Sugar Free Honey

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I only made this when I was about to run out of my store bought Honey-Tree brand of sugar-free honey and didn’t want to drive in to Austin or wait to order it on-line.  It was quite pricey on-line, too!  Just recently, my local Walmart has started carrying Honey Tree brand of sugar-free honey and since it’s pretty tasty, I just buy it nowadays.  But for any of you who would like a recipe to “stretch those dollars” and get a lot more honey out of just one little jar, this is the recipe I used when I was making it some tome ago. This is actually a recipe (slightly modified) of a very talented cook, Birgit Kerr on Birgit’s Daily Bytes. Her original recipe can be seen here:   http://birgitkerr.blogspot.com/search?q=sugar-free+honey .  I decided to post my version here because a number of my readers have asked me how to make it when it is not available where they live.  I must give Birgit credit for my inspiration on this wonderful creation.  Since my Walmart may not carry the Honey Tree forever (they often drop products from their lineup), I’m keeping this recipe just in case I ever have to go back to making my own.  This recipe is VERY good!  NOTE TO SELF:  buy next bottle of Honey Tree honey before the last 2 T. is used up!! 🙂

I have to substitute erythritol in for the xylitol called for in Birgit’s recipe.   The reason for this substitution is that xylitol is highly toxic to dogs so I won’t keep it in the house.  If a very small dog ingests xylitol they usually die from organ failure.  The poor vets are helpless to save the animal.   And as my husband and I are guilty of giving our rat terrier, Button (nicknamed Buttoni) a wee bite of our cookie or cake, and I’m so afraid one of us will unknowingly hand her something with xylitol!!  I don’t even buy sugar-free chewing gum anymore as it is usually sweetened with xylitol.  Ratties are notoriously clever at getting what they smell/want, even if it’s in a purse.  Anything within reach is fair game to a rat terrier! 🙂

My revised version of her recipe appears below as a courtesy to my readers. I do hope you will all stop by and visit Birgit’s blog.  This sugar-free honey recipe is but one example of her creativity and skill in the kitchen.

One very nice thing about honey, whether real honey or the cooked, imitation variety, is that it brings a “chewiness” to low-carb cookies that I have been unable to achieve with anything else.  Honey, like sugar, isn’t just a sweetening agent, but also has a lot to do with final texture, especially in cookies.

This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins.

INGREDIENTS: 

1/4 c. erythritol

1 tsp. real raw honey

2 T. any brand of sugar-free honey (or 1 T. more real honey, adding 17 more net carbs to entire batch)

1 packet stevia or Splenda

DIRECTIONS:  Combine all ingredients in a non-stick saucepan over medium heat.  Let it melt and keep stirring with a wooden spoon.  It will bubble up quite vigorously.  Let is bubble hard for about 2 minutes (it doesn’t thicken until it cools) and then remove from the heat.   Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes and pour into a clean jelly jar.  If it crystallizes over time (mine does), no problem.  Just warm it up by letting hot warm water run over the jar a few minutes,  or you can nuke it a few seconds in the microwave on DEFROST to soften it up. This honey will keep a long time on the pantry shelf.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes about 1/3 c. or 5 T. and each Tbsp. contains:

12.6 calories, 1.2 carbs, .5 g  fiber, .7 g  NET CARBS (real honey has 17 NC per Tbsp!!! so if you used the extra tablespoon of real honey, your batch is carbier and each Tbsp. will have 4.1 net carbs!  But that is still better than 17 net carbs in 1 T. of REAL HONEY and won’t spike your blood glucose as badly.)