Today marks the last day of Honey Week on Lolly’s Sweet Treats. I’ve had a lot of fun finding different ways to cook and bake with honey from Honeyrun Farm and what better way to end it with a rich dessert.

With all the choices for honey desserts out there, I had trouble deciding what sweet treat I wanted to make. I was originally planning on making a honey cake, but my Aunt Khaki brilliantly suggested honey fudge. I researched recipes online and found this one from Better Homes and Garden.

The original recipe calls for macadamia nuts, but I substituted in pecans instead because that’s what I had on hand and because macadamia nuts are pretty pricey. I will also say that the fudge pictured above is from my second attempt. You see, the recipe only called for 2 tablespoons of honey, but I was concerned it wouldn’t give the fudge enough honey flavor so I added more honey and decreased the sugar. The end result- was a soft, caramel-like blob. It tasted good, but it never set. Oh well- I guess you’ll never know if something works until you try!

On the second time around, I stuck to the recipe (with the exception of using pecans) and things worked just like I envisioned. The honey flavor still came through well and the saltiness of the pecans is a great pairing. Best of all, you only need a small nibble to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Thanks again to Jayne for the honey. It was delicious!

Honey Pecan Fudge

Yield: 24 pieces (or more or less depending on how you cut it)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup half-and-half or light cream
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Line a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with foil, extending foil over edges of the pan. Butter the foil; set pan aside.

Butter the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. In the saucepan, combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, half-and-half or light cream, milk, and honey. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils and sugars dissolve (about 8 minutes). Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Reduce heat to medium-low; continue to boil at a steady rate, stirring frequently, until thermometer registers 234 degrees F, soft-ball stage (about 20 minutes).

Remove pan from heat. Add butter and vanilla, but do not stir. Cool, without stirring, to 110 degrees F (about an hour).

Remove thermometer from pan. Beat mixture vigorously with a clean wooden spoon until fudge just begins to thicken; stir in the 1/2 cup nuts. Continue beating until fudge just starts to lose its gloss (about 10 minutes total). Immediately spread fudge evenly in prepared pan. Score into 1-1/4-inch squares while warm.

When fudge is firm, use foil to lift it out of the pan. Cut fudge into squares. Store in an airtight container.

Source: Better Homes and Garden