10th December, 2021:
It’s December, and we’re tying on our aprons, opening the recipe book, and putting on some carols. We are weighing out honey, flour, sugar, eggs. The Christmas cutters are dug out from the drawer (including the Christmas crocodileJ). We’re mixing, rolling, cutting and baking. It’s honey biscuit time!
Honey biscuits are a German Christmas tradition that has been shared and enjoyed for generations. Deliciously sweet, studded with flavours of cinnamon, ginger, all-spice and cloves, they carry not only the love of the maker but also the story of where they came from. German migrants brought the recipe out with them back in the 1800’s, and generations of their descendants all over Australia have enjoyed them ever since.
Food and drink are such powerful ways of connecting us to our heritage. The aroma and taste of familiar foods evoke powerful memories and truly are food for the soul as well as the body. Family recipes are our story on a plate. Even though we can look up recipes online, my favourite ones are those written out by hand, with names like “Aunty Jenny’s lemon cake”, and a smear of butter making some of the words almost ineligible!
What are your favourite family recipes? Do you have one for honey biscuits?
Maybe you’d like to try this one, from the Rechner Family Cookbook. Let us know how you go!
