Make Homemade Hot Honey, the season’s hottest condiment using just two ingredients! A batch of hot honey decanted into mini bear bottles will make the cutest homemade gifts around.
One of my favorite ways to spice up snacks is with a drizzle of hot honey. Have you tried it? It seems like everywhere I look there’s a new way it’s being used. It’s added to cocktails, poured over ice cream, drizzled on pizza and my recent favorite – stirred into a steaming mug of chai. YUM! The possibilities are endless! It’s a great way to add a little sweet heat to your favorite foods.
Luckily this spicy sauce is easy to make with your choice of hot peppers and responsibly sourced 100% pure honey.
How Hot?
Nearly any hot pepper can be used in this recipe, but choose one with a heat level that you’re comfortable eating. And if you’re giving your honey as gifts, err on the side of caution, and stay away from the Carolina Reapers (ha!). Jalapenos will deliver a nice bit of heat, but I loved using Serrano peppers in this honey. They are about double the heat of jalapenos.
I plan to give away my DIY hot honey as party favors and stocking stuffers this Christmas, and I found the perfect packaging! Some 2 oz. honey bear bottles with red and green lids! I have quite a lot of favors to make, so I also ordered a package of bears with gold lids. Very holiday!
I made little hang tags for the honey bears with suggestions for use, and you can too! These Avery labels are perfect and you can find my printable PDF here. You can also use address labels (Avery 5195) as I did, to print flame stickers for the fronts of the bear bottles. They’ll need to be trimmed down so they fit just right, but I think they look really cute! The crew at the workshop appropriately dubbed these guys ‘Little Hotties’.
If you’ve never tried hot honey and are looking for a good place to start taste-testing, I recommend pouring it over vanilla bean ice cream. The cold ice cream with spicy honey is such a nice contrast.
If you have a gourmand on your Christmas list, then this could be just the ticket!
Related Recipe: Honey Lollipops
Homemade Hot Honey
Equipment
- Mini squeeze bear containers, if using
Ingredients
- 2 to 4 hot chiles such as serrano or jalapeno thinly sliced
- 1 cup 100% pure filtered honey
Instructions
- Bring 2 chiles and honey to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and let cook 1 hour to infuse. Taste honey and adjust heat, if desired, with 1-2 more chiles (I didn’t add additional peppers to my batch). Remove the pan from stove, and let sit 30 minutes.
- Sieve over a liquid measure with a pour spout. (Save the candied peppers for pizza or ice cream toppings!) Decant the infused honey into an 8 oz. canning jar, or into small 2 oz. honey bottles. Seal tightly.
- Make Ahead: Hot honey can be made 3 months ahead. Keep chilled.
How would you suggest (if at all) I sterilise the little bear containers?
I'm so glad you asked! Here is what the seller recommends: "[The bottles] are produced and packed to FDA standards and no preparation is needed for filling with honey. Anything you try and do to "sanitize" or "wash" them in a home environment will render them less safe than they were before. If you are filling with honey, it is an anti-bacterial and inherently safe product." I will also add that they also come with pressure sensitive seals. There's a little plastic-coated paper disk in the tops of the bottles, and when you close the lids tight the disk seals… Read more »