Honey Butter Cinnamon Icing

Honey butter cinnamon icing almost ready to use.

Honey Butter Cinnamon Icing

I like to use honey in cooking but only if I don't heat it up . Heat destroys the beneficial enzymes in honey so that tends to limit how I can use it in my kitchen. 

When I was asked to bring a desert to a function, I decided to try to find something that could incorporate a little honey from my hives and I came across this interesting recipe for an icing. The cinnamon tempered the sweetness and the honey is used at room temperature.

The confectioner's sugar has an interesting reaction to adding the honey. At first it appears the mixture needs additional moisture. Once the honey is incorporated into the confectioner's sugar, it starts to smooth out against the bowl sides so be patient.

Honey Butter Cinnamon Icing Ingredients

·       1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

·       1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

·       1 tablespoon honey

·       1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix at first on low in a bowl with a hand beater until incorporated and smooth.

Spread on cupcakes, cookies or cakes.

Honey butter cinnamon icing-covered bite size cupcakes ready for a Christmas party.

Nice way to use some of my honey in a little holiday baking!

Charlotte

Secret Chili Recipe Ingredients

At national cook-offs, the ingredients are guarded like a national secret. Some will hint at the special ingredient, others will claim they will go to their graves before they even hint at what gives their chili its special flavor.

Over the years, I have heard of a variety of "secret" chili recipe ingredients, and tried a few myself. One of my favorites is baking cocoa; it helps to balance the acid in the tomatoes.

I have also tried a couple of tablespoons of honey from my beehives. If you like tang, use a couple tablespoons of lime juice, it gives the chili a little spanish twist.

Want a little nutty taste? Try peanut butter. I experimented with both regular and light and couldn't tell a difference so I would pick the lighter version.

Don't forget cooking with beer. Cooking removes the alcohol leaving the taste of the different hops. Try different beer varieties until you find one you like. In the chili, I mean, and not all together!

What is your secret chili ingredient?

Charlotte

Spicy Spices

My spice drawer mid-year, not bad. So far. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Spicy Spices

We all do it, keep spices too long, then wonder why our dishes don't have flavor.

Dried spices, in general, are good for about 6 months stored in small glass jars. Some will last longer if you store them in a dark place until used.

I go through my spice drawer once a year to re-organize the jars. They start out the new year cleaned out, in alphabetical order, with a list of which ones I need to buy fresh.

By the end of the year, the drawer is a mess but I still know which ones to replace, and which herbs I need to grow.

To keep track of jars, I write the date I bought it on the glass jar bottom so I can easily determine which ones are out of date.

Don't throw them away; you can compost dried spices and with some good soaking, reuse the glass jars.

Many of these jars are also now keeping nails, screws and other small items stored in my garage workshop. In my crafts room, more jars hold buttons, needles and pins. And throughout the house, a little spice jar holds favorite cat treats. They are the same treats in all jars but my cat Shirley Honey insists on sampling them in every room. Suppose she’s testing for freshness?

What is your favorite spice?

Charlotte

The Secret to Soft Chewy Cookies

The back of Nestle's Tollhouse Cookie Chips bag doesn't tell you this but, like even meals cooked at the White House, there is a secret to making soft, chewy cookies.

After mixing the cookie batter, place in the refrigerator overnight. The resting gives ingredients a chance to blend together.

When baked, your cookies will come out soft and chewy.

They really should add this to the recipe; it makes all the difference in the cooked cookie!

Charlotte