Book Review: Putting It Up With Honey

I don't know why it took almost two years on the SCD before it finally dawned on me to see if there's any good cookbooks out there for honey recipes. I finally peeked on Amazon and found several, including this one which I am very excited about. Putting It Up With Honey by Susan Geiskopf is an absolute gem! It's full of recipes for jellies, jams, fruit butters, marmalades, pickles, relishes, canning fruits and vegetables all using honey. There was even a recipe for ketchup, tomato paste, tomato sauce and more, plus a section about drying produce. There is about 207 recipes and over 90 percent (my guess) are SCD legal! If you are on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet or just trying to eat healthier, this is a great addition to your library.

Caramel Apple Tart (SCD)

Gooey desserts are my thing. This has wonderful goo quality. If you don't have a tart pan this would also work well as a pie, just may need to adjust cooking time.

Crust

This is my current crust recipe, or you can use your favorite.

Prepare crust and press into a tart pan or pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling

2 or 3 Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
Caramel Sauce

Arrange apple slices on prebaked crust and then pour caramel over it. Pour a little or alot, depending on how gooey you want it



Topping

I tried Karen's (at Heal Balance Live) Master Crumb Topping recipe and added about 1/2 cup Pecan Meal to it, chopped pecans would work nicely as well. I froze the leftover topping for later use. Prepare topping and sprinkle over filling.



Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Butterscotch Sauce and Caramel Sauce (SCD)

In my first attempt to make a SCD legal caramel sauce, I was pleasantly surprised to wind up with butterscotch. The next time I made it I wound up with more caramel flavored sauce. So what was the difference? The first batch was made with a mild honey, which allowed the butter flavor to shine through, making the best butterscotch I have ever had. The second time I used a dark honey (I just use what I have on hand), this kept the butter in the background and had a richer caramel flavor. This sauce is great for frozen yogurt and other desserts.

1 cup Honey
4 oz (1/2 cup or 1 stick) Butter, room temp and sliced



Heat honey in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently. In a few minutes it will be slightly bubbled and begin to boil.



When it begins to really boil up and look "foamy", stir constantly for one minute and then let it just boil on its own for about 30 seconds.


Remove from heat. Stirring constantly, add butter, one pat at a time allowing each to be almost dissolved before adding the next. When all have been added, let sauce cool. It will thicken as it cools.

Raspberry Coconut "Zinger Style" Cupcakes (SCD)

I'm not a junk food fan, but I do have to admit Raspberry Zingers taste pretty good. Here's a "non-junk" gluten-free version. It's for this months "Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten-Free! Elana of Elana's Pantry is the hostess and the theme is Grain-Free Cakes and Cupcakes. If you haven't checked out her website or her cookbook "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook" then you're in for a real treat.

Part One: Vanilla Cake (SCD, GFCF)

2 1/2 cups Almond Flour
1/2 teas. Sea Salt
1 teas. Baking Soda
1/3 cup Honey
1/3 cup Oil
4 eggs
1 TBSP Vanilla Extract (SCD Legal)
1/4 teas. Almond Extract (SCD Legal), optional

Oven 350 Degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients. Mix in wet ingredients. Spoon into cupcake liners. Bake for about 20 minutes, tops will be lightly browned when done. Cool completely.

Part Two: Creme Filling



Prepare 1/2 recipe of Cream Cheese Frosting

Put a tip on a pastry bag and fill with one cup of frosting. Insert tip into the middle of cooled cupcake and squeeze just until top of cupcake pops up.

Part Three: Topping

About 1/2 cup Coconut, unsweetened
Raspberry Jam

I used the recipe from Pecanbread.com and it's SCD legal. I used one 12 oz bag of Frozen Raspberries, thawed. If you don't like seeds in your teeth, put the raspberries in the blender and puree. Then set a wire mesh strainer over a saucepan, pour the pureed raspberries in and then used a wooden spoon to push out the liquid. Add 1/3 cup honey, then stir and boil forever, about 45 minutes until thickened. Cool completely.

Spread raspberry jam over the top of each cupcake and then sprinkle with coconut.

"Cream Cheese" Frosting (SCD)

One the one hand I have to warn you, this frosting is a bit cantankerous and doesn't behave like typical frosting. It might not be as smooth and easy to spread. On the other hand, it tastes like real cream cheese frosting, the kind that is yummy on carrot cake and pumpkin brownies. It's very important to have all of the ingredients at room temperature. If the yogurt is even the slightest bit cool the butter will look curdled.

8 oz Butter (2 sticks)
1 cup Yogurt Cream or Dripped Yogurt
1 teas Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Honey

In a medium mixing bowl, mix butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in honey. Mix in yogurt and vanilla.