Have I possibly mentioned the Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving? Of course I have. It is responsible for the dozens of jars of jams and preserves that have taken up residence in our basement.
It is my go to source for recipes that can be made any time of year. For instance, that lovely apricot honey butter you see above? I made that in May with dried apricots. And it was spectacular. I can’t even imagine what it would be like with fresh apricots. I also used some special Saw Palmetto honey that my dad shipped up from Florida. If you can get your hands on some fancy pants honey, use it. If not, what you get from the grocery store will do you just fine.
I hope to move into the chapters with pickles and relishes this summer. Until then, I’ve still got a ton of jams and jellies tagged that I want to try.
Apricot Honey Butter
Adapted from the Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving
BAH Note: To be honest, I used about 1/2 cup honey and then I added enough agave nectar to get me to 2/3 cup of liquid. I was really pleased with the flavor but I’ve made it before with all honey and it is equally enjoyable. Do not overboil the mixture once you add the honey. My notes on this recipe remind me that this set rather firm in the fridge and overcooking it results in a rather thick apricot honey butter which might be a formidable match for your toast.
- 2 cups dried apricots, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup crystallized ginger roughly chopped
- 2/3 cups honey
Combine the dried apricots, lemon zest, crystallized ginger, water, and lemon juice in a dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover and reduce heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 35 minutes until the apricots are tender.
Transfer the apricot mixture to a food processor and process until smooth. Return the mixture to the dutch oven, add the honey, and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Ladle the jam into heated jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space, and process for 10 minutes.
Let the jars cool for 24 hours before checking the seal and storing the jars. Any jars that have not sealed should be refrigerated or immediately reprocessed using new lids.
Bon Appetit Hon 
Mmm, sounds tasty! You are so industrious. I love the idea of the honey in this. I don’t do agave so maybe someday when I face down my canning fears I could try an all honey version.
Why no agave Jennifer? I really like an agave/honey mix in this. Think it gives a better flavor and texture.
I don’t know about Jennifer, but I don’t eat agave because most of it is super processed and equivalent to HFCS. I had a nutritionist tell me once it’s better to use white sugar. Really.
That being said, this looks amazing! I’ve had my eye on that book for a while, maybe I should check it out!
Beth, if you’d like to borrow my copy you’re more than welcome to. I never knew that about agave. I wonder if there are some brands that are better than others with regards to how processed they are?
you’re the canning queen! how do you manage to eat all these spreads??
Lan, when you take a peek at the jam shelf in the basement you’ll see that I’ve barely made a dent in my stock. Which means that I’m well supplied for some swapping and gifting.
Wendi, it looks divine. And it’s making me very hungry. Is it wrong to fantasize about reaching into my computer screen and plucking that roll with honey butter and practically jamming more than half of it into my mouth…?
I think that’s perfectly acceptable Tracy.
This looks awesome!! This is the kind of food that makes me want to actually eat breakfast.
Bread with jam…it’s not just for breakfast!
Haha… The ad at the top caught my eye… Wanna see some hot footage? Lol. A hot chick… Advertising a cooked chicken. Anyhow, love this spread. Gorgeous. I’m starving. Have me a sandwich with your fine spread for lunch. Yum!
Mmm I am loving this! Canning is so addicting isn’t it? I can’t wait to tackle relishes this year myself…just waiting for those cucumbers to start springing up!
Tracy I love seeing all those happy jars on the shelf. Never thought I say that, but there it is.
This sounds just lovely! Now I want to do some canning!
Jen, this is super easy canning. But everyone will think it is spectacular.
This looks really good….
I am thinking one could sub fresh apricots when they are in season. I did not know that about agave either. Another note, put as little heat to the honey as possible, heat destroys the good properties, that is if your using raw unprocessed, the store bought stuff has already had most of its amazing properties destroyed in its processing, still better then white sugar. Thank you for this recipe.
Gail, fresh apricots in season would be lovely. But sadly, my canning schedule doesn’t always take advantage of what is in season at the moment. Thanks for the tip about the effects heat has on raw honey. I can’t say that I’ve ever worked with it before. I’ve seen it from time to time at the market but have never been brave enough to put it in my basket.
Raw honey is an amazing health FOOD, not just a sweetener. I keep a bucket on my counter, even use it when I am having trouble sleeping, a bit of honey with peanut butter, back to bed and right to sleep (99% of the time). The healing properties of honey are many and worth the research.
Ok, this is going to sound uber dumb but when I see what I am thinking is raw honey in the store it still has a bit of the honeycomb in the jar. Do you just take that out and let the honey drain off it?
________________________________
Yes, that will work. It is rare that you will find raw, unprocessed, straight from the hive honey in the store. Next time you go to the farmer market look for it there. I got mine at a gun show, I need to contact the people because it is nearly gone. It should say on it….raw, unprocessed, unfiltered….now you might want filtered (mine is not), which the filtering should not harm it as long as no heat is put to it. Honey is antibacterial, so if you have a sour throat, let some melt in you mouth and trickle down your throat. It will stop bleeding and heal a cut, it will help heal shingles and take some of the pain away (spread over and put a cloth over the honey). Those are just a few, not to mention allergies, local raw honey will help relieve and sometimes take away allergies.
Wow, that’s a lot of power packed into a honeycomb. I had absolutely no idea. But now I’m all kinds of intrigued.
________________________________
Good, I am glad to hear it. Enjoy. Thank you again for the apricot recipe it is one of my favorite fruits. BTW, I found the recipe on pintrest….
Here is some information, http://asedarawhoney.com/health-benefits, this is just the tip of the ice berg.