Honey Cake is traditional for Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year. This year, I am expanding my baking and gifting tradition to include crunchy Honey Cake Biscotti. Sharing sweet honey cookies are a delicious way to wish friends and loved ones a sweet New Year!
On Rosh Hashanah it’s customary to dip apples in honey. Apples are used because they are sweet and have many symbolic connections within the Bible and other Jewish texts. Honey is symbolic of our hopes for a sweet New Year.
Many foods made with either apple or honey are often prepared for Rosh Hashanah meals. For many years, I’ve baked mini loaves of Honey Applesauce Cake to share at Rosh Hashanah.
When my kids were in college I started the tradition of Rosh Hashanah Care Packages filled with a variety of apple and honey goodies like Honey Lollipops, Apples and Honey Cookies, and Pomegranate Caramels.
That tradition will continue when I send out a Rosh Hashanah Care Package this week to my son and his girlfriend living in Chicago.
This year’s care package and my gifts to friends will include some crunchy apples and honey in the form of these Honey Cake Biscotti and the Apple Biscotti I will be posting later this week.
Honey Cake Biscotti are full of honey flavor, just like honey cake, but they are crunchy and dip-able in your beverage of choice. I think they are especially great dipped in tea.
Biscotti get their crunch from being baked twice. The long logs of biscotti dough are baked then sliced.
At that point the cookies are firm but not crunchy. Honey Cake Biscotti are quite good after the first baking (a lot like honey flavored mandel bread) and you may decide to stop there.
Baking the slices a second time, creates a crunchy treat that not only tastes great, but travels well in care packages and stays fresh for about 2 weeks.
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Suggestions for Rosh Hashanah Care Package:
In addition to the apples and honey recipes on The Monday Box, there are lot of fun apple or honey items that could go in a New Year care package.
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- Candy ( OldTimeCandy.com has over 50 different apple or honey flavored candies. Also, if you are sending to a military APO or FPO, they will ship your order for free!)
- Apple Chips
- Apple tea
- Honey Bears
Any time of year, Honey Cake Biscotti will make snack time a little sweeter.
Wishing everyone a healthy, happy, and peace-filled New Year. L’Shana Tova!
Honey Cake Biscotti
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Ingredients
- 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup brewed coffee or espresso
- 2 large eggs
Optional:
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting the tops of the biscotti
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder and salt.
- Add the oil, honey, coffee and eggs, and mix just until combined.
- Divide the dough in half. Form each half into a log (about 10 inches long and 3 inches wide) on the prepared baking sheet. Leave 3 inches between the logs.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until loaves are set.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes.
- Lower the oven temperature to 325° F.
- Slice both logs on a slight diagonal into ¾”- 1” thick biscotti.
- Stand the biscotti slices, slightly separated, on the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Return to the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until mostly firm. Biscotti will get crisper as they cool.
- Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Optional: Dust with confectioners’ sugar.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
PAULA E SHOYER says
It is clear that your recipe was inspired by my recipe, published in my cookbook, The Holiday Kosher Baker (Sterling 2013). No one writes recipes with 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons of flour. That was how I knew your recipes was derived from mine.Overall yours is practically identical to mine, though I do see that you made just a few minor adjustments to ingredients and instructions. I would appreciate you adding that the recipe was inspired by mine.
Wendy Sondov says
Hi, Paula. I apologize that the line crediting your recipe as the inspiration for these was inadvertently deleted during a recent update in recipe cards. I make a point of linking to the cookbooks and websites where I sometimes get inspiration. You may even note in the comment above yours, that I make clear to the commenter, where the recipe originated. I must point out however, that your observation that “no one writes recipes with 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons” is untrue. When halving an original recipe, or when converting from grams to American standard measurement, it is often necessary to use measurements such as the 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons. For example, my recent Amsterdam Caramel Cookies uses 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour. As for the recipe being “practically identical”, I do not copy/paste recipes. I did change the spice profile, baking method, and directions from your original recipe.
K says
I made this recipe and the mixture I ended up with was the consistency of cake batter. I read and re-read the recipe at least 6 times to make sure all of my measurements were right, and they are. Should this be solid and able to be formed into a log? I poured the batter onto a sheet pan and am hoping for the best.
Wendy Sondov says
Hi. I’m sorry you are having trouble with this recipe.My dough was sticky, but certainly not pour-able. I’m not sure what the problem can be. This recipe is adapted from the cookbook, “The Holiday Kosher Baker” by Paula Shoyer. I checked my recipe against the book just now to be sure that nothing was left out on my recipe and all seems ok. Not being in your kitchen with you, I can’t really say what the problem is. However, I suggest if you ever run into a similar situation in the future you can try chilling the dough for an hour or more to help it firm and if that doesn’t work, bake the dough in a pan with sides (to prevent an overflowing baking sheet) or even in two loaf pans.
saltandserenity says
Wendy, these look just perfect. The lighting in the first shot is gorgeous. Those biscotti are glowing.
Sweet, Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your family.
Carlee says
I really enjoy honey sweetened baked goods. Even more so now that my dad and brothers have bees. Maybe I can trade them biscotti for more honey!
shannon @ a periodic table says
Wendy, these biscotti are so gorgeous! I’m partial to honey things, and i love how beautiful and simple these are with just that little dusting of sugar over the top. perfect. L’Shana Tova!
The Monday Box says
Thanks, Shannon! This is definitely honey time of year. 🙂 You know I am prone to sprinkles…but these biscotti were intended to be simple and homey. Thanks for the kind holiday wishes! Wishing you sweetness and joy!