These cookies are a perfect tea-time treat, packed with magical ingredients to invite love, prosperity, and protection.
Anyone who knows me knows that I put a lot of stock in my heritage and where my ancestral roots grow from. My mother was born in Slovenia, and my American father's roots grow from French, Scottish, and Italian immigrants. But because I grew up with Slovenian culture, and all the traditions my mother maintained while raising me in America, it'll always feel closest to me—and the easiest way to bring that cultural connection into my home is through cooking. It's the reason why I'm always looking for new recipes to further connect to my Slovenian, roots.
One such recipe is medenjaki—a cinnamon honey cookie typically made for the winter holidays, where a touch of those fiery, bright flavors, like orange, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, shine.
I found this recipe from the Slovenian Union of America and have since adapted it to suit my tastes a little better. This adapted version has more citrus flavor, as well as less clove, as I found too much clove to be overpowering the first time I gave this a try.
Magic in Medenjaki
When it comes to kitchen magic, the glorious part is that pretty much any and every ingredient you have access to is magical in its own way, and these cookies are no exception.
Medenjaki are traditionally made for the winter months, much like gingerbread cookies are. The warming spices, the bright citrus, invoke feelings of sunshine and energy that, like most winter treats, carry the promise of thaw and strengthening sunlight in the year ahead. It comes as no surprise, then, that the elemental association of these four spices is fire, and that the planets that rule them are Jupiter and the sun.
The dominant themes in the ingredients used—nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and orange—are love, protection, success, prosperity, and luck. They therefore make the perfect treat to charm with these things and share with friends and family, as these sweet and well spiced cookies will help attract all the things we wish for most towards the end of the year.
Medenjaki
Ingredients:
420g (3.5 cups) | All Purpose Flour |
227g (2 sticks) | Unsalted butter |
170g (1/2 cup) | Honey |
Zest of 3 | Oranges |
125g (1 1/4 cup) | Granulated Sugar |
8g (2 tsps) | Baking Powder |
2 | Eggs |
1 | Egg Yolk (save egg white) |
15g (1 1/2 Tbsp) | Cinnamon |
5g (1 tsp) | Nutmeg |
5g (1 tsp) | Clove |
Directions:
Zest three oranges and set zest aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and honey together.
Once fully melted, remove from heat and add zest, then let cool.
Combine all dry ingredients and set aside.
When honey/butter mixture is cooled, beat two eggs and one egg yolk and add to the mixture, then combine with dry ingredients.
Wrap cookie dough and let sit in fridge for 1.5hrs - 4hrs.
Set oven to 375 degrees.
Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness, then cut shapes and place on lined baking tray.
Add 1 Tbsp water to egg white and brush cookies with egg wash.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
While traditional for winter, you can enjoy these cookies any time of year. They pair well with black tea, coffee, or other warm and hearty drinks like chai.
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