Honey Cookies In Memory of Annie

In our lives we come across a million different personalities.  Some are incredible enough we carry the memory of their presence forever.  Today I would like to honor an incredible woman, Anna M. Hufford.  Anna is the grandmother of Wicked Chef #2 (Dave) and one of the most distinguished and incredible people I have met.  On Sunday, April 17th, 2011 Annie lost her short battle to a brain tumor but quickly gained her wings.

The first time I ever met Annie she told me the story of her and her husband, Walt, making honey cookies.  As she told the story, I knew this is a family I want to be part of someday.  I wish to have similar passion as her and Walt share.  She told us how she had Walt mix her cookies the day before and how exhausting the project was.  I had never heard of honey cookies before so I pictured the older couple mixing typical cookies and sitting down for a rest afterward.  Little did I know they were a very vibrant couple and the cookies were very difficult to mix.  I had never heard of 2 day cookies before!  In the brief time I knew Annie, I saw my original impression was not entirely wrong, her and Walt were incredible together and recently celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary.  Annie is truly loved by many; even her mere acquaintances were made to feel like close family.

Suggestions before starting:
Annie would make the cookies around Thanksgiving and hide them in the pressure cooker until Christmas.  Unfortunately, her kids were a little sneakier and she would only ever see half of the original cookies at Christmas.  The longer the cookies sit the softer they become.
Annie would usually use walnuts instead of almonds and currants are a necessity.
The dough is very thick due to the honey and is quite difficult to mix. When Walt was unavailable, Annie would recruit her grandchildren or strong neighbor kids to mix for her.

Honey Cookies courtesy of Anna M. Hufford


Ingredients
1 qt. honey
3 c brown sugar
1 lb raisins
1 lb currants
1/2 lb chopped almonds
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 qt sour cream
4 tsp soda
flour, enough for soft dough

Directions

1. Boil honey and brown sugar together for a few minutes and cool.
2. Separately, mix the rest of the rest ingredients into a soft dough.
3. Add honey/sugar mixture and mix well.  Let stand overnight in fridge.  Roll to 1/2 inch, cut and bake in oven at 350.

Lets toast to Annie!