Want a cross between a cracker and a cookie? If so, I have just the recipe for you. I recently was browsing through a hundred-year-old cooking magazine and came across a recipe for Honey Tea Crackers. The name of the recipe made me salivate, and I was ready to give the it a try. But, when I looked at the recipe a little more, I was a little confused. The recipe called for putting an almond or walnut half on top of each cracker. Crackers don’t generally have nuts on top of them. And, when I thought about it, I realized that most crackers are salty or savory, not sweet.
The more I looked at the recipe, the more I was intrigued I became – and I soon was mixing up a batch of the crackers. Since it seemed unusual to put nuts on crackers, I did not put a nut on top of some of the crackers.
The recipe turned out well, though Honey Tea Crackers are not typical of modern crackers. In addition to honey, the crackers contain allspice as well as some lemon juice and grated lemon rind. The crackers were sweet with the complex undertones of honey and lemon, and a hint of allspice. They have the texture of a cut-out cookie that had been rolled out very thin. I put almonds on some crackers and walnuts on others. Both types of nuts worked well, and I don’t have a preference, but I definitely preferred the crackers that had a nut on top over the plain ones. In hindsight, I wish that had just followed the old recipe and put a nut on top of all of them.
Here’s the original recipe:
I did not dissolve the baking soda prior to adding to the other ingredients, and it worked fine. The mixture, however, seemed very dry, so I added a little more than the 1 teaspoon of water called for in the recipe.
The recipe calls for pricking the crackers “all over.” I was surprised how long it took to prick a lot of crackers, so be sure to allow sufficient time.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Honey Tea Crackers
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
juice from 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons honey + 2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon water (add more if needed) + 2 tablespoons water
almonds or walnut halves (if desired)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons honey and 2 tablespoons water. Set aside.
Sift together flour, salt, allspice and baking soda. Add eggs, grated lemon rind, lemon juice, 3 tablespoons honey, and 1 teaspoon water; stir to mix. If the dough is too dry, add additional water. On a prepared surface, roll the dough out until it is very thin (1/4 inch or a little less). Cut into circles using a round cutter. (I used a cutter that was 2 inches in diameter.) Put the crackers on a lightly greased baking sheet. Prick all over each cracker with a fork. Brush the crackers with the honey and water mixture. If desired, press an almond or walnut half into the center of each cracker. Put into oven, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Perhaps they were an Americanized version of tea biscuits?
Could be.
Interesting! Whether we’d want 90 at once is a different question …
It makes a lot. You may want to make half (or a third) of the recipe. If these were actually a typical cracker, it might not be too many, but these are more substantial.
They look really good. I would lean on the side of them being more like a cookie. maybe not as sweet.
They taste is more like a cookie, but the look is definitely more like a cracker.
I am making a guess they called them crackers because they were so thin and pricked all over. They sound delicious. Did you try some with a cup of tea?
I didn’t, but I should have. 🙂
Your crackers are beautiful and sound delicious, as well.
Thank you. They did look really nice.
These might be nice to serve with fresh fruit and a fruit dip. I can imagine it would make a lovely display.
That’s a good suggestion.
You just can’t stop having creative ideas with this base, it’s just perfect.
I am very fortunate. My readers come up with so many wonderful suggestions and ideas that I never would have thought of.
True dear
This seems quite interesting Recipe, thanks for sharing 👍🏻
You’re welcome. It’s wonderful to hear that you enjoyed this post.
They look really tasty!
Even though these crackers took a really long time to make (when I started working on them, I had no clue who long it would take to prick the crackers all over with a fork), I really enjoyed making this recipe and learning how to make something that looks like a cracker. These “crackers” were tasty in their own sweet way, but I may look for a more modern salty or savory cracker recipe and give it a try now that I’m an “expert” on making crackers.
You needed a vintage cracker docking tool!
That’s exactly what I need. I didn’t even know there was such a thing until I read your comment and did an online search. 🙂
I want one. The last time I made crackers, I got a bit tired using the fork!
I’ll bet they’re yummy!
This sounds delicious! I have pumpkin hummus that would be tasty with these crackers!!
Sadly I’m not getting your posts – I checked and I’m still subscribed so I don’t know what WP is up to…
Oh dear – I don’t know what’s going on. I’m glad you realized there was an issue and checked out the posts without notification. Let me know if it’s a continuing problem, and I’ll see if I can figure out what the issue is.