The World That Was - Greek Honey Cookies (Elaphoi)

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was!

This week, is the Elaphebolia - a Greek festival celebrated by Athens in the Iron age! So, I'm going to be making some Elaphoi cakes dedicated to Artemis Elaphebolos (Artemis the Deer-Slayer). They're recorded by Athenaeus as being honey-cakes shaped like stags - so that's what I' made here!

Now let's take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above!

Ingredients (makes about 6 Elaphoi)

2 cups flour
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1 egg
sesame seeds (for decoration)

Method

1 - Prepare Dough

First, we need to make our dough. Do this by pouring in a half a cup of honey, and a half a cup of melted butter into the bowl and mix it well. When the mixture has cooled, crack an egg into this and combine it well.

Pour in two cup's worth of flour into the butter and honey mix, a bit at a time, mixing it through as you go. I used wholemeal flour, which has a similar bran level to archaic flour - but spelt flour would also work well.

The dough should be done when it holds its shape whenever you press it into your palm. If it's crumbling apart, add a little more honey until it comes together. If it's too wet, add some more flour. 

2 - Prepare cakes

Place your dough onto a worksurface, and form it into small deer-shaped cakes - like they were made in antiquity. But obviously, small cookie-shaped rounds would work just as well. Make sure each cake is about as thick as your finger. Our sources for these cakes only say they were shaped like stags - so you can use a cookie cutter if you have one, or you can shape them by hand if you want a more authentic look to them! Press some sesame seeds on top of these cakes before you bake them.

3 - Bake Cakes

Place your finished cakes onto a baking sheet, and place them in the centre of an oven preheated to about 180 C or 350F and let them cook for about 15 minutes - depending on your oven. They should be done when they turn a lovely golden colour, and the sesame seeds on the top of the cakes look toasted. Leave them on the pan to cool for a few minutes, before transferring them to a plate for serving!

The finished Elaphoi are very sweet, and have a lovely crumb to them. They have a texture that's similar to oatmeal cookies, but with a slightly lighter taste. They go stale quickly, so within a day they'll become softer and more toothsome. But they'll taste just as good!

These cakes were recorded by Athenaeus as "cakes of flour, honey, and sesame" and were explicitly made around the Elaphebolia festival. So it's likely that these were used as votive offerings to Artemis. They fulfil a similar role to the Sicilian taralli I made a while ago - in that they were simple bread offerings that had a dual purpose: they could be eaten normally, as well as be used in a religious setting.

Whichever way you use them, they're a simple and tasty treat that you can make within a half hour!