1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a deep bowl, combine the cooled butter, honey, sugar, soda and egg yolk, and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
2. Sift in the flour, a few tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. The dough should be just firm enough to be gathered into a soft but compact ball.
3. To shape each cookie, pinch off about 1 rounded teaspoon of dough and, on a heavily floured surface, roll it with the palm of your hand into a ball about 1 inch in diameter. Dip the top of the ball into the coarse sugar and place it sugared side up on a large ungreased baking sheet.
4. Make similar balls of the remaining dough and arrange them about ½ inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies are delicately browned.
5. With a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire cake rack to cool. Serve them at once or store them in a tightly covered jar or tin.
