Chef Carol Ritchie Brings Us a Holiday Treat:   Australian Honey Biscuits (authentic recipe shared by Veronica Kummerow of the Barossa Valley, South Australia) By Carol Ritchie   Makes about 12 dozen cookies cup water 1 pound sugar (about 2½ cups) 1 pound honey 1 tablespoon lard or butter 8 cups flour, divided use 1 teaspoon each:  ground cloves, ginger, allspice, cinnamon 3 eggs, lightly beaten 3 teaspoons baking soda 1 tablespoon white vinegar 1 egg lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water In a large, microwave-safe bowl, combine water and sugar. Stir in honey and microwave, uncovered, on 100% power for 1-3 minutes, stirring after 1 minutes, until mixture is warmed through and sugar starts to dissolve. Stir in lard or butter, and let mixture cool to lukewarm. While mixture is cooling, combine 4 cups of the flour with cloves, ginger, allspice, and cinnamon in a medium bowl (reserve remaining flour). Add eggs to the honey/sugar mixture, stirring with a sturdy mixing spoon to combine. Dissolve baking soda in white vinegar and add to honey/sugar mixture, stirring well to combine. Stir the 4 cups flour/spice mixture into the honey/sugar mixture until flour is just moistened. Add remaining flour, 2 cups at a time, gently stirring and lifting mixture up from the bottom with the sturdy spoon until flour is combined.  You may gently knead dough 3-4 times (in bowl) to incorporate the flour. Do not over-mix, or dough will be too sticky. Leave dough in mixing bowl and seal top tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days. Preheat oven to 375 F. Remove one-quarter of the dough from the mixing bowl and using a rolling pin, roll out to 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters and place on baking sheets that have been lightly sprayed with vegetable oil spray (leave at least 1 inch between cookies). Brush tops of dough lightly with beaten egg/water mixture if a glaze is desired. Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until edges of cookies are slightly browned. Remove cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough. Like many rolled cookie recipes, the dough scraps can be combined, formed into a disk, and rolled out again to cut more cookie shapes. Notes: In Australia, cookies are called biscuits. Read Carol Ritchie's other Archived articles! Click here. Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions? Email: jwdineline@aol.com