Christmas Honey Cookies for the Honey-Tongued Saint

This Advent the feast of St. Ambrose falls on a Sunday (December 7) so is not celebrated in the liturgical calendar, but he is a great saint worth some focus this coming week. St. Ambrose is often called the "Honey-Tongued Doctor," for his preaching was said to be as sweet as flowing honey. There is a legend which says that when Ambrose was a baby, a swarm of bees settled on his mouth, indicating that he would be a great orator. The word for honey in Latin is ambrosia, a pun on his name. Of his many patronages he is the patron of bee keepers, bees, and candlemakers. He is often depicted with a beehive or bees in his iconography, symbols which also indicate wisdom.

In looking around there are a variety of honey based cookies that are made during the Christmas season around the world.

Melomakarona are a traditional Greek cookie served at Christmas. These spice cookies are made with cinnamon and cloves, are soaked in a honey syrup, and sprinkled with sesame seeds, walnuts, and cinnamon.

Crispelles, the fried rosette cookies dipped in honey, are a standard Italian fare at Christmas.

Medianyky are Ukranian Christmas honey cookies.

Germany's soft ginger honey cakes lebkuchen (or pfefferkuchen) are possibly the first cookies/cake traditionally associated with Christmas. According to Christmas Cookie Traditions around the World: "Long before there was sugar, monks in the monastery kitchens near Nürnberg, Germany baked Lebkuchen cookies from honey that was brought to them by beekeepers in the nearby forest. Today, Nürnberger Lebkuchen (honey cookies) are still made around the holidays."

Polish Thumbprint Cookies literally have a thumbprint in the middle that is filled with apricot or other jam/preserves. These honey and almond Christmas cookies capture the usual flavor of this region.

And while not necessarily traditional holiday fare, the National Honey Board has lots of dessert recipes that would fit the bill for a honey sweetened treat this season.