Nut clusters and herby oat cookies: Honey & Co’s food gift recipes

Honey mustard and sesame cashew clusters

These buttery cashews, with a deep golden coat of colour from the turmeric and a peppy kick of mustard, demand very little work but much restraint: both not to mix too much, because you want the nuts to cluster, and not to taste as soon as they come out of the oven, because they will be very hot. Packed into a sealed bag or jar, these will make a fantastic gift, though you’ll need to exercise further restraint not to eat the lot before gifting – better double up the batch.

Prep 10 min
Cook 15 min
Makes 1 x large jar

80g vegetable oil
80g honey
80g dark brown sugar
10g flaky salt
1 good sprinkle freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch ground turmeric
2 tbsp mustard powder
2 tbsp whole mustard seeds (optional)
350g cashew nuts
150g sesame seeds (you can use a mix of white and black)

In a large saucepan, heat the oil, honey and sugar until it just starts to boil, then stir to combine into a bubbling lava pit.

Mix in the remaining ingredients until well combined, then transfer to a large baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake in the centre of a 180C (160 fan)/350F/gas 4 oven for 10 minutes, then mix well and bake for another six minutes.

Remove, mix again a little, then leave untouched to cool on the tray. Break into very rough clumps, then store in an airtight jar or container, where they’ll keep for up to a month.

Oat and rosemary biscuits

Very savoury and only slightly sweet, these biscuits are a great cheeseboard companion. They will pack beautifully into a bag or jar and keep well for two to three weeks so long as they stayed sealed (mind you, they’ll never last that long). This dough freezes really well, so it’s worth doubling up (sensing a theme here?) and freezing half as a gift to your future self.

Prep 20 min
Cook 15 min
Makes 35-40

200g plain flour
150g oat flour
60g rolled oats, plus extra for sprinkling
70g caster sugar
1 tsp flaky sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp chopped rosemary fronds
150g cold butter, diced
100ml milk (plus maybe a dash more, if needed)

Rub the flours, oats, sugar, salt, baking powder and rosemary with the butter to form a rough crumb, then add just enough milk to bring together into a smooth dough.

Roll out to about 1cm thick between two sheets of baking paper, then cut into 35-40 5cm x 3cm rectangles and put on a baking tray (or trays). Brush with a little extra milk, sprinkle with a little more salt and a little more oats on each, and bake at 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 for 15-17 minutes. Leave to cool on the tray before storing.