These French honey biscuits (or honey cookies) bake in just 10 minutes. Made from scratch, this recipe lets you control the sugar - just a touch of sweetness so the honey and lemon really shine. A glossy glaze adds crisp texture and extra flavour.
Biscuits, Cookies or Sablés?
I say biscuit with my Scottish accent (and in French), but my American friends call these honey cookies. So let's clear up the vocab: when I say biscuit, I mean cookie - not the fluffy American biscuits like cheese scones.
In France, these are also known as sablés because the butter and flour are rubbed together until the mixture looks like sand (sable in French). In English recipes we say "breadcrumbs" - same thing. So they're more crispy rather than a flaky biscuit.
What Makes a Good Honey Biscuit (Cookie)?
Everyone has their own idea of the perfect biscuit or cookie. Should the texture be soft, chewy, or crispy? Perhaps somewhere in between, like these chocolate chip hazelnut cookies.
For me, flavour is just as important. Honey and lemon need to shine, so I cut the sugar to avoid masking them. Since honey is naturally sweeter, a little goes a long way.
The glaze is the secret to them. Brushed on before baking, it mixes honey, egg yolk, and a pinch of salt. The result? Golden shine, crisp bite, and even more honey flavour.
Ingredients for Honey Biscuits
These French honey butter biscuits are like a lighter version of French butter biscuits (Palet Bretons). Honey and lemon zest are what make them shine.
- Plain flour - use all-purpose flour or French T55 for best results. No baking powder.
- Sugar - just a little, as much as I dare (too much kills the honey and lemon flavour).
- Butter - unsalted, softened at room temperature (but not melted) so it mixes easily. Best to avoid salted butter and add just a ¼ teaspoon of sea or kosher salt, so not to add too much.
- Egg yolks - for richness in the dough and that glossy glaze .
- Honey - runny honey is easiest to blend, plus a extra for the glaze (uses honey instead of whole milk). Local honey is best!
- Lemons - zest only, for zing.
- Sea salt - just a pinch, to balance the sweetness.
Can I Use Honey for Baking Cookies?
Yes! French pastry chefs often add a spoonful of honey to keep cookies moist since honey absorbs water during baking. It also deepens flavour in a way sugar alone can't.
Likewise, by adding a little apple compote (or apricot), the pectin in the fruit absorbs the moisture like honey. I explain this in this coconut macaroons recipe.
Is it Good to Replace Sugar with Honey in Cookies?
Honey makes an excellent swap for some sugar in cookie recipes. It's sweeter than sugar, so you need less. It also brings a floral note that varies depending on the type of honey you use. Just be careful: honey browns faster in the oven, so watch baking times.
Best Honey for Biscuits?
Acacia honey works particularly well here: mild, runny, and easy to find. For a stronger flavour, darker honeys give these biscuits extra character:
- Miel de Garrigues (Mediterranean wildflower honey) - a herbal and aromatic substitute.
- Chestnut honey from Corsica - dark, intense, and wonderful in baking or simply drizzled over cheese like brocciu (like ricotta). To get an idea of flavour, dribble some mountain honey over a slice of Fiadone Corsican cheesecake.
- Other mountain honeys - in general, the darker the honey, the more powerful the flavour. They add a lovely depth and make the biscuits taste even more of honey.
Although mountain honeys are pricier, they're worth trying if you spot them.
Tip: To check if your honey is real, dip a spoonful into water.
Fake honey dissolves; real honey holds its shape.
Easy Honey Biscuits Recipe with Lemon
This easy recipe is based on Croquants, crisp homemade honey biscuits found in the Auvergne region in France. Normally made with much more butter, I cut the quantity and added lemon zest from the classic recipe.
Yield: makes about 40 sablé biscuits (depending on the size of your cookie cutters).
Measure the flour in a large mixing 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.
If mixing in a stand mixer, use softened rather than melted butter with the paddle attachment (not whisk).
Split the biscuit dough into 2, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. At this point, you could put this in the freezer until later.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to about 5mm (¼ inch) thickness.
Cut the dough using your favourite biscuit cutter. Roll up the dough into another ball with the scraps and roll out again until finished.
Place the biscuits on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Mix the liquid glaze together, brush lightly over the top of the biscuits, and bake.
Honey Biscuit Baking Times: Crispy or Soft?
Baking in the oven for another 2-3 minutes makes a crispier, darker biscuit that's even more intense in honey.
This batch was well fired after another 5 minutes. They look burnt but believe me, their honey flavour was even more intensified and their texture more crispy. Here are 3 baking time options, which sounds a bit like the 3 bears! Pick one that you feel is just right:
- 10 minutes: golden, slightly crisp, more shortbread-like with the lemon flavour.
- 11-12 minutes: crispier, golden brown, more honey flavour and lemon quite subtle.
- 13-14 minutes darker, crisp and honey intensified (not burnt!). Lemon hits in the aftertaste.
How to Serve Honey Biscuits
The glaze makes them look as good as they taste. Serve at teatime with:
- Darjeeling, lemon tea or Earl Grey (bergamot pairs beautifully with lemon).
- Rooibos redbush if you prefer caffeine-free (particularly good with ginger if you have a cold).
Honey Biscuits with Lemon
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
- 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.
This recipe was first published 9 February 2015 but is now completely updated
Kate
Just made this recipe - it’s great! I love how the cookies really taste of honey. Tried with and without the glaze but have to say they’re best with.
Jill Colonna
Thanks Kate - so thrilled you tried both versions and thanks so much for confirming about the glaze. Agreed! We love them with the glaze too.
Lady Devilish
Word of warning: ever since I met Jill I have become indeed mad about macarons and Paris! The symptoms are:
1) inevitably drooling over macarons, bought and homemade
2) an irrational need to visit Paris (and everything around it!)
3) obsessing over every new blogpost
Thanks Jill!
Jill Colonna
How did I miss this? Thank you for such lovely words - the good news is I've finally updated this post!
Christina @ Christina's Cucina
Jill, now that I've seen your site and recipes, I am over the moon with the comments you left on my site! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are very kind and I love your blog, too! In fact, I would love to make these biscuits with some Meyer lemons which were just given to me by a friend! Will let you know if I do as I have a LOT going on and leaving for a trip in less than 2 weeks; you know how that goes! Ugh! Thanks so much for finding me, so now I've found you! 🙂
Jill
Thank you for coming to le blog, Christina! Meyer lemons ... yes, I keep hearing about them via the blogging world and it's frustrating that we don't get them here. You're so lucky. Good luck on the travels. Looks like we're off next week to Italy and so best get planning .... restaurants! 🙂
Thomasina
How ill must you be to keep you out of the kitchen Jill? You just can't stop creating treats and sharing them so thank you for the dedication.
Jill
I think Julie was wary of me making things, as she didn't want to catch anything. But it was the only place I could do something! Thank you x
Francis
Mmmm it looks so yummy !!!
I don't know, Jill, if you already use, but you can find "cédrat" in Corsica. By the way, I don't know how to say cédrat in english 😉
They use it to make an alcohol over there, called Cédratine. I didn't get the opportunity to try yet.
Jill
Hi Francis - so glad to see you've popped in. Thank you! Yes, my husband is from Corsica so we know cedrat (yes, it's the same in English) well, not to mention Cédratine, the deep yellow liqueur (we finished it recently making Fiadone and wanted to post about this too). I've never been able to find cédrats in Paris - pity, as it's so much powerful to normal lemons (Citrus medica with rough skin). Let's keep our eyes peeled, shall we? 🙂
Patty
Oh how I love sablés, especially those with honey and lemon- just the thing to restore health 🙂
Jill
Thanks, Patty and Ann. Any excuse to eat biscuits really ....
Ann
So sorry to hear about your gripes (ugh this winter has been the WORST) but glad you are all on the mend. These cookies sound like a solid part of the healing process!
Claudine
Funny how looking at that Monoprix basket photo brought it all back to me, the smell of Monoprix, the sounds, the food counters, clothes, make up (bought some of my first ever make up there) etc It’s the strangest things that make you homesick for somewhere, don’t you think?
These biccies look delicious, I hope to try them sometime although I can’t quite figure out this rental oven!
Hope you’re all feeling beaucoup mieux!!
Jill
You know, Claudine, I wasn't even going to put in that basket so I'm glad this meant something! I forget to take shots when I'm at the supermarket and don't look around me enough. Feeling much better today, if still very "woozy" (thank goodness it was only just a passing thing!) - thanks for saying hello and good luck in the rental flat!
Liz
Such a lovely use for the dredges of the honey pot 🙂 It's a good sign that you're up to baking!
Jill
Thanks, Liz. Let's just say these were easiest to bake (I couldn't do much else - even my eyes were streaming looking at any screen or book). I don't know if I could have even attempted your amazing looking chocolate valentine's creations!
June S
Sorry to hear you were all under the weather. Nothing to beat honey and lemon as a cure and the biscuits look terrific.
Jill
As you can see, they were simplest to tackle when feeling under the weather - it wasn't like making a 3-tiered cake! Merci xo
Jean-Pierre D
Glad you're on the mend Jill. These look so easy and delicious. Made sablés but not with honey or lemon so must try. Ah, Corsican lemons!
Jill
Yes, Corsican lemons are great and easier to find here. We don't get the Meyer lemons I hear so much about in the US and even in Paris, Menton lemons are hard to find.
Parisbreakfast
I bought those same lemons to paint...not knowing they were from corsica!
Pomagranate seeds dIly and no more colds or flu ever. But nobody listens.
Jill
Pomegranate, pomegranate, hang on - did you not tell me that once? I'm taking note here now, I promise. Did you hear that everyone? Pomegranate seeds, every day! Thanks, Carol.