Czech Honey Balls remind me of a very rich cake pop, only better. I like the cookie dough as well and could easily just eat it as a cookie, vs. crumbled in this yummy honey ball. My family is divided about this cookie. One half loves it and says it’s one of the best cookies they’ve ever had. The other half doesn’t like the texture…what? I just want to give honest feedback here. Just know my grandsons will eat every one I make and any you have leftover.

No Bake Christmas Honey Balls (Czech Medovníkové koule)

INGREDIENTS:

• Honey dough:
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (230 g)
  • ½ cup powdered sugar (60 g)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 Tablespoons honey liquid (I heated in microwave for 20 seconds)
  • ⅓ stick unsalted butter (40 g) softened at room temperature
• To finish:
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (110 g) softened at room temperature
  • ⅔ cup caramelized sweet condensed milk (200 g) Dulce de Leche or make your own with 1 can sweet condensed milk (see recipe below).

DIRECTIONS:

1. If you are making your own caramelized sweet condensed milk, it’s so easy. Remove the label from the can and place, unopened, in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 hrs. Remove from the water and cool. Ta-da you have caramel!
2. Mix the flour with the baking soda and put the floury mixture in a bowl. Add the eggs, softened butter, liquid honey, and powdered sugar. First, mix the wet ingredients with the flour using a fork, then work into a soft dough with your hands.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to rest for an hour.
4. Roll the rested honey dough into sheets about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. The shape doesn’t matter too much, as the dough will be crushed into crumbs when baked. When rolling out the dough, I recommend dusting the work surface lightly with flour to prevent the dough from sticking.
5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the honey dough sheets on it. Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C). Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for about 12 minutes.
6. Once baked, take off the parchment paper with the honey dough sheets and put them on a wire rack to cool. If you let the baked dough cool on the tray, it’s fine, but in that case, I recommend placing the tray in a cool spot.
7. Once the sheets of dough have cooled, break them into crumbs. You can do this by hand or by placing the pieces of dough in a food processor and pulsing them a few times until they turn into small crumbs. Alternatively, you can grate the dough using a hand grater.
8. Set aside about half a cup of the crumbs to coat the balls. Combine the remaining crumbs with the caramelized milk and softened butter. Start by mashing them together with a fork, then use your hands to form a soft dough.
9. Cover the soft dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for about an hour to firm up.
10. Scoop equal-sized portions of the dough, roll each into a ball using your hands, and coat them by rolling in the reserved crumbs.

Recipe slightly adapted from CooklikeCzechs.com