Poor Man's Honey

Dandelion Honey and Peanut Butter Cookies

Pastel by Vicki Smith

Hello,

Genesis Farms in Blairstown, NJ, hosted an event last weekend with purveyors of healthy food, live music, a smattering of art, a sourdough starter demo, and birdhouse-building for the children. The highlight for me was watching a circle of teenage girls, no phones in sight, making dandelion crowns. Could there be anything more eye-catching than a crown of dandelions worn proudly by a child? In every direction, I saw small children atop their dads’ shoulders wearing crowns. When I approached the crown makers to ask about their technique, they showed me the remarkably tall dandelions they had picked and woven together using just the stems. They kindly gave me a crown. I was struck by how almost everyone in attendance at this event exuded a sense of peacefulness that I can only associate with being in the outdoors in spring.

Dandelions tout all sorts of health benefits, so numerous that they tempt credulity. I have used the greens in salads, but this was my first foray into using the petals. The petals can be steeped in boiling water to make tea or cooked with sugar to make a floral-flavored vegan honey. I love the idea of turning a lowly weed into dandelion or poor man’s honey. It’s delicious on toast or in a ramekin with a dipper on your cheese board to complement brie or camembert. The honey works well in a peanut butter cookie. And, of course, to sweeten your tea.

Dandelion Honey

Ingredients

2 c. water

1 c. dandelion petals picked in a pesticide-free area and washed

1 c. cane sugar

2 t. lemon juice

Directions

I picked about two cups of dandelion heads. Pluck out the yellow petals from the heads, leaving behind the green sepals around the outside.

Pour two cups of water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove it from the heat. Add the cleaned dandelion petals and allow them to infuse for about 30 minutes.

Strain the dandelion petals and liquid, and discard the petals. The remaining liquid or dandelion tea will become your dandelion honey. Return the liquid to a saucepan on the stove and add sugar and lemon juice.

Bring the liquid to a hard boil, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Let it cool completely, and check the consistency. The dandelion honey thickens as it cools. If it’s too thin after cooling, bring it back to a boil again, then turn off the heat. A candy thermometer is incredibly helpful here, as it’s hard to estimate the thickness of the “honey” when it’s hot. The dandelion honey is ready when the temperature reads 230 to 235 degrees on a candy thermometer. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, it’s better to undercook it than overcook it. If you overcook it, it’ll turn into hard candy; if you undercook it, you can just heat it again.

Once the dandelion honey reaches the proper temperature, remove it from the heat and pour it into jars for storage. The dandelion honey does not have the shelf life of traditional honey despite the sugar content, but the lemon helps.

Yield: about 3/4 cup

Tip: My first batch turned into hard candy. If that happens to you, watch out for your fillings! Also, with the hard candy scenario, your saucepan may appear impossible to clean. Don’t worry. Add some water to the pan and heat until the hard candy dissolves.

Peanut Butter Honey Cookies

(adapted from Betty Cocker’s Cooky Book)

Ingredients

5 T. butter, melted

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. honey

2/3 c. chunky peanut butter

1 egg

2 c. unbleached flour

1 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Directions

Mix butter, sugar, honey, peanut butter, and egg thoroughly. Blend dry ingredients. Stir into the shortening mixture. Shape into a log about 12 inches long. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for several hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the dough into 1/8” ( mine were a bit thicker) slices with a sharp knife. Place about 1” apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Photo by Vicki

Thanks for visiting!

Vicki