Frosted Honey Graham Cookies from the Pot

Frosted Honey Graham Cookies start with a soft, chewy, and sweet graham cracker-filled cookie base. They’re loaded with cream cheese frosting, crushed graham crackers, and a drizzle of honey.

Frosted Honey Graham Cookies

These soft, chewy, sweet cookies are inspired by a favorite treat of ours at a local bakery. They serve a seasonal cookie — warm graham cracker cookies topped with frosting, a honey drizzle, and graham cracker crumbs. Since they’re not always available at the store, the boys and I decided to re-create our own version at home.

And you know what they say — from-scratch is always best! We couldn’t be happier with our re-creation. Frosted Honey Graham Cookies are definitely a new family favorite.

Graham Crackers

For the cookie base, there are actual graham crackers mixed into the dough. This creates a strong graham presence and flavor and contributes to the softness and sweetness of the cookies.

A couple of tips:

• Thoroughly crush the graham crackers. While you can crush the graham crackers in a bag with a rolling pin, I highly recommend a high-powered blender or food processor. It’s important to have fine crumbs throughout the entire cup of graham crackers. If you have larger un-crushed chunks it will mess up the texture of the cookies.
• Measuring. Once the crackers are thoroughly crushed, we can get the exact measurement. Spoon the crushed crumbs into a measuring cup making sure to fill the cup to the very top and level off the top with the back of a table knife. While the crumbs don’t necessarily need to be packed into the measuring cup, be sure to completely fill the cup to get the right measurement.

Egg yolk

These cookies call for one large egg and one egg yolk. The additional egg yolk contributes to richer flavor and softer texture. You can save the egg white and add it to breakfast the next morning (home cooks enjoy this egg skillet) or use it in a reliable egg wrap.

Frosted Honey Graham Cookie Tips

• Let the melted butter cool: Once the butter melts, it needs to cool back to room temperature. If the melted butter is still hot, it will melt the sugars and cause greasy cookies.
• Chill the dough: Since the butter gets melted, the dough needs time to chill so the butter can re-solidify. Don’t rush the chilling time or you’ll likely find yourself with pancake-flat cookies. On the flip side, if the dough is chilled too long, it does have a tendency to dry out. The cookies also don’t spread as nicely when baking, if the dough is chilled too long.
• Measure carefully: The most important measurement is the flour. If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour you are likely packing in way too much flour, which will yield poofy and less-flavorful cookies. Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a table knife.

Frosted Honey Graham Cookies Tips, continued

• Bake on a Silpat® liner or parchment paper. This helps bake these cookies evenly without burning or browning too much on the bottoms. Plus the clean-up is effortless!
• Press the edges of the cookies in. Working quickly, right out of the oven, use the back of a large spoon to press the edges of the cookies into the center. (Watch the video or see the picture below for a visual!). This creates really great crispy edges and ensures the cookie has a nice chewy center. You’ll need to work quickly as the cookies set up quickly and resist being pressed inwards after sitting out for more than a minute or two.
• Bake at 325 degrees F (162°C). Most of my cookie recipes bake at 350 degrees F (176°C), but Frosted Honey Graham Cookies are best at 325 (162°C). The temperature is an straightforward thing to miss, and it makes a big difference in the softness of these cookies.

Cream Cheese Frosting

We tried these Frosted Honey Graham Cookies with both honey-butter frosting and buttercream frosting first. Unfortunately, the cookies were way too sweet (and that is coming from a sweets lover!).

After that, we turned to our trusty cream cheese frosting recipe which ended up being a really nice complement to the sweet cookie base.

Here are a few cream cheese frosting tips:

• Set out the butter and cream cheese about an hour before baking to get them to room temperature. If these ingredients aren’t at room temperature, they won’t combine smoothly, and there will be unpleasant cream cheese chunks in the frosting. Here are some tips for how to bring the cream cheese and butter to room temperature quickly.
• Don’t forget the flavor enhancers. Salt and vanilla add so much to the frosting. The salt helps to intensify flavors and balance the sweetness; the vanilla gives an overall improved flavor to the frosting.
• Slowly add in the powdered sugar. Add more or less powdered sugar, according to personal taste preferences. More sugar will make the frosting sweeter and firmer, and less sugar will leave the frosting tangier and softer.
• Frosting the cookies. Wait for the cookies to fully cool and firm up before frosting them. While you can apply frosting with a table knife, these cookies are so soft that they hold up better when you pipe on the frosting instead.

Quick Tip

To frost these cookies, fill a plastic bag with frosting; squeeze it down to one corner, and cut off the very tip. Then, holding the cookie in one hand and the frosting bag in the other, swirl the frosting from the inside of the cookie outward.

Frosted Honey Graham Cookie Toppings

• Additional graham cracker crumbs: There will probably be some leftover crumbs from crushing graham crackers for the cookie base — and this is where you can use them! If not, break up a few crackers directly over the cookies. It’s not too important the size of the crumbs here; a variety in crumb size is nice!
• Broken graham cracker pieces: For a bakery-style cookie appearance, I like adding a larger piece of graham cracker into the center of the cookie. This is totally skippable, but it adds a nice visual touch.
• A drizzle of honey: Here’s where the “honey” element comes in with these cookies! Right before serving, warm up some honey and drizzle on the cookies. Be careful though: a little goes a long way and can easily overpower the cookies!

Frosted Honey Graham Cookies Storage

Because of the cream cheese frosting, these cookies don’t store or freeze well once they’re frosted. If you’re going to have extra cookies that won’t be enjoyed the same day, It is worth storing the frosting and cookies separately and frosting right before serving. The frosting needs to be stored in an airtight container in the fridge, while the cookies do best when stored at room temperature. Allow the frosting to soften/come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before frosting the cookies; it’s very stiff right out of the fridge.

More cookie recipes

• Cinnamon Roll Cookies with a cinnamon-sugar topping
• Soft Pumpkin Cookies with chocolate chips
• Edible Cookie Dough made food safe
• Lemon Cheesecake Cookies with a lemon glaze
• Avalanche Cookies no baking required!

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 cup, melted)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar (lightly packed)
• 1 large egg yolk (discard or save the white)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour (measured correctly, see note 1)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (lightly packed, about 9 full sheets)
• 4 ounces cream cheese (the block cream cheese, not spreadable; softened, not melted)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened, not melted)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave. keep nearby and let cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes. (Hot butter will melt the sugars and cause greasy cookies.) Once the butter has cooled, pour it into a large bowl. Add in the brown and granulated sugar. Stir well until completely incorporated and smooth.
2. Add 1 full egg and 1 egg yolk (discard the white or save for another recipe). Add in vanilla and stir until smooth.
3. In another bowl, toss together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add whole graham crackers to a blender or food processor and crush until you have 1 cup of very fine crumbs (gently packed). Add the graham cracker crumbs to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until just combined, avoiding overmixing.
5. Using a tablespoon measuring spoon, get 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie (45g per cookie if you have a food scale). Roll the dough balls large and tall (rather than round). Place on a parchment-paper-lined plate, cover tightly, and chill for 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
6. Heat oven to 325°F (162°C) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone liner. Space 6 cookies per cookie sheet (they spread a lot). Bake for 10–14 minutes or until slightly browned at the edges. Remove from oven and immediately use the back of a spoon to press the edges of each cookie into the center. (See video or photos.) Work quickly—the cookies firm up quickly. This will give each cookie a great crispy edge. Let stand on the tray 4 more minutes, then use a spatula to remove the cookies to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting.
7. While that cooks, make the frosting: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large bowl and a hand mixer), beat the softened (not melted) cream cheese and butter until creamy for about 2 minutes at medium-high speed. Add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until the frosting is soft and creamy. Avoid overbeating the mixture or you’ll get whipped frosting. (If the frosting is too wet, add a bit more powdered sugar, and if it is too dry, add a touch of milk or cream.)
8. move the frosting to a plastic bag and cut off the tip of the bag. Pipe in a swirl around each completely cooled cookie. If desired, crush a bit of graham cracker on top of the cookie and finish the center of each cookie with a piece of graham cracker. Optionally drizzle a bit of warm honey on top of each cookie; a little goes a long way. Enjoy!