October is known as the month of sweets, but it’s not just about the candy, October is also National Cookie Month, but more importantly (at least for this week) October is when we celebrate National Dessert Month and National Dessert Day! Observed annually on October 14th, National Dessert Day has got to be one of the tastiest days of the year, and honey is here to take your desserts to the next level!
Now, we know that in ancient times honey was used as an offering to the gods (mead, a wine fermented from honey, is also said to have been the drink of the ancient Greek gods), but according to our friends at National Today, the ancient Greeks also enjoyed a cake-like sweet bread topped with honey and nuts. It is also rumored that the Greeks may have invented one of the most popular desserts – pie (this is believed because of Aristophanes’ mention of the fruit-filled pastries in his plays).
Of course, many people may think of honey as an obvious ingredient for desserts because it is sweet, but honey does so much more in even the most basic of dessert recipes. In addition to adding the perfect touch of sweetness (fun fact: honey is slightly sweeter than sugar, so you can actually use less to achieve the same sweetness intensity), honey also enhances and tapers other ingredients in recipes to bring balance to the overall dish. If you check out our National Cookie Month post, you will learn all about how honey’s humectant properties keep your baked goods moist by drawing in and retaining moisture (and get our best baking-with-honey tips), but honey’s chemical makeup also allows it to prohibit mold growth, thus extending the shelf life of your desserts.
From pies and cookies to cupcakes and doughnuts, there is not one dessert that honey cannot enhance, and today we are sharing 12 of our favorites with a fun fall theme to feature ingredients that remind us of the harvest season – pears, apples, oatmeal and warm spices. No matter how full your table just remember there’s always room for dessert. So as we all like to say, “Let them eat cake”!
We want to hear from you! Do you have a favorite honey dessert? Which of these recipes are you most excited to try? Tell us all about it in the comments below.
