I’m excited to share Christmas Gift Guide 2018: Local Hive™ from Rice’s Honey®.
If you know me at all you know I love Honey. My sister does as well. This morning I was sitting down to work Local Hive™ from Rice’s Honey® kept going through my mind and how Local Hive™ from Rice’s Honey® would make a wonderful Christmas Gift for Debbie. Big sister’s should share shouldn’t they?
Well this time I just might be stingy and keep Local Hive™ from Rice’s Honey® Local Hive Southwest and Local Hive Texas to myself. They sent me two bottles to try. I need to compare them to see which one I like the most. I could invite Debbie over and she could help me review the Honey. I believe that it what I will do for Thanksgiving since it’s been a while since I’ve spent time with my sister. Charlie and I miss her.
Local Hive Southwest sounded like a Honey I should try as we live in the Southwest. After reading the description I knew I wanted to try Local Hive Southwest because I didn’t think I had ever had a Honey with a Cedar Finish to it. I wanted to see what Local Hive Southwest tasted like. Let me tell you something Thanksgiving better hurry and get here because tomorrow is my Birthday. I really would like to have Croissants and Honey for dinner.
Despite the arid terrain, our Southwest honey has a welcoming flavor. Its medium body provides a sweet, smooth flavor with a short, almost cedar finish.
The second flavor I was sent was Local Hive Texas Honey. David and Charlie asked to try Local Hive Texas Honey since we live in Texas. Before you ask no, I didn’t open Local Hive Texas Honey . I put it up until Thanksgiving as well. I can tell you I can’t wait to try Local Hive Texas Honey because it say’s its Smoother than a Southern drawl, our Texas honey is a medium-bodied honey with a sweet, floral flavor that lingers before slowly wilting away.
Local Hive is natural, raw unfiltered honey – and is truly created by bees as if “it is from your own backyard”. I would like to share a secret about Local Hive although this is a secret you can shout from the Rooftops. Local Hive is created in “YOUR LOCAL AREA” as each bottle is sourced and sold from truly local beehives!
Greeley, CO – October, 2018 – Local Hive™ from Rice’s Honey®, a leading producer of high quality, U.S. only raw & unfiltered honey since 1924, wants to help you put the twinkle into your holidays with their locally produced honey varietals. Perfect for your holiday table and every day,.
Local Hive from Rice’s Honey offers 16 different local varieties of raw honey honey including Local New England, Local Northeast, Local Florida, Authentic Clover & Authentic Wildflower. With your loved ones gathered around the table, whether it’s for a comforting hot drink during the cold days of winter or to enjoy your favorite Christmas cookies, the taste of real honey from Local Hive™ will help you create fond memories.
All Local Hive™ honeys are sourced exclusively in the U.S. and bottled in Greeley, Colorado. The team at Local Hive™ work directly with local beekeepers across the U.S., to ensure each varietal yields incredibly delicious and subtly different natural flavors that will be great additions to your family recipes and holiday memories.
Raw, unfiltered honey also offers many health benefits including being rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes and pollen. Unlike processed unnatural sugars or sweeteners, Local Hive™ honey offers transparency, as each natural varietal is made so local it’s “made right in your own backyard”.
Very similar to Wine, where you taste and see the difference between varietals, Local Hive™ from Rice’s Honey® also imparts specific flavors in each of the Honeys they produce. From Washington to Florida each varietal is unique.
Local Hive New England Honey
Floral Sources: Basswood, Berries, Clover, Goldenrod
*Flavor is bold and robust. Northeast honeys are much darker than anywhere else.
Local Hive Florida Honey
Floral Sources: Citrus, Brazilian Pepper, Clover, Gallberry, Tupelo
*Flavor is a bit fruity with a hint of spice.
Local Hive Colorado Honey
Floral Sources: Clover, Alfalfa, Wildflowers
*Flavor should be light & sweet. The sweetest of all honeys sent.
Local Hive Southern California Honey
Floral Sources: Alfalfa, Berries, Citrus, Clover, Sage
*Flavor is fruity and sweet. You’ll notice a hint of orange
Local Hive Texas Honey
Floral Sources: Alfalfa, Clover, Cotton, Horsemint, Tallow
*Flavor is medium bodied and sweet. Not as sweet as Colorado.
To sweeten up your holiday table, enjoy these Local Hive™ Honey Vanilla Sugar Cookies
Have a Holly Jolly Holiday With Local Hive™ From Rice’s Honey® Recipes. Where you can Elevate the Season with Raw & Unfiltered Honey. Honey Made Right in Your Own “North Pole” Backyard!
Local Hive™ Honey Vanilla Sugar Cookies Makes about 24 Cookies
½ cup Local Hive™ Honey
2 sticks butter, softened
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
3 vanilla beans (1 for frosting)
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
3 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
Beat the sugar and butter on high until fluffy, between 7 – 8 ½ minutes. Scrape beans from 2 vanilla bean pods and set aside. Beat together honey, egg, egg yolk, vanilla beans and extract. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder.
Then add in the rest of the beaten ingredients and mix well.
You should have a dough-consistency.
Sprinkle a cutting board or other clean area with powdered sugar. (No flour)
Roll out dough and but into your holiday shapes.
Bake on parchment paper after putting in the freezer for about 6 minutes, so they get more solid.
Bake at 350º for 9-11 minutes and cool on wire rack.
Honey Vanilla Frosting
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean
4 cups powdered sugar
1 lb. cold butter
Scrape the beans from the vanilla bean pod and set aside. Beat the honey, vanilla plus vanilla beans and then beat in half of the powdered sugar. Beat in the half and half. Combine this with the powdered sugar and beat until well.
After cutting the cold butter into small pieces, be sure to add it a little bit at a time, mixing on high speed with a whisk attachment or by hand. Beat on high speed for 9 minutes, or until it looks fluffy.
Decorate your holiday cookies and add sprinkles or other edible decorations and enjoy!
I would like to let you know my family will be back in December to share our thoughts on Local Hive Honey and what we used it for or if we used Local Hive Honey in baking. I know Charlie would enjoy baking Local Hive™ Honey Vanilla Sugar Cookies and if I wasn’t careful he would eat them all and I wouldn’t get even one cookie. Charlie would put some of the cookies out for Santa so that would give me permission to eat them wouldn’t it? Because we all know moms and dads are Santa…
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
