Game of Thrones Cookies and Bee Mead

Game of Thrones honey spiced cookies

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Dang!!! You know I love a geek shop, and Warpzone Prints is a geeky cookie cutter paradise. The store sells a plethora of cutters including Harry Potter, Dr. Who, retro movie monsters, Bill Nye the science guy and today's Game of Thrones cutters. If your looking for something to wash down today's cookies, scroll right down to Bee Mead :) 

Making stamped cookies; I've adapted my cookies from a Martha Stewart recipe for sugar cookies, but you could use your favourite sugar cookie recipe and reduce or even omit the baking powder. 

Stamped Honey and Spice Sugar Cookies

Makes about about 30

Ingredients

• 2 cups sifted plain flour (all-purpose) flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice or ground cardamom  
• 2 tablespoons of *honey 
• 1/2 cup butter (well softened)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Extras: 

An extra bowl of flour to flour rolling pin, bench and cookie cutters. 

A soft new toothbrush or other small cleaning brush to clean cutters. 

Enough room in your freezer to slide in cookie trays to chill dough cut outs. 

Method

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, spices and baking powder. Set aside.

2. In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg & honey beat until smooth, 1 minute.

3. Add reserved flour mixture, and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Stir in vanilla. Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.

4. Position two racks in oven; preheat oven to 160 Celsius (325 degrees). Line two baking trays with baking paper or a non-stick baking mat; set aside.

5. On a well-floured work surface, roll out chilled dough to 0.3 cm (1/8 inch) thick (you can roll between two sheets of non stick paper if you prefer). Stamp out cookies with your floured cookie cutters. With a metal spatula, transfer whole cookies to the prepared baking trays. Brush off excess flour with a small brush. the center details of the cutters are weaker, stamp your cookies with gentle but even pressure.

Flouring your cutters and cookie spatula will make working the dough that much easier.

Brush off excess flour with a small artists brush

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6. Transfer baking tray to the *freezer, and chill until cookie dough is firm, about 15 minutes. Place the baking tray in the oven, and bake cookies for 6 to 10 minutes. 

7. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes, and then use a metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 

* left your cookie cutouts too long in the freezer and they are frozen? Don't worry, just bake them a few minutes longer. 

*I used honey in these cookies, when you are baking with honey you will  notice your baked goods will brown more quickly... keep an eye on them, particularly if your stamped cookie has small protruding parts like wolves ears. 

Hand wash your cutters in warm soapy water, using a soft toothbrush/small cleaning brush to clean dough still left in details.

Friends and family took the opportunity to partake in a Bee Mead tasting last week. Pure Australian Clover Honey is combined with New Zealand Manuka honey to produce this light and refreshing take on mead. "Refreshing" was the word coined by everyone that tried it. If you are a mead connoisseur Bee Mead probably isn't going to hit the spot with you, but for the rest of us I can't think of a better "Games of Thrones"  season returns beverage. Bee Mead is a clear lightly sparkling, ciderish and meadish (my blog I can make up words!!) with final note of honey tasting drink. My stepson Dan thought it was highly drinkable, with not too much sweetness. My friend Jacinta thought it was surprising (in a good way), light and refreshing.  Bee Mead is available in honey, honey ginger and lime/lemon.... we tried the honey. Serve well chilled or over ice.... in your Game of Thrones goblet of course.   Pop over to the Bee Mead website for more information.  Dan Murphy's is selling it in Australia. 

Happy Baking :) 

In the mood for honey? Honey Joy cupcakes here