Preparing honey joys or honey cornflake cookies needs only three ingredients namely plain cornflakes, honey and butter. Decorations are also made easy with just some crushed nuts or chopped Maraschino cherries. These cornflake cookies are extremely popular in Singapore and Malaysia during 'Hari Raya', a celebration by the Muslim community. Even during other festivities like Chinese New Year and Deepavali, these cookies are always highly requested! In Australia and New Zealand, these cookies are known as honey joys and are served during birthday parties and even school festivals.
Healthy honey joys
A healthier version of honey joys uses coconut oil instead of butter. Honey is substituted with agave syrup. This would make a healthy version of honey joys and a vegan option. The amount of these ingredients need not be adjusted. Just follow as per recipe.
Avoid bitter flavour
When melting butter and cooking the honey, use medium heat. Do not use high heat as they may burn, resulting in bitter flavours.
Avoid soggy and oily cookies
In step 1, the butter and honey mixture will need to thicken before it is used to coat the cornflake pieces. if the mixture is too fluid, then the cornflakes may be soggy. The butter may also separate from the honey, resulting in oily cookies!
Why did the cookies burn?
If you are using a smaller oven, there is a possibility that the cookies are placed close to the heating element. Since the cookies are coated with honey, they can burn easily. Reduce the baking time to 4 minutes to check if the cookies are ready. They do brown a little once done!
How to decorate honey joys?
Once ready, decorate them with maraschino cherries, pimp them up with nuts or even make it fun by adding some sprinkles over them. Another option is to pour melted chocolate over them. There is no end as to how you can make them more delicious or attractive. Go with your creativity.
How long can the cookies be kept?
These cookies can be kept in an air tight container for about 2 weeks. If you live in an area where humidity is high (e.g. Malaysia and Singapore), it is best to store them in the refrigerator.
Honey cornflakes cookies are the easiest to prepare. Involve the kids and have a great time together making them. Churning up cookies for the festive seasons can be a daunting task. Hence, simple recipe like this is always appreciated.
