Cocoa Puff Waffles with Zesty Cocoa Puff Honey #Sponsored

Sponsored by Big G General Mills Cereals.

I used to think that honey was just honey. Then I found out about varietal honeys that come from bees that feed on specific flowers. Then I found out about hot honey. No, the bees don't feast on pepper flowers - the spice is added to honey.

And that's part of how this recipe came about.

My buddies the Big G Cereals team at General Mills challenged me to come up a with a recipe using Cocoa Puffs for a sponsored post, and the first thing I thought of was adding something spicy, because chocolate and spice are such good friends. And then spice immediately led to hot honey.

I had a few different ideas before I settled upon waffles studded with Cocoa Puffs along with a spicy chocolate honey. If you're not fond of spicy foods for breakfast, you can certainly leave out the cayenne. Chocolate honey is still pretty darned good.

These waffles aren't super-sweet on their own. And if you haven't had Cocoa Puffs in a while, you might want to know that they aren't super-sweet, either. They've got a nice chocolate flavor, but they're not like candy. I really love that.

The reason General Mills is sponsoring this post right now is that September is National Whole Grain Month and whole grain is the first ingredient in all General Mills Big G Cereals - including the Cocoa Puffs I used, which are made with whole grain corn. In all Big G cereals, there is more whole grain than any other single ingredient, including sugar from all combined sources. That's pretty impressive.

No wonder those Cocoa Puffs weren't super-sweet.

A whopping 95 percent of Americans don't get enough whole grain in their diet. Pretty amazing, considering how many folks are so interested in healthy foods these days. And fiber - which is one of the nutrients you'll find in whole grain - is something people are concerned about.

I've been trying to improve my diet, and swapping whole grains for more refined grains is part of the plan. I'm not going to completely give up refined flours - moderation is my mantra - but I've been swapping in whole grains when they make sense.

And by make sense, I mean that the food has to taste good. I've tried some whole grain products that made me feel like I was eating mulch. Sorry, but no.

So, to make these waffles even more better for me, I added a good dose of whole wheat flour. Sometimes whole wheat is tricky to work with - you can't always substitute it 1:1 for white flour in a recipe. Or you can, but sometimes you end up with a product that's a little too dense. So most of the time, I use some whole wheat and some white flour. See? Moderation.

I tweaked this recipe a few times, messing with the liquids and the flours, trying to get exactly the right flavor and the right texture. My last tweak was actually a mistake - I grabbed the bread flour instead of the all-purpose flour, and I really liked the result. The waffles were soft and fluffy on the inside with a nice crisp brown on the outside.

Meanwhile, the Cocoa Puffs added a little bit of chocolate in every bite.

As far as the honey - if you have any left after you've stuffed yourself with waffles, try it drizzled on fried chicken. Trust me.

Zesty Cocoa Puff Honey
Makes a little more than 1 cup of honey

1 cup Cocoa Puffs
1 cup honey
Pinch of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Pinch of salt (optional)

Put the Cocoa Puffs in a blender and blend until the pieces are as small as you can get them. Add the honey, a small pinch of cayenne pepper, and the salt, if using. Blend until the Cocoa Puffs are incorporated into the honey. Scrape down the sides of the blender, if necessary.

When this is first blended, there will be small crunchy bits in the honey, but they soften and dissolve as the mixture rests.

Taste for seasoning and add more cayenne, if desired. Wait about 10 minutes, then blend again, to incorporate the softened bits of Cocoa Puffs. Transfer to a container for storage and serving.

Cocoa Puff Waffles with Zesty Cocoa Puff Honey
Makes 6-8 waffles (depending on your waffle maker)

2 eggs
1 cup bread flour (use all-purpose flour if you don't have bread flour)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Cocoa Puffs (a little bit more won't hurt)

Heat your waffle maker while you make the waffle batter.

Put the eggs in a medium bowl and beat with a whisk until they are well blended and a little lighter in color.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except the Cocoa Puffs) and mix until the batter is smooth. Stir in the Cocoa Puffs.

Pour the waffle batter into the waffle maker, using the amount appropriate for your particular waffle maker. Cook until nicely browned.

Serve with butter (if desired) and the Cocoa Puff honey.

If a stack of waffles is too much for you to tackle, cut the waffles in quarters and serve them with the Cocoa Puff honey as a dip. Perfect for smaller appetites!

Thanks to General Mills Big G Cereals for sponsoring this post!

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Tomato Salad with Thyme and Honey

When I was a kid, my mom made a salad that was incredibly simple: it was nothing but sliced tomatoes, salt, black pepper, white vinegar, and white sugar.

It almost sounds too simple, right?

The fanciest ingredient was the farm-fresh or home-grown tomatoes. Because of course this was only made in summer when tomatoes were in season.

But fresh summer tomatoes don't need a whole lot to make them wonderful. With that salad, every single ingredient served to enhance the tomato flavor.

I usually make this salad at least once over the summer, sometimes making it more sweet, and other times edging towards the puckery-tart. But this time, I decided to change things up a bit. Instead of using sugar, I decided to use honey. And not just any honey - I used clover honey creme from Honey Ridge Farms.

I got the honey through 37 Cooks (and by the way, this recipe will also be published on the 37 Cooks blog), and I really wanted to find a way to use the honey in its purest form not cooked into something. Short of eating it with a spoon (which I might or might not have done - it's really good!) I was stumped.

Well, I could have drizzled it on ice cream or English muffins. Despite those being delicious ideas, they wouldn't have been a very good recipe. But when I brought tomatoes home from the farmer's market, I had the idea of using the honey with the tomatoes.

Well, then. Salad.

Tomato Salad with Thyme and Honey

1/2 large red tomato (beefsteak, if you can find them)
1/2 large green or yellow tomato
Pinch of salt
Several grinds of black pepper
Leaves stripped from 1 spring fresh thyme
Honey creme, as needed
Red wine vinegar, as needed

Remove the core from the tomato and slice into thin wedges. Arrange the slices on a plate - I alternated the red and green, but you could put all red on one side of a the plate and all green on the other.

And of course you could use just one large tomato. Or use several tomatoes to make a whole platter for a party.

Sprinkle on salt and grind on the pepper, then strew the thyme leaves on top. Drizzle on the honey cream in thin strands. I used a fork to portion the honey.

Drizzle on just a little bit of vinegar. I know you've seen this on TV, where you put your thumb over most of the opening of the bottle and just shake on a small amount here and there.

Serve.

You can refrigerate the leftovers, but the tomatoes tend to get a little soft. They still taste good, but the presentation isn't as nice.

I also received a bottle of Honey Balsamic Vinegar from Honey Ridge Farms which was outstanding. Check out my recipe for honey balsamic glazed onions that I used on Italian sausage sandwiches.

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Honey Vanilla Ice Cream

I was inspired to make a second recipe from the box of goodies I got from Jenny, who blogs at Creative Cooking Gluten Free, as part of a 37 Cooks challenge. One of the items she sent me was a jar of Run Dog Farm Pure & Raw Honey.

Mmmm... honey.

I sort of forgot about it when I was thinking about what recipe I could make, but then the lightbulb lit. Why not make honey ice cream?

Yeah, that's what I said.

It was pretty simple, really. I used honey instead of sugar - and not as much honey since it tastes sweeter than sugar - and the rest was a pretty basic recipe.

You can really taste the honey in this, and the vanilla adds a nice richness. As I was mixing it up, I was trying to think of a third flower-related flavor to add, but then I decided I didn't want to muddle the honey and vanilla, and I let it be.

Honey Vanilla Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk

Mix the honey into the cream until it dissolves. If it doesn't want to dissolve, you can heat the cream gently to encourage the honey to melt. You won't need to get it more than lukewarm, so don't get carried away

Add the salt, vanilla, and whole milk and stir until it's all combined.

If your ice cream maker has its own compressor, you can start churning right away. Otherwise, refrigerate the mixture until it's fully chilled before churning.

Churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a storage container and freeze until firm.

I wouldn't tell anyone if you decided to drizzle a little extra honey on top when you serve.

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Honey Roasted Onions

One of my husband's favorite parts of pot roast or stew is when I include whole onions (or halved, if they're really big) in the stew. They get softer and sweeter and they take on the flavors from the stew.

So when I found a recipe for roasted onions in Tyler Florence's cookbook Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen, I had to give them a try. And then I had to adapt the recipe a bit. Or a lot, actually. His recipe has 1/3 cup honey and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and uses red onions. And his cooking instructions are different.

But in any case, the credit for the idea goes to Tyler Florence.

I got the honey from a company called Nazareth Secret, and it's a honey imported from Israel. It's got a nice flavor and good traditions behind it. It might have been better suited for stirring into my tea, or other applications where the honey flavor would have been more prominent. But ... it worked well in cooking too.

Honey Roasted Onions
Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen

4-6 large onions
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Nazareth Secret honey
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Peel and trim the onions and slice in half through the root end (so the halves stay together).

Line a baking sheet** with aluminum foil for easier cleanup. Chances are there will be some burnt sugar to deal with, and it's easier to toss the foil than scrub the pan.

Combine the oil, honey, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl that will fit your onions as well. If you're not sure how much salt and pepper, use 1/2 teaspoon of salt and three or four grinds of pepper from your mill - or about 1/4 teaspoon.

Whisk to combine, then add the onions and stir them around to coat with the mixture. Place the onions, cut side up, on the prepared pan. Leave the remaining liquid in the bowl - you'll be using that later.

Place the onions in the oven and bake until tender. Depending on the onions, this will take an hour or longer.

BUT ! ! !

After about 30 minutes of baking time, remove the pan from the oven and divide the remaining honey/oil mixture on top of each onion. At this point, the onion layers should be less tight, and the liquid will drizzle into the onions as well as coating the top.

Continue cooking, stopping every 10-15 minutes to scoop up the liquid from the bottom of the pan to drizzle it on top of the onions.

** Now that I've contemplated this a bit, I think a 9x13 baking pan might make more sense than a flat baking sheet. The onions could be cooked, covered, for the first 15-20 minutes to steam them and encourage them to cook faster, then drizzle with the oil/honey mixture and keep cooking, drizzing and basting regularly until the onions are done. Also, since most of the oil/honey drips off the onions right away, so I'm thinking that there's no need to try to coat the onions at all at the beginning - just drizzle some of the mixture on top of the onions at the beginning, and then regularly throughout the cooking time - which should also be shorter if they're cooked covered at first.

If you make these, let me know what you do and how they work for you!

I received the honey from the manufacturer, but I was not required to write about it. The book was part of the Cook My Book group exchange. More about that here.

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