6 Holiday Dinner Recipes: A Menu By Heavenly Honey Company

The holiday season is here, and with it, the joy and chaos of planning the perfect menu. Finding holiday dinner recipes that are both impressive and easy can be a challenge. This year, we’re taking the stress out of planning by giving you a complete holiday menu where every dish is touched with the natural sweetness of honey.

From the welcome drink to the nightcap, these six easy holiday dinner recipes are designed to work together, creating a harmonious, delicious, and memorable meal. This is your complete guide to holiday menu ideas, all featuring our raw, unfiltered honey.

Your 6-Recipe Holiday Dinner Menu

1. The Welcome Drink: Easy Orange Blossom Mulled Cider

Greet your guests with the warm, fragrant aroma of this mulled apple cider. It’s incredibly easy to make—set it up in your slow cooker and let the mulling spices work their magic. Using our Orange Blossom Honey adds a beautiful, floral top note that brightens the entire apple cider recipe.

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 1 hour (or up to 4 in a slow cooker) Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon unfiltered apple juice or cider
• 1/4 cup Heavenly Honey Company Orange Blossom Honey
• 2 oranges (one sliced, one juiced)
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tbsp whole cloves
• 1 tsp allspice berries
• 2-3 whole star anise (optional)

Instructions:

1. Combine the unfiltered apple juice, the juice of one orange, and the slices of the other orange in a large pot or slow cooker.
2. Place the cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, and star anise in a cheesecloth bag (or add them loose and strain later). Add the spice sachet to the cider.
3. Simmer gently on low heat for at least 1 hour, or in a slow cooker for 3-4 hours on low. Do not let it boil.
4. Just before serving, remove the spices and orange slices. Stir in the Orange Blossom Honey until it is fully dissolved.
5. Serve in mugs while piping hot, garnished with a fresh cinnamon stick.

2. The Main Course: A Perfect Sage Honey Baked Ham Recipe

This honey baked ham recipe is the star of your Christmas dinner. Using our Clover  Honey creates a sophisticated glaze that is savory and subtly sweet with just a hint of cinnamon flavor which is natural to the Clover Honey, not sticky or overpowering. The high heat at the end creates a perfect caramelized crust.

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 2-3 hours Yield: 12-16 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 bone-in, spiral-cut, pre-cooked ham (8-10 lbs)
• 1/2 cup Heavenly Honey Company Clover Honey
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp orange juice (freshly squeezed)
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C). Place the ham, cut-side down, in a large baking dish or roasting pan. Cover tightly with foil.
2. Bake for 12-15 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 135°F.
3. About 30 minutes before the ham is done, remove it from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 400°F (200°C).
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the Clover Honey, Dijon mustard, orange juice, and ground cloves.
5. Brush half of the honey glaze evenly over the ham. Return it to the oven, uncovered.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, then brush with the remaining glaze.
7. Bake for another 15 minutes, or until the glaze is bubbling and caramelized. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

3. The Comforting Side Dish: Buckwheat Honey Candied Yams

This candied yams recipe is a classic side dish for a reason. We’re swapping out processed brown sugar for our robust Buckwheat Honey. Its rich, brown sugar-like flavor is the perfect complement to yams and sweet potatoes and adds incredible depth.

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 1 hour Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs sweet potatoes (about 5-6 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup Heavenly Honey Company Buckwheat Honey
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Buckwheat Honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla extract.
3. Add the cubed sweet potatoes to the bowl and toss to coat them completely.
4. Pour the mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish in a single layer.
5. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the glaze has thickened and caramelized.

4. The Classic Side Dish: Barbara’s Honey Cranberry Sauce

No holiday menu is complete without this classic. A cranberry sauce recipe made from scratch is one of the easiest and most impressive holiday dinner dishes. This is our family’s simple, go-to recipe.

Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes (+ cooling time) Yield: 2-3 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 bag fresh cranberries
• Water (about 1 inch)
• 1 fresh orange, juiced
• 1/2 cup Heavenly Honey Company Orange Blossom Honey (or more to taste)
• Optional: Fresh orange zest

Instructions:

1. Add a bag of fresh cranberries to a sauce pan with about an inch of water in the bottom of the pan. Squeeze the juice of one orange over the cranberries.
2. Put a lid on your pan and turn your stovetop burner to low and let simmer, check berries periodically. Once the berries get mushy, remove from heat.
3. This is the fun part…start pouring our Orange Blossom honey over the berries. I suggest about a half cup (measure with your heart!), stir, taste and repeat until you achieve your desired sweetness. When I have our nieces and nephew over, I add more honey! I suggest pouring the honey right out of the jar, it is a decadent and liberating experience!
4. I let this cool on the stove for an hour and then transfer to a sealed container to refrigerate overnight. If you are feeling fancy, you can add fresh orange zest before refrigerating for a more citrus flavor.

5. The No-Bake Holiday Dessert: Lemon Honey Meringue Tart

Your oven is busy with the ham and yams. This easy holiday dinner recipe for dessert is a showstopper that requires no baking at all. It uses our Creamy Sunflower Honey with Italian Lemon Oil, which tastes just like a lemon meringue pie, to create a bright, tart, and refreshing end to a rich meal.

Prep time: 30 minutes Chill time: 2 hours Yield: 1 (9-inch) tart

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup Heavenly Honey Co. Creamy Sunflower Honey with Italian Lemon Oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup heavy cream (for topping)
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar (for topping)

Instructions:

1. For the crust: In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until combined. Press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes to set.
2. For the filling: In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the Creamy Sunflower Honey with Italian Lemon Oil and vanilla extract and beat until fully combined.
3. In a separate bowl, beat 1/4 cup of heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the honey-cheese mixture.
4. Pour the filling into the chilled crust and spread evenly.
5. Chill the tart in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or until firm.
6. For the topping: Just before serving, beat the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream with 2 tbsp of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Dollop or pipe onto the tart.

6. The Nightcap: Heavenly Apple Spice Hot Toddy

The holiday season isn’t just about the meal—it’s about relaxing after. This is Barbara’s signature Hot Toddy, a perfect “adult cough medicine.” It uses our Cinnamon Apple Spice Tea as the base and Buckwheat Honey for its rich, soothing properties.

Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 4 minutes Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 6-8 oz hot water
• 1 teaspoon Heavenly Honey Company Loose-leaf Cinnamon Apple Spice Tea
• 1.5 oz (1 shot) good quality bourbon or whiskey of your choice
• 1-2 tsp Heavenly Honey Company Buckwheat Honey (to taste)
• Optional: 1 small squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Pour the hot water over the Cinnamon Apple Spice Tea bag in a mug. Let it steep for 4 minutes.
2. Remove the tea .
3. Stir in the Buckwheat Honey and the shot of your choice of whiskey or bourbon until the honey is dissolved.
4. Add a small squeeze of lemon juice to brighten the flavors, if desired. Serve hot. (A cold toddy variation can be made by steeping the tea, letting it chill, and serving over ice).

---

Sweeten Your Holiday Season

There you have it—six of the best holiday dinner recipes to create a complete, cohesive, and delicious meal. From the main holiday dinner foods to the drinks that bookend the evening, honey adds a touch of natural, sophisticated sweetness that brings all the flavors together.

Frequently Asked Questions