Honey is the bright and golden nectar brought to us by bees. It’s sweet, sticky, and simply spectacular. If you think sugar is the best way to sweeten your desserts, these honey desserts will prove you wrong. Honey’s nuanced flavor will add uniqueness to your sweet treats. And while it does contain more calories than sugar (64 vs. 49 per tablespoon), it’s sweeter, so you don’t need to add as much. Looking for a special dessert for a special occasion? I have you covered with honey cookies, truffles, macaroons, and more. These honey desserts will surely generate a buzz.
1. Baklava Cookie Bars
They’re just like baklava, only in cookie bar form. Also, they’re a lot easier to make. With this shortcut recipe, you won’t need to pile sheets of phyllo dough. With a soft cookie crust, a spiced nut topping, and honey-orange syrup on top, you’ll get similar baklava flavors and textures, minus the effort. Not only are they scrumptious, but they smell amazing, as well, thanks to the blend of citrus and spices. While these bars are baking in the oven, expect your kitchen to smell like heaven!
2. Peanut Butter Honey Truffles
Ever thought of combining oats, honey, peanut butter, and coconut? You definitely should! These peanut butter honey truffles are pure decadence. My mouth is drooling just imagining chewing on this creamy, dreamy goodness. It’s so delicious, it’s impossible to stop at one. The base is a mixture of ground oats, peanut butter, and honey. They’re rolled into balls and coated with shredded coconut. The flavors and textures are indescribable! They’re truly one of a kind.
3. Honey Chocolates
Even on their own, chocolates are already amazing. Throw honey into the picture and OMG, they become even more phenomenal. Smooth and decadent chocolates burst with golden honey as you take a bite. The combination of rich chocolate and sweet honey is absolute perfection. I can’t even begin to explain how happy these treats make me. These chocolates are my weakness and my strength. No matter how many I’ve eaten, I still can’t resist them.
4. Melopita (Greek Honey and Ricotta Pie)
Name a more epic combination than honey and cheese! These two are meant for each other. Melopita is a Greek pie or cake that features a blend of honey, anthotyro cheese (you’ll substitute it with ricotta for this recipe), and eggs. It’s ridiculously creamy, and the playful combination of sweet and salty is purely divine. It’s awesome on its own, but a drizzling of honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon on top make it extra tasty.
5. Honey Buns
These honey buns are the stuff of legends. You’ll love how the buns are both filled and topped with honey butter glaze! As mouthwatering as they already are, it doesn’t end there. The buns are also studded with walnuts or pecans and raisins to balance out the sweetness. They also give a nice crunchy and chewy textural contrast. Serve honey buns with coffee or tea for an epic breakfast or afternoon snack.
6. Honey Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
Honey-flavored cupcakes? I’ll have three, please! They’re worth the calories. These cupcakes are outrageously soft and moist. There are no nuts, chocolate chips, fruit, or berry in the cakes, so the flavor of the honey really shines through. Topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting, these cupcakes are both pretty and amazing. The frosting adds a nice balance of sweetness and saltiness, giving you a glorious cupcake experience.
7. Cinnamon Honey Buttercream Frosting
Compliment your light and fluffy cakes and cupcakes with this creamy and decadent cinnamon honey buttercream frosting. Most buttercream frostings are overwhelmingly sweet, but not this one. The combination of honey and cinnamon provides well-balanced flavors. For non-bakers, making buttercream frosting might seem intimidating. But don’t be! Trust me, it’s as easy as 1-2-3. All you’ll need is a bowl, a mixer, and a few ingredients. Plus, the result is worth it. With this perfectly sweet and mildly spiced frosting, you’ll never go back to frosting in a can.
8. Cornflake Honey Slice
Honey joys are traditional Australian snacks made of baked cornflakes, honey, and butter. You don’t have to book a ticket to have a taste of these crunchy-chewy treats, though. They’re easy to make at home. This recipe is more than the average honey joy, though. Also featuring rolled oats, desiccated coconut, and cinnamon into the mix, this tropical version adds more layers of flavors and textures to the classic treat.
9. Charoset
Charoset is a sweet relish made of diced apples, walnuts, and raisins mixed with red wine, honey, lemon zest, and cinnamon. This traditional Jewish dish is a key component in the Passover Seder Plate. Its mud-like color and texture symbolize the mortar used by Israelite slaves to build buildings in Ancient Egypt. While it’s primarily consumed during Passover, charoset is also eaten for breakfast or an afternoon snack.
10. Coconut Macaroons
Philippine coconut macaroons, not to be confused with French macarons, are round, bite-sized delights made of shredded coconut and honey bound by eggs. These magnificent morsels are insanely cake-like, yet chewy. They’re subtly crunchy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. The combination of shredded coconut and honey gives them such a unique texture and flavor, as well. They look plain, but one bite will get you hooked.
11. Almond Honey Slice
Almonds and honey are a match made in heaven. At the base of these squares are soft and nutty cakes. The batter contains an almond meal, so you get that delicious almond flavor from the cake itself. What makes them truly special, though, is the topping. Honey butter and almond slivers? You can’t go wrong with that! They’re soft at the bottom, crunchy on the top, and delicious in every bite. Have them for breakfast with coffee or in the afternoon with tea.
12. Honey Almond Granola
Granola is a tasty, hearty, and nutritious breakfast food, ideal for starting your day. My only gripe about it is that it’s expensive, which I really don’t understand, because it’s super easy to make at home. Plus, with homemade granola, you’ll get to add whatever nuts, dried fruit, and other mix-ins you can think of. For this recipe, you’ll have a simple yet delectable treat made of oats sweetened with honey and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. Dried apricots, cherries, cranberries, and slivered almonds add wonderful textural contrast.
13. Kataifi
Kataifi is a Middle Eastern dessert similar to baklava. It’s also loaded with honey and ground nuts, but instead of sheets of phyllo pastry, you get them in shredded form (sort of like vermicelli). It may not look the best. In fact, it reminds me of shredded wheat. But the flavor is absolutely divine. The kataifi pastry is super crunchy, which is perfectly complemented by the sticky honey and ground nut filling.
14. Oven Roasted Figs
When fresh figs are in season, there’s only one thing to do: make oven-roasted figs. They’re fantastic! Baking releases natural sugars in the figs. Yum. They taste even more outstanding because they’re drizzled with spiced honey right before baking. Once they’re out of the oven, they’ll get even sweeter and almost jam-like. They may look basic, but these wrinkly treats are surprisingly addictive.
15. Kahk
Kahk are Arabic cookies served during the Islamic holiday, Eid. They’re soft and dainty cookies with a surprise center. They’re dusted with powdered sugar for extra sweetness and a gorgeous presentation. The cookies themselves are already soft and buttery. When you bite into them, your tastebuds will be greeted by a sweet and sticky filling made of ground pistachios, sesame seeds, and honey.
16. Greek Honey Cookies
Called melomakarona, these Greek Christmas cookies are tender and sweet with a bit of a kick. They have a unique oval shape and are served piled on top of each other to look like a tower. Apart from the distinct look and presentation, these cookies are beloved for their flavor. The cookies are infused with brandy, cinnamon, orange zest, and honey, so you can just imagine how complex the flavors are. As if that wasn’t good enough, they’re studded with walnuts, too, adding nuttiness and crunch.
17. Basbousa
Don’t let its foreign name intimidate you from trying this sweet treat. Basbousa is a ridiculously delicious Egyptian cake made with semolina, coconut, yogurt, and honey. Finished off with nuts and syrup, you’ll definitely fall in love with its one-of-a-kind flavor. What makes it even more interesting is the unique way it’s cut. The slices are shaped like diamonds, which I think is appropriate because this dessert is a gem.
18. Honey Cheesecake with Baklava Crust
This mash-up of cheesecake and baklava is epic! After all, two desserts are better than one. Sure, it takes a little effort, but just think of the mind-blowing end result. It’s definitely worth it. Baklava on the bottom, cheesecake on top – I think this idea is genius. These two desserts complement each other so well, both in flavor and texture.
19. Lemon Honey Butter Tarts
Crispy tart shells are filled with a smooth and sweet lemon honey filling. There’s nothing fancy to it, but the flavor is sublime. Don’t be fooled by its simplicity. These tarts are highly addictive. Consider yourself warned. The contrast between the crispy shells and the sticky filling is absolute perfection. Plus, they couldn’t be easier to prepare. The recipe calls for store-bought tart shells for this recipe, so there’s no need to bake from scratch.
20. Hard Honey Candy
These round, golden candies are such a treat! The combination of honey and lemon juice gives them such a sweet, soothing flavor. I know making candy from scratch seems like it requires mad skills, but as long as you have a candy thermometer, you’re all set. It’ll give you a different level of satisfaction, so go ahead, unlock that achievement!
21. Struffoli
Let’s wrap things up with the traditional Italian dessert called struffoli. Small, soft, and pillowy deep-fried buns are assembled into a wreath or a cone. It looks like the French croquembouche (that beautiful conical tower made of cream puffs), only the pastries are smaller, almost the size of marbles. Instead of a custard filling, they’re rolled in honey, giving them extra sweetness and a sticky coating. They’re very festive indeed, which is why you’ll usually see them come Christmas time in Southern Italy.
Click on a star to rate it!
Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 2 No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.
Share on social media: Let us improve this post!
