Honey Gingerbread Cookies

Shawn Stair, our special editions editor, brought these to the newsroom, and they were delicious!

He, in turn, stole it from an article published in the Press Enterprise 12/09/2010. Here's what we wrote then.

At the New York Public Library, visitors to the Winnie-the-Pooh room are greeted by a gigantic mural of the roly-poly bear and his friends sitting down to dinner.

"That the iconic image that the publisher chose to welcome people into the room," says Elizabeth Bird, senior children's librarian at the institution, which is home to the Pooh stuffed animals owned by the real-life Christopher Robin. "That's the first thing you'll see, before you even see Pooh." Another wall features Pooh with his famous honey pots.

Food, friendship and simplicity have always been central to A.A. Milne's classic tales. And as tribute to this notion, Dutton Publishing has re-issued Virginia Ellison's 1969 book, "The Winnie-the-Pooh Cookbook."

Though the updated recipes for "smackerels" like honey toffee apples and easy honey buns have been purged of lard, the book still features original drawings by Ernest H. Shepard interspersed with memorable quotes from Pooh and his coterie. The messages speak even to today's children.

"Kids understand being hungry and wanting more of your favorite food," Bird says. (Duh!) "It's kind of a wish fulfillment. Imagine having a pot as big as yourself filled with your favorite food. Like a big pot of cake."

Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours (30 minutes active)
Makes about 30 cookies

1/2 C sugar
3 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 C butter or margarine, cut into dots and brought to room temperature
1/2 C honey

1. In a large bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Use your fingertips to work the butter into the dry ingredients. When thoroughly worked in, add the honey and stir until blended.

2. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  On a lightly-floured surface, roll the dough out about 1/8-inch thick.

4. Use 3-inche cookie cutters to cut cookies from the dough. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until just golden at the edges.

5. Cool 1 minute on pan before transferring them to a rack.

6. Frost.

Per cookie: 108 calories; 55 calories from fat; 6 grams fat (4 grams saturates, 0 grams trans fat); 16 mg cholesterol, 12 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein, 0 g fiber, 117 mg sodium.