1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup chopped nuts, not too fine

Mix flour well with baking powder, soda, and salt. Cream butter and brown sugar until light colored, then add honey. Beat in the egg, then the flour mixture, finally the nuts. The dough will be soft and sticky. Form into two or three rectangular blocks, each about 2 inches x 1 inch. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least overnight.

On the day of baking, preheat oven to 400 F.

You may grease the pan or use parchment paper. Slice a block of dough crosswise in 1/4 inch slices. 7 min in the upper half of the oven leaves cookies slightly brown on the bottom. Ovens vary, so bake a test cookie or two first. They break cleanly when cool, but still a little soft in the middle.

Results:

This is the first recipe from the WWII years, and probably reflects Gourmet’s attempt to deal with the shortages caused rationing: heavy in flour, light in butter, with honey substituted for some of the sugar.

I regret to report that this was my least favorite of the eight recipes I made. The problem is probably me. I’m not fond of the taste of honey and with no other flavorings, honey dominates the cookie. The recipe suggests eating with cheese. I tried cream cheese, but it didn’t improve things. Your mileage may vary. If you like honey, you might like these.

Next week: a vastly better cookie (in my opinion), one of my two favorites.

Below: first photo by Gourmet, second of my results