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Home » Recipe » Medovníky: a Slovak Spiced Honey Cookie Recipe

Medovníky: a Slovak Spiced Honey Cookie Recipe

Published on December 23, 2017 by Elizabeth Atia 28 Comments
Last Updated on November 19, 2020

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A delicious spiced, decorated gingerbread style cookie recipe. #christmas #honey #cookie #gingerbread
A delicious spiced, decorated gingerbread style cookie recipe. #christmas #honey #cookie #gingerbread
A delicious spiced, decorated gingerbread style cookie recipe. #christmas #honey #cookie #gingerbread
A delicious spiced, decorated gingerbread style cookie recipe. #christmas #honey #cookie #gingerbread
Medovníky: Slovak Spiced Honey Cookies Pinterest Image

Medovníky are deliciously spiced, decorated gingerbread-style cookies flavoured with honey, cinnamon and cloves. These festive cookies are often served at Christmastime in Slovakia decorated with white icing swirls.

Medovníky: Slovak Spiced Honey Cookies

Table of Contents

  • Christmas baking – something new
  • What are medovníky?
  • How do you blanch raw almonds?
  • How do you decorate medovníky?
  • What spices are used in medovníky honey cookies?
  • Tips for making medovníky
  • How long do medovníky keep?
  • Medovníky: Slovak Spiced Honey Cookies

Christmas baking – something new

I do love experimenting with new recipes, and recently I had a notion to try one of the Christmas recipes from a cookery book I’ve had for some years: Festive Foods: Christmas Cooking Around the Worldby Hanne Kruse (2002).

Note, I’ve never visited Slovakia (if I’m to be honest my European geography is somewhat appalling and if given a map I wouldn’t be able to identify where exactly the country even is!), and I have no Slovakian family connections. I simply found a recipe in an old cookery book and attempted to make it.

Alas, the recipe developers in this cookery book clearly didn’t road test their recipes before publication as, following the instructions to the letter in this book, the dough simply would not come together. Why? Because they forgot to include the butter in the recipe.

I attempted to salvage the dough by guessing how much butter should be needed, but alas, my first lot ended in the bin after overnight chilling.

I then found this recipe and tweaked the one I had with much success – and thus, my children have been thoroughly enjoying these delicious gingerbread-style honey cookies with their intricate swirls of Royal icing.

Medovníky: Slovak Spiced Honey Cookies

What are medovníky?

Medovníky are deliciously spiced, decorated gingerbread-style cookies flavoured with honey, cinnamon and cloves. These festive cookies are often served at Christmastime in Slovakia decorated with white icing swirls.

Santa will be enjoying a few this year too, when he stops by on his yearly visit, with a glass of milk of course.

Medovníky: Slovak Spiced Honey Cookies

I’ve decorated some of my medovníky with blanched almonds, as recommended in the original cookery book. It’s really easy (and much cheaper) to blanch your own almonds, especially if you buy your almonds in bulk.

How do you blanch raw almonds?

To blanch raw almonds simply boil a kettle, pour hot water over your raw almonds and leave them for a few minutes before draining and plunging the hot almonds in a bowlful of cold water. The almond skins will slip off easily.

How do you decorate medovníky?

Classic medovníky are often decorated simply with swirls of white icing, and given that my children can be of two minds when it comes to nuts, I left half of my cookies plain so they could decorate them as they wished with the icing.

Decorating Slovakian Honey Cookies with Icing

What spices are used in medovníky honey cookies?

The spice mixture used in medovníky honey cookies is very similar to gingerbread spice, but ginger is not always included. The original recipe I adapted this recipe from only had cloves, but I added cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, allspice and a nice hefty pinch of freshly ground black pepper to mine. You can find a traditional recipe for the spice mixture here. Use whole spices and grind them yourself for a more intense flavour.

Tips for making medovníky

  • The dough will be very sticky when it first comes together. Leave it to chill in the fridge for a while before kneading and dividing into two discs to chill overnight.
  • When it comes to brushing the cookies with beaten egg white, you can either do this before you bake them to give a lovely rustic golden colour to the cookies or brush them with the egg white as soon as they come out of the oven for a more uniform glaze. The heat from the cookies will cook the glaze, so you don’t have to worry about brushing raw egg over them.

Medovníky: Slovak Spiced Honey Cookies

How long do medovníky keep?

These cookies also improve with age, softening and becoming more gingerbread-like in texture. A perfect festive treat to leave out for Santa, I think.

As an aside, what do you think of our new Christmas tree? I’ve bought an artificial one this year as I am loathed to spend £90 on a real one whose needles will begin dropping before Christmas Day only to chuck the whole thing on top of the village bonfire after the festive.

So, new tree, new baubles (all gold) and new soft white lights – I’m really loving our tree this year even though it isn’t real.

What cookies will you be leaving out for Santa this year? Let me know in the comments!

Medovníky: Slovak Spiced Honey Cookies

Medovníky: Slovak Spiced Honey Cookies

Flavoured with honey, cinnamon and cloves these delicious cookies are often served at Christmas-time in Slovakia decorated with white icing swirls.
4.17 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Slovakian
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Chilling: 6 hours
Total Time: 1 hour 42 minutes
Servings: 40 cookies
Calories: 150kcal
Author: Elizabeth

Ingredients

Metric - US Cup Measures

for the honey cookies

  • 650 grams plain flour
  • 300 grams icing sugar
  • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp ground allspice
  • 0.25 tsp ground star anise
  • 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lemon zest only
  • 3 medium free range eggs
  • 160 grams runny honey
  • 125 grams butter
  • blanched almonds to decorate (optional)
  • 2 egg whites to glaze

for the icing

  • 200 grams icing sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
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Equipment

mixing bowl
small saucepan
Rolling Pin
Christmas cookie cutters
baking tray
baking paper
cooling rack
piping bag

Instructions 

  • Sift together the flour, icing sugar, bicarbonate of soda and spices.
  • Measure out the honey and butter in a small saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted.
  • Add to the dry ingredients along with the eggs and mix well to form a soft dough.
  • Leave to chill in the refrigerator for an hour to firm up. Knead gently on a floured surface and divide into two discs. Wrap each disc in cling film and leave overnight in the refrigerator to chill.
  • Preheat your oven to 200 C/ 400 F and line a baking tray with paper.
  • Roll out each disc on a floured surface to a thickness of half a centimetre.
  • Cut out with your desired cookie cutter and place well apart on the baking sheet.
  • Decorate with a few blanched almonds, if desired, and glaze with the beaten egg white.
  • Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven (mine takes 12). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • To prepare the icing, mix the ingredients together and pipe swirls and decorations over the top of the cookies.
  • Will keep for several days in an airtight container.

Notes

Recipe adapted from one found in the cookery book Festive Foods: Christmas Cooking Around the World by Hanne Kruse (2002).

Nutrition

Calories: 150kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 73mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 96IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg

Environmental Information

Tried this recipe?Mention @TangoRaindrop or tag #elizabethskitchendiary!

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PIN THIS MEDOVNÍKY RECIPE FOR LATER

A delicious spiced, decorated gingerbread style cookie recipe. #christmas #honey #cookie #gingerbread
A delicious spiced, decorated gingerbread style cookie recipe. #christmas #honey #cookie #gingerbread

A delicious spiced, decorated gingerbread style cookie recipe. #christmas #honey #cookie #gingerbread
A delicious spiced, decorated gingerbread style cookie recipe. #christmas #honey #cookie #gingerbread

Filed Under: All Manner of Sweet Things, Cookies, Recipe Tagged With: Christmas cookie recipe

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Comments

  1. Robert Price says

    March 12, 2018 at 8:38 am

    They look too good to eat

    Reply
  2. Heather Haigh says

    January 25, 2018 at 7:57 am

    They look so pretty, I wish I could pipe that neatly!

    Reply
  3. Laura says

    January 19, 2018 at 1:46 pm

    Wow, nice! Love the idea of almonds for the decoration! 🙂

    Reply
  4. Cookery says

    January 10, 2018 at 9:47 am

    WOW, these are really so delicious. I am looking at all the recipes all are looking gorgeous. I would like to them. you are always awesome
    Keep sharing.

    Reply
  5. Party ideas says

    January 10, 2018 at 7:59 am

    Woa, yummy, Their taste would be delicious. I will try this soon. Thanks allot for sharing.

    Reply
  6. Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy says

    January 4, 2018 at 3:51 pm

    WOW…these are so pretty. I love looking at all the ethic holiday recipes. These sound do delicious…I would be eating them off the tree for sure…and I know my grandkids would too.

    Reply
  7. The Food Hunter says

    January 3, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    they are a work of art. I bet the taste fabulous

    Reply
  8. Laura Dove says

    January 1, 2018 at 8:23 pm

    Oh wow these are so pretty!! I doubt I would ever be able to make something so lovely, but I would love to give it a try! They look great on the tree!

    Reply
  9. Starlight and Stories says

    December 31, 2017 at 9:31 pm

    Wow these look so pretty, we will definitely have to give making some of them a try x

    Reply
  10. Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says

    December 31, 2017 at 5:59 pm

    These cookies are absolutely beautiful Elizabeth. They came out perfectly, guess-work or not. x

    Reply
  11. Sam | Ahead of Thyme says

    December 30, 2017 at 10:02 pm

    Wow these cookies are adorable!! So cute that you can hang them as ornaments!

    Reply
  12. Helene says

    December 29, 2017 at 3:21 pm

    Your Slovak cookies remind me of our lebkuchen hearts. We hang them too on the Christmas tree or make bigger hearts to hang around the necks. 🙂 I have never heard of these cookies however, My Slovak friends never mentioned them. I am going to save this for next advent season, we love honey based spiced cookies! 🙂

    Reply
  13. Sarah says

    December 29, 2017 at 1:16 am

    Wow! These cookies are stunning! I bet they are delicious too!

    Reply
  14. Laura H says

    December 27, 2017 at 10:03 am

    Is this food or art?! These are so so gorgeous and I imagine they taste even better! Hope you had a very Merry Christmas Elizabeth 🙂

    Reply
  15. Tanya Brannan says

    December 26, 2017 at 4:08 pm

    I am not sure my icing skills are quite up to making something as beautiful as these cookies. I would love to give it a go though!

    Reply
  16. Ivana at Blondie-ish at Kitchen says

    December 26, 2017 at 8:16 am

    I love your Medovníky. They look super delicious and the decoration is stunning. I´m actually from Slovakia and I can tell that medovníky or perníky (using sugar instead of honey) are a must-have in every family during Christmas. But fiding the right recipe so they wouldn´t be tough is hard and like a mission for an entire family generation 😀

    Reply
  17. Tanya says

    December 25, 2017 at 11:27 pm

    Shame you had an issue with the recipe originally but great that you were able to amend it by using the second one too. Unfortunately I’m allergic to nuts otherwise I’d be all over these because they look delicious but I’ll show my Mum the recipe as they love baking and trying new things

    Reply
  18. sherry ryan says

    December 25, 2017 at 1:10 pm

    No good for me my scale does not do grams, sound good . I hate when a recipe is in grams.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      December 25, 2017 at 1:21 pm

      You can change the units from grams to US imperial if you fancy. 🙂 The drop-down menu is in the recipe box itself. Happy baking! 🙂

      Reply
  19. Hannah says

    December 25, 2017 at 8:32 am

    These look so good and are making me feel very hingry right now

    Reply
  20. Jenni says

    December 24, 2017 at 3:23 pm

    They are so pretty! They sound delicious too, have a wonderful Christmas x

    Reply
  21. Dannii says

    December 23, 2017 at 7:54 pm

    These cookies are so beautifully decorated. I think they would make a great homemade gift for someone.

    Reply
  22. Nayna Kanabar says

    December 23, 2017 at 7:10 pm

    These cookies are so very pretty. I love the design and the white icing. They make lovely tree decorations.

    Reply
  23. Lisa Huff says

    December 23, 2017 at 6:53 pm

    I pinned these earlier this morning! They are gorgeous!

    Reply
  24. Hannah says

    December 23, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    I love how you added spices and made these so fun and bold! 🙂

    Reply
  25. Noel Lizotte says

    December 23, 2017 at 5:03 pm

    Such pretty cookies! They’re lovely Christmas decor! But I’ll bet they’re even better to snack on. I love Christmas cookies and colletting ones from different cultures.

    Reply
  26. Natalie says

    December 23, 2017 at 4:00 pm

    WOW these cookies are simply beautiful! ♥

    Reply
  27. Helen at Casa Costello says

    December 23, 2017 at 12:05 pm

    How frustrating that you had to guess on the real recipe – Looks like they turned out well though in the end. Your piping is lovely! I don’t know how patient I would be to leave them to get to gingerbread consistency x

    Reply

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Daydream adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Calls Shetland home - for now. One eye is always on the horizon. Read More…

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