Honey & Mint Sandwich Cookies
Inspired by a refreshing glass of mint tea with honey, these honey and mint sandwich cookies feature mint shortbread cookies filled with a light honey buttercream. The flavors are smooth and subtle, but so satisfying together.
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Honey & Mint Sandwich Cookies
To be perfectly honest with you, the first thought for these honey and mint sandwich cookies was actually to make them as macarons. However, it’s been hecka humid and life is a smidge stressful at the moment (for good reasons, but stress is still stress). As much as I love making macarons, this was not the right time.
But I just loved the idea of a mint tea flavored cookie with a honey buttercream filling. My brain then turned to the strawberry lemonade bites and how I used those shortbread cookies as sandwich cookies with my leftovers. Problem solved! That became the new plan for these honey and mint cookies.
Mint Shortbread Cookies
Mint tea has a pretty strong flavor, so I wasn’t sure how many tea bags to incorporate into the shortbread cookies. I started by adding just one, but I could barely smell the mint, so I added a second tea bag for insurance. This ended up being the perfect amount!
The tea I used was Mint Medley from Bigelow. It was a blend of spearmint and peppermint with rose hips, lemon peel, and hibiscus. You can use any mint tea that you like, but keep in mind that each option will create a slightly different flavor experience.
Top Tips for Cut Out Cookies
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This will help everything blend nicely and give your cookies a nice texture.
- Scrape down your bowl often. Butter and sugar can hide out at the bottom of your bowl. Make sure everything gets blended!
- Do NOT over mix. Once you add the dry ingredients, keep the speed on stir and only mix to combine.
- Use a rolling pin with measurement guides to get an even thickness.
- Cold dough won’t spread as much in the oven.
- Bake a test cookie before baking the rest of the batch to determine the best bake time.
Honey Hybrid Buttercream
For the honey filling, I went with my honey hybrid buttercream, which is nearly identical to the frosting I used on my chocolate honey cupcakes. It is a cross between a mock Swiss meringue buttercream and an American buttercream with a dash of honey thrown in the mix. Adjust the honey flavor to suit your own preferences.
For maximum honey goodness, I decided to add some extra honey to the filling of each cookie. Pipe a swirl of the buttercream, then top with a pool of honey or poke the piping bag of honey into the frosting and basically inject a bit of extra honey.
Related Reading: Honeycomb Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chill & Mature
I highly recommend that you let these honey and mint sandwich cookies mature in the fridge overnight for the best flavor and texture. The mint tea flavor deepens significantly once it has time to rest and marry with the other elements of the cookie.
If you bite right into one of these cookies without chilling them, you’ll be in splooge city. Although the mint shortbread cookies are super tender, that buttercream can be super soft. Once the cookies have firmed up a bit and had time for the frosting and shortbread to adhere to each other, the texture becomes much better. Take the cookies out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving.
Tower of Dawn
Not too long ago, I finished reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas. Since then, I’ve been brainstorming recipes for each of the books. Tower of Dawn is book number seven (of eight) and takes place in a dry, hot, desert country.
One of the main characters in the book is a highly skilled healer who is regularly drinking mint tea with honey. It is both medicinal and refreshing. I wanted to create a dessert inspired by these flavors that felt cool and refreshing, if you can ever really call a baked good refreshing.
Enjoy!
Crisp mint shortbread cookies filled with a creamy honey buttercream are the light, delicious dessert you’ll want to enjoy during those hot summer months. These honey and mint sandwich cookies are simple to make and a true delight to devour.
If you have a friend who’s also read Throne of Glass, send them this recipe! I’m curious what my fellow book nerds think of this recipe and book pairing. Thanks for stopping by today, and happy baking.
Honey & Mint Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
Mint Shortbread Cookies
- 8 oz unsalted butter softened
- 2 oz powdered sugar sifted
- 2 mint tea bags
- 9 oz all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
Honey Hybrid Buttercream
- 1 oz pasteurized egg whites
- 12 oz powdered sugar divided & sifted
- 1/32 tsp Autumn Gold Sugar Art Master Elite powder color smidgen
- 8 oz unsalted butter softened
- 1- 2 Tbsps honey plus extra for filling
Instructions
Mint Shortbread Cookies
- With an electric mixer, cream together the butter, powdered sugar, and mint tea (cut open the bag and remove the leaves) until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined.
- Divide the cookie dough in two, shape each portion into a flat disc, and wrap with cling wrap. Place the dough in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
- While the cookie dough chills, preheat the oven to 375℉. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats and set aside.
- Between two sheets of parchment paper, roll the dough out to a thickness of ⅛" or 3 mm. Place the cookie dough in the freezer, making sure it can lie flat. Repeat with the other portion of dough. Freeze for 5- 10 minutes.
- Remove one portion of dough and cut out circles that are 2" in diameter and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10- 12 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to turn a light golden brown around the edge. While the first tray bakes, you can begin cutting out circles from the second portion of rolled out cookie dough.
- Press your extra dough back into a disc, wrap, and chill while the first round of cookies bakes. Roll the dough out between parchment paper sheets, freeze, cut out circles, and bake. Repeat until all of the dough is used up.
- Cool the cookies on the pan for just a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Honey Hybrid Buttercream
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the pasteurized egg whites, 6- 8 ounces of the sifted powdered sugar, and the Autumn Gold powder color and whip for 4- 5 minutes. If powdered sugar gets stuck above the egg whites, scrape it back down.
- With the mixer on a medium speed, whip in the butter one tablespoon at a time. It will look a bit curdled. Once all of the butter has been combined, whip on a medium- high speed for 2- 4 minutes.
- Switch to a paddle attachment and scrape the bowl down. Beat the mixture on a medium speed for about 4 minutes. Scrape the bowl down and add half of the remaining powdered sugar. Beat on low to combine, then on a medium- low speed for 1- 2 minutes.
- Scrape the bowl down and add the remaining powdered sugar and the honey. Beat on low to combine, then on a medium- low speed for 1- 2 minutes. Taste and adjust flavors and color as desired.
Assembly
- Pair up the mint Shortbread cookies. On one cookie, pipe a generous swirl of honey hybrid buttercream. If desired, pipe a small amount of honey right into the center of the frosting. Top with the other cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies.
- Place the filled sandwich cookies in an airtight container. Chill in the fridge overnight to allow the flavors to mature. Remove from the fridge 30- 60 minutes before serving.
Notes
- You want the rolled out dough to be pretty solid and cold. If it becomes too frozen to cut out circles, let it sit on the counter for a few minutes, then try again.
- Allow the cookie sheets time to cool down before adding more cookies to bake.
- You can eat the cookies the same day, but the flavor will be better on the second day.
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
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