Filled Spice Cookies

Ingredients

Dough:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY

1/4 cup molasses

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons water

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Filling:

1 cup whole blanced almonds

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 Tablespoons orange zest

Honey Tips

How Honey Is Created

Honey is created when bees mix plant nectar, a sweet substance secreted by flowers, with their own bee enzymes.

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°.Dough: In a bowl, combine first 7 ingredients. Heat honey, molasses and sugar in a saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add the last 2 ingredients. Add flour mixture. Refrigerate while preparing filling.Filling: In a food processor, finely grind almonds and sugar. Add zest and orange juice. Continue to process until filling forms a ball. Divide filling into 3 equal parts. Roll each part into a 12-inch log, using sugar to prevent sticking. Line baking sheets with foil. Remove dough from refrigerator. Using only one dough log at a time, flatten into a 12 x 2 1/2 inch rectangle. Lightly flour the surface to prevent sticking. Place one filling log on top of each dough rectangle. Gently pull dough around filling to enclose. Roll each log into an 18-inch log. Cut each 18-inch log on the diagonal into 1 1/4-inch pieces. Cut each piece in half on the diagonal in the opposite direction. Arrange cookie pieces on cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool on cookie racks. Yield:60 cookies.