Honey beer cookies

Last Saturday, I noticed many delightful #BeerSaturday posts, which made me think about how I have not participated with any posts throughout these years since BeerSaturday has been a thing here on Hive! Nah! This is not right and needs to be corrected ASAP!

So, the next time I visited the grocery store, I stopped by the beer aisle in search of some kooky beers to try out over the weekend. I found one, and it inspired me to make beer cookies! ^^

This is Iļģuciema honey beer with hemp and ginger from a local brewery in Rīga. As soon as I spotted it on the shelf, in the store, I was struck with a flavor vision! This would be perfect for cookies, I thought. What does normally go in cookies again? After looking up a few savory cookie recipes, it was pretty clear that the main ingredients are flour, butter or oil, sugar, and eggs. I did not want to follow any of those recipes, however, so I came up with my own. The ratios of the ingredients I completely winged.

_{This can go a few ways!}

_{As the description on the label states, this honey beer is more of a beer drink than actual beer, even with 7.0% alcohol by volume, but we will get to this further in the post.}

_{The photo above includes most of the ingredients and tools needed for my beer cookie recipe.}

While wandering around the store looking for the main ingredients, I figured out that I would like to try a different type of flour than plain regular wheat flour. This is where the spelt wheat flour revealed itself to me, and oh my, it was the perfect choice! I also felt, instead of using heaps of sugar, I would rather add malt, which seems much more friendly with beer. I put only a small amount of sugar in, along with salt, of course.

_{Here is the full breakdown of the tools, materials, and ingredients you will need.}

Tools and materials:
_{Mixing bowl
Kitchen scale
Teaspoon
Tablespoon
½ cup measuring cup
Spoon for mixing
Cookie-cutter of your choice
Basting brush
Parchment paper
Plastic wrap
Cheese grater
Rolling pin
Small bowls for your prepared/weighed ingredients
Sheet pan
Mortar and pestle (for grinding the kosher salt)
Kitchen towel}

Ingredients:

For the dough:
_{200 ml of Iļģuciema hemp, ginger honey beer (since this is quite specific, you might need to find a substitute for it, or I need to smuggle it to you at Hivefest or another Hivian gathering)
100 grams of melted unsalted butter
350 grams of spelt wheat flour
1 teaspoon of ground kosher salt (it was the salt I had on hand at the time, I slightly ground it using a mortar and pestle, use less salt if you use regular salt)
2 teaspoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of malt
...plus an extra ½ cup of the spelt wheat flour for the perfect dough texture}

For the cookie toppings:
_{1 egg, beaten
Seed mix of your choice
Cheese of your choice
Pink Himalayan salt}

_{Onwards to the instructions!}

Prepare and measure out all the ingredients for the dough using kitchen scales.

Melt the butter in the microwave or over the stove.

Add flour, sugar, salt, malt, the melted butter, and the beer to the mixing bowl and mix until everything is evenly incorporated.

_{It should look something like in the photo above. It is a bit sticky at this stage, so here comes the extra ½ cup of the spelt wheat flour!}

_{Put the mixing spoon down and switch to using your clean hands. Slowly knead in the extra ½ cup of the spelt wheat flour.}

_{Now, this looks more like a dough we want to achieve! You should be able to move the ball around without it sticking to your hands at this point.}

_{Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grate the cheese, prepare the Himalayan salt, and find your favorite seed mix. All of these will go onto your cookies.}

_{Prepare your working space by placing down a kitchen towel, a sheet of parchment paper, and find your rolling pin. Once the 30 minutes of the fridge resting time is up, roll out your dough on the parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Put your cookie cutter to work!}

Once all the cookies are cut and lined up on the parchment paper on the sheet pan, grab your basting brush and cover each cookie with a brushstroke of beaten egg. Work quickly so that the egg does not soak into the dough. Cover each cookie with a topping of your choice: Himalayan salt, cheese, seed mix (a small amount of Himalayan salt goes on each cookie regardless of other toppings).

Bake the cookies at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 25 minutes.

Now, at this point, for me, there was no way of knowing if the cookies would be a success! xD We might be cooked! All I had was a hunch and hope!

_{Once the cheese on the cookies had melted and begun to brown, I decided it was probably a sign that they were ready. It was 25 minutes in. Out they came and cooled for a moment! A bite later, I was running around the home happily smiling ear to ear! They are amazing! A success!}

_{Have you ever had Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer? Imagine that, but sweeter and smoother like actual honey. I would say that is what Iļģuciema hemp/ginger honeybeer tastes like to me. I have not seen Crabbie’s around here. Maybe it is somewhere in specialized alcohol shops I do not frequent, but this beer is a pretty nice alternative. While quite sweet and not very beerlike at all, I might grab more of these, for sure!}

How were the cookies?! These are going to be my signature cookies from now on! I am making these again 100%! The texture of the cookies is between soft and easily crumbly. The cheese adds an extra layer of flavor and moisture. The seeds add a nice crunch. Even the plain ones, with only Himalayan salt, taste great! They are not too sweet and not too salty. There is a balance there!

I am so happy with how they turned out! I actually cannot believe how successful this recipe is! I was prepared for a complete disaster and a flop! I am so glad that it was not the case!

_{Song of the day: Kato, Jon - Turn The Lights Off}