A Taste of Honey

In earlier times, those in remote places or people without the means to buy from the store often used honey to sweeten instead of sugar. Molasses would become important in certain areas but not at first. Here are some recipes using honey:

German Honey Cakes

1 cup honey
1/8 cup butter or margarine
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1 beaten egg yolk
1 egg white
9 ounces bread flour by weight
Boil and skim the honey. Add butter and let cool to lukewarm. Dissolve baking soda in a little water and add. Mix in beaten egg yolk and then flour. Beat egg white until stiff and fold in. Put batter in refrigerator for about 2 hours. Spoon onto greased baking sheet like cookies. Bake for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 375 degrees. Makes about 3 doz.

Honey Muffins

2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
Stir flour and sugar together. In a separate bowl blend the last 4 ingredients. Mix into flour until moist, but don't over stir. Spoon into greased or muffin cups with paper liners. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 17 minutes or until done. Makes about 1 doz.

Honey Glazed Ham

4-5 pound ready-to-eat ham
1 pint honey
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup butter or margarine
Mix liquid ingredients and ginger and warm in a double boiler. Score ham and baste it with glaze. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 1 1/4 hours, basting the ham about every 15 minutes with the warm glaze. Turn oven on broil for the last 5 minutes. (Lining the baking pan with heavy duty aluminum foil will help with the clean-up.)

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