Cooking with Honey

  in Blog

Honey is a wonderful ingredient to cook with. Honey enhances browning and crisping in baked goods and in glazes for meat and vegetables. It helps food retain moisture and aids as a binder. Honey adds complex notes to your favorite dishes and offers more nutritionally than regular sugar.

Honey contains enzymes, minerals, and antioxidants. It also seems to help some people with hayfever allergies by exposing them to their area’s pollens in small doses. Honey even has antibacterial and antifungal properties. But most of all, honey is delicious and can be your secret ingredient.

Quick tip for measuring honey: spray your measuring utensil or cup with cooking spray before adding honey and it will slip right out without any waste!

Try one of these recipes that feature honey.

Baked Chicken Strips with Honey Dijon Dipping Sauce

Kid-friendly recipe

4 chicken breasts, each cut into 4 or 5 lengthwise strips
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
3 tablespoons mustard
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Whisk egg and oil in a bowl. Add chicken pieces and stir to coat.
  2. Add  bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper to a large ziplock bag. Add the chicken strips and toss to coat evenly. Arrange on the cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes, turn pieces over with tongs, and continue to bake 10 more minutes.
  3. While chicken is baking, stir together honey, mustard, and mayonnaise in a small bowl. Serve with chicken strips.

Bean and Tomato Salad with Honey Vinaigrette

2 15-oz cans white beans, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground pepper to taste
8 oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

  1. Combine the beans, salt, onion, vinegar, honey, oil, and pepper in a large bowl. Stir, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
  2. Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Add to the marinated beans. Stir in tomatoes and basil. Season with salt and pepper.

Peanut Butter Honey Cookies

From Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup almond flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter until soft.  Add eggs, peanut butter, vanilla, and honey, and mix thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Drop rounded teaspoons on greased cookie sheet and flatten with a fork or your fingers. Bake about 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden.

Goat Cheese Spread with Lemon and Honey

from the National Honey Board

8 oz fresh goat cheese
4 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small clove garlic, grated
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, oregano, sage, lavender, or other herb that matches the herb in the honey (optional)

  1. Place the goat cheese in the bowl of a food processor and add 2 tablespoons of the honey, the yogurt, olive oil, garlic, ½ teaspoon of the lemon zest, â…› teaspoon of the black pepper, and the salt. Pulse until creamy and well blended. Transfer to a small, shallow serving bowl and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
  2. Sprinkle the spread with the remaining ½ teaspoon of lemon zest and â…› teaspoon of black pepper. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of honey and sprinkle with the fresh herb.
  3. Serve with crackers or crostini as a nibble with drinks or a cup of tea.

Honey Rice Pudding

3 3/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup short-grain white rice
4 tablespoons honey, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch sea salt

  1. Bring 3 1/2 cups milk, rice, one tablespoon honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, about 25 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup milk and the remaining honey. Let stand for 5 minutes. Divide among serving bowls and drizzle with honey.

Raspberry Honey Butter

1 lb butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh raspberries

Add all ingredients to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Serve with toast, pancakes, waffles, muffins, etc.