oven for a light golden colour. However, baking for another 2-4 minutes maximum will darken them quickly but the result is a more intense honey flavour. It's up to you how toasty you prefer them but any longer will burn cookies.
The cookie dough freezes well if stored in an airtight container. I often prepare a whole batch and freeze half of the dough for later.

Nutrition

Calories: 83kcal
Keyword crispy honey biscuits, French honey biscuits, honey and lemon cookies, honey biscuits, honey cookies, honey cookies recipe
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