Spiced Honey Pears

BAked homegrown bartlett pears ready to grace any table. (charlotte ekekr wiggins photo)

Spiced Honey Pears Recipe

I never know from year to year whether squirrels will leave me any homegrown Bartlett pears. This year they were generous so I will once again enjoy a crop of pears my bees and wasps pollinated earlier this spring.

Not sure when to pick the pears? Here’s a quick tip.

bees and wasps pollinated my semi-dwarf pear tree. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

It’s been a banner honey year so I will also have some honey I can use in cooking. What a treat to have two products from my pollinators, pears and honey.

Spiced Honey Pears Recipe

You Need:

8 pears peeled, cored and cut in half, preferably green.

1/3 cup honey

6 teaspoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons pumpking pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

key ingredients for spiced honey pears include local honey and pumpkin pie spice. (charlotte ekker Wigigns photo)

Take your time peeling, coring and cutting pears, especially if green. Pears ripen from the inside out so green pears will work better than ripe pears.

peel, core and cut eight pears in half. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

To Make:

Mix ingredients except pears; microwave for 30 seconds.

Save half the sauce.

Place pear halves bottom up in a baking dish. Pour half the mixture over pears.

Bake at 400F for 30-45 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Drizzle rest of sauce over pears. Bake another 10 minutes or so.

you can bake on cookie sheet or covered dish. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

I turned the pear halves over during the rest period but you don’t need to do that.

Also test the pears with a fork to see that they are soft all the way through.

baked pear halves resting in between two bakes. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

When ready to serve and storing, pour the sauce over pears.

ready to serve as is or with a dollop of whipped cream and/or ice cream. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

What I like about this recipe is the pears are not too sweet so you can indulge by adding whipped topping and/or ice cream. Just as good the next day in case you want to make this recipe ahead for dinner.

Great way to enjoy two bee-produced products. Thank you, bees!

Charlotte

Honey Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

Honey peanut butter cookies are recommended to leave for Santa.

This recipe had samples on a plate recommending them as a treat for Santa. They even appeared as if Santa had been there to sample but it was October so that just wasn't possible but I believed, just for that one moment when I saw the half-eaten cookie.

Making cookies is a wonderful tradition this time of year, especially to introduce little ones to cooking. Mommy and Me Cookbook has some wonderful simple cookie recipes.

Honey Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe is another recipe that was entered in the Missouri State Beekeepers Association fall 2017 cooking contest. The cookies looked so pretty with the bee imprint in the center, a very nice touch.

Honey Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

Submitted by: Debbie Mott

Ingredients:

• ½ cup shortening

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

• 1 cup honey

• 2 eggs

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 ½ tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

Directions:

In mixing bowl, mix shortening, peanut butter, and honey. Add eggs; mix well.

In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to peanut butter mixture and mix well.

Roll into 1 to 1 ½ in balls. Place on un-greased baking sheet and flatten with a fork.

Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.

Sample to make sure they are good enough to leave for Santa, then place on dish, leave by Christmas tree and get everyone to bed!

Charlotte

Honey Pecan Pie Recipe

Entries in Missouri State Beekeepers Association fall conference cakes and pies contest.

Honey Pecan Pie Recipe

It's a tough job but somebody has to do it. At Missouri State Beekeepers Association annual fall conference in Springfield October 27-28, 2017, I was the self-designated cake and pie tester. Oh, they had an official judge for the contest, I just volunteered to myself that I should make sure the entries were as delicious as they looked!

There were several categories in the food contest, from breads and cookies to the one I took very seriously. Sitting at the end of the middle table, the four entries beckoned. There was a New York cheesecake; an Olive Oil and Honey cake (amazingly moist, will share that recipe, too); a third cake and the crowning glory of 4 most delicious entries, the pecan pie.

I almost passed on the pie, there was no utensil nearby and all forks were gone but a passing friend loaned me his new fork so I could take a sliver. Doesn't this look delicious?

Winning 1st Place in the cakes and pies division, this delicious honey pecan pie recipe.

I like pecans, and I like pecan pie. So does one of my brothers so when I taste recipes, the discriminating criteria is would I want to add this recipe to the family recipe books I made years ago as Christmas presents. 

It wasn't easy to wrestle favorite recipes out of the hands of the cooks so I paid a visit and wrangled the recipes when I was there. The family loved the recipe books so much, I thought updating them would be nice if I had interesting recipes.

For example, I make pumpkin custard without the crust. Baked in glass baking dishes and cooled once cooked, it's delicious and cuts a few calories.

All in all, this pecan pie recipe is pretty simple. The only challenging ingredient is finding "mild honey," which suggests I may have to make a couple of pecan pies trying out different honeys. Fall honey tends to be darker, more flavorfully-complex and have more antioxidants, spring honeys are lighter with a clearer floral note.  The things we have to do for science...

Here is the winning recipe for Honey Pecan Pie in the baker's handwriting.

Oops, looks like someone forgot the main ingredient, pecans. I checked several recipes and they all call for this so please add:

1 cup pecans, mixed into the first 7 ingredients.

You can also add 1/2 cup chopped ingredients to the top.

All recipes are printed in the November 2017 Missouri State Beekeepers Association newsletter, cost $10/year.

Finding good honey recipes can be a challenge but when one has tasted them first, you know, to confirms the deliciousness, that makes it easier to say "THIS" is a good recipe using honey.

Charlotte