The Pre-dough

• 1. Start by adding flour and honey in a bowl and kneading it together with your hands.
  2. Next, transfer the dough to a container with a lid.
  3. Put the lid on the container.
  4. Let the dough sit in a warm place, for example, in a cupboard, for a month. You can also let the dough sit for even longer if you want. It will only get better.
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• 1. Take out a bowl and add the egg yolks.
  2. Add baker's ammonia and mix it with the yolks to a completely smooth consistency.
  3. Pour the water into a cup and mix in the potash. Don't be surprised if the cup gets quite warm, that's completely normal.
  4. Unwrap your pre-dough and place it in the mixing bowl of your mixer. Be prepared that the pre-dough has become hard - it can even be VERY hard.
  5. Add the egg yolk mixture and the water with potash. A chemical reaction occurs with the help of the potash, which helps to soften the dough. This may mean you have to wait a little while before proceeding - but don't worry, it will all end well.
  6. Let the machine mix the dough. First, set the machine to low speed and let it run for 3 minutes. Then, set the speed to high and let it run for another 3 minutes. You can also knead the dough by hand - it just takes a few minutes longer. If the machine starts to sound like it's struggling too much, stop the machine and continue kneading by hand. You can also knead it manually from the beginning; it just takes a few minutes longer. You can also add a little water, a bit at a time, if you find the dough too dry to work with.
  7. Take a rolling pin and roll out the dough on a floured surface. The dough should be just under half a centimeter thick.
  8. Next, use your cookie cutter to cut hearts out of the dough. If you don't have a heart-shaped cutter, you can also get creative and cut the dough into hearts with a sharp knife :-) Gather the leftover dough, roll it out again, and cut out more hearts.
  9. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (355 degrees Fahrenheit) with fan.
  10. Take out your baking sheet and grease it with a little oil. Also, sprinkle some extra flour on it.
  11. Place the hearts on the baking sheet and put them in the preheated oven.
  12. Bake the honey hearts for about 10 minutes. The baking time depends on the oven, but you can tell if your honey hearts are ready by pressing lightly on top with your finger. If you see an imprint on the cakes, they are not quite done yet.
  13. Take the honey hearts out of the oven and let them cool by placing them on a rack. Don't be scared if the honey hearts are really hard - we'll fix that in a minute :-)
  14. Moisten a dishcloth with a bit of water. It shouldn't be soaking wet, just damp.
  15. Now place the cooled honey hearts in a container (without a lid) and drape the dishcloth over the container.
  16. Put the container in the fridge and let it sit for about 4 days. During this time, the honey hearts will become wonderfully moist!
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• 1. Melt the chocolate chips over a water bath. You can also use a chocolate bar (coarsely chopped). In that case, you should use about 200 grams of chocolate. I use a good, strong dark chocolate with 85% cocoa.
  2. Lay the honey hearts out on the table and spread them with the chocolate using a brush.
  3. Press the glossy pictures into the wet chocolate. You could also have cut out various Christmas motifs from catalogs or similar.
  4. Let the chocolate coating harden.
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• Now your honey hearts are ready to be enjoyed!
• Bon appétit and Merry Christmas!