Aunt Elizabeth gives new meaning to "my funny Valentine" with her description of Hungarian Honey Hearts....


Well...as with many American holidays, we don't actually celebrate Valentine's Day. But if we did, there is a very special cookie I would recommend for that event.. In Hungarian, it is called Mézeskalács (pronounced: MAYS-esh-call-ATCH),or honey cakes.

They are usually a heart-shaped cookie similar to gingerbread, but made with honey instead of molasses for a lighter texture. A Hungarian tradition, these honey cakes have are masterpieces of icing, flowers (sometimes real) and elaborate decorations. They began in such baking towns as Debrecen, where making cookies and pastries was very much like making art. They were very cleverly made,and beautiful cookies and pastries that one could find in markets all over the area. They soon became quite traditional and are known throughout Hungary.

Very particular to the Mézeskalács is a small mirror, which is placed on the center of the cookie. The idea is that someone (usually a young man) buys the cookie for his sweetheart, or someone he is "sweet on", and then the intended (young lady) can see their reflection in the person's "heart"! I always thought that was a very cute sentiment. This is further enforced by the traditional "greeting" written on the cookie: "szívküldi szívnek", which means "from a heart, to a heart".
The cookies are usually prepared for sales at country fairs, that run through the springtime. The May Day fairs (May 1st) specifically carry these sorts of cookies, as well as many other fanciful concoctions made of the same ingredients, and as eleborately decorated as the Hungarian Honey Hearts (these are also called , even though they do not have a heart shape). Because the honey cookies were very much like gingerbread cookies, you could find them in many shapes: horse drawn carriages, girls in fancy dresses, and even Christmas scenes, and to make houses just like gingerbread houses!

BELOW, you can find an old-fashioned recipe for Mézeskalács. Be warned, it's involved enough, and definitely for those of you who are ambitious in creating pastries. Because of this, I've also added the "Easy Version" (a.k.a. the "City Version"), beneath the original version.

They are delicious, but maybe too pretty to eat!


HUNGARIAN HONEY CAKES ~TRADITIONAL
(this is a well-known recipe)
Ingredients:

     4 cups flour
     1 cup granulated sugar
     2/3 cup honey
     1 stick unsalted butter (4 TBSP / 2 ounces)
     1 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and cloves
     4 level teaspoons baking soda
     grated rind of 1 lemon
     1 egg
     extra egg(s) for top coating.

DIRECTIONS:

Sift together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and baking soda. Melt together the butter and the honey, pour over the flour combination and stir to mix. Add 1 egg and knead together. The dough should be soft (you can add a bit of lukewarm water if necessary), since it will harden a bit during its resting period.

Cover the dough in a bowl and let it rest at least one day at room temperature.

Rolling out the dough is easiest between two pieces of waxed paper. Cut desired shapes out of the dough (of about 3/8 in. thickness on average). Place cut out pieces of dough on a cold, greased cookie sheet, bake at 350o F. (or less) for about 6-8 minutes. Thicker pieces may need a longer time (ovens temperatures also vary).

Sift together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and baking soda. Melt together the butter and the honey, pour over the flour combination and stir to mix. Add 1 egg and knead together. The dough should be soft (you can add a bit of lukewarm water if necessary), since it will harden a bit during its resting period.

Cover the dough in a bowl and let it rest at least one day at room temperature.

Rolling out the dough is easiest between two pieces of waxed paper. Cut desired shapes out of the dough (of about 3/8 in. thickness on average). Place cut out pieces of dough on a cold, greased cookie sheet, bake at 350o F. (or less) for about 6-8 minutes. Thicker pieces may need a longer time (ovens temperatures also vary).

DECORATING THE COOKIE:

Before baking, brush with the yolk of an egg to which a few drops of red food coloring have been added. If you are decorating with seeds, brush dough with egg white to "paste" seeds on top of dough before baking.

Alternately, let the honey cakes rest a few days and then decorate with colored sugar icings.

Icing:

To one egg white, add as much sifted powdered sugar as needed to make fairly stiff paste. Add desired food colorings. (Do not use a mixer!)

Spoon this mixture into a small nylon baggie, cut a tiny hole in one corner, roll up and use like a pencil to draw and color.

HUNGARIAN HONEY CAKES ~ EASY VERSION

Ingredients:

*Pillsbury or any commercial pre-made dough (Sugar Cookie and Gingerbread works best)
*Valentine/Heart cookie cutter
*Cookie pan
* Any commercial icing/frosting

Roll out pre-made dough. Use cookie cutter to shape hearts. Place hearts onto pan and bake as per directions on the dough wrapper.

Remove from oven when needed and allow to cool on cooling rack. Once they are cool, you may use a flat knife to add thick frosting to cover cookie, and use thinner icing in piping bag. Use piping bag to create roses, decorate names and words, and other small designs.

You may also leave cookie uniced, and simply pipe designs on the naked cookie. Leave til icing sets a bit, then serve!