How to Pack Hershey Hug Honeybees

By using broken toothpicks for antenna, you can easily serve Hershey Hug Honeybees as finger food. After taking these to several events, however, I would recommend, in addition to toothpicks, pack them in mini cupcake papers. Some people don't know to pick them up by toothpicks so mini-cupcake papers make it easier to move them to a serving plate.

If you are using Hershey Hug Honeybees as cupcake, cake and pie embellishments, break a toothpick in half and insert in the bottom of the chocolate-covered cherry. Leave half the toothpick exposed. Then you can easily add the Hershey Hug Honeybees by inserting bees on left-over toothpick pieces and they won't fly off!

Nice little bee gift for any occasion.

Charlotte

How to Make Hershey Hug Honeybees

I developed these for a garden club meeting. I was teaching basic beekeeping classes for them and thought a bee theme gift would be very appropriate.

To make: Remove papers from Hershey Hugs. Drain maraschino cherries on paper towels. Heat white chocolate in microwave covered dish in microwave until melted; 1.5-2 minutes on high. Every microwave heats differently so try it first in 30 second increments until you know how long it takes for your microwave.

Spread melted white chocolate on Hershey Hug bottom; add two almond slivers for wings. Allow to dry.

Stick maraschino cherry with a toothpick; dip in melted chocolate and place on wax paper. Place cookie sheet in refrigerator until cherries and chocolate are firm or wait 10-15 minutes for the chocolate to dry.

Spread more melted chocolate on Hershey Hug with almond slivers; attach flat side of chocolate-covered maraschino cherry to the flat end of Hershey Hug. Allow to dry.

Break toothpicks into 3 pieces; stick two through top for antenna. Toothpicks also work well as holders to pick up bees as finger food. Add two dots of black icing for eyes. You can also use melted dark chocolate dots for eyes.  Allow to dry.  Store in sealed container until serving.

People seem to love them, they tell me they are so cute, they don't want to eat them!

Charlotte

Hershey Hug Honeybee Ingredients

One of my gardening friends asked if she could make Hershey Hug Honeybees out of all white chocolate. The Hershey part won't have stripes so I think the delectable treat will look more like a bug than a honeybee.

You can use plain white bark or special white chocolate bark like Ghirardelli chocolate. When shopping for Hershey Hug Honeybee ingredients, try to keep all the parts relatively proportional to each other.

When looking for maraschino cherries without stems, select a jar with cherries about the same size as the bottom of a Hershey Hug. I have found maraschino cherry sizes vary so I now the bottom of cherry jars to get cherries about an inch wide.

Also make sure the sliced almond slivers are a healthy size for honeybee wings. I went through several almond sliver bags before finding the larger size.

Most people don't use toothpicks in their kitchen staples anymore so pick up a box of flat wood toothpicks you can easy cut into one thirds each. You can easily pick these up by the antenna but I also like to give them their own mini-cupcake papers.

Don't forget a little tube of black decorator icing for eyes.

Charlotte

Hershey Hug Honeybees

We were asked to bring "something special" to an evening gardening meeting welcoming neighboring gardeners. It was the kind of event that required something more than cookies but less than a cake or pie.

I thought about making cupcakes with flowers on top but I didn't have all the ingredients. I had brought a bag of Hershey Hug kisses home by mistake so I pulled those out and started to unwrap them.

They are similar to Hershey Kisses, which I use to make chocolate mice, only Hershey Hugs are white chocolate with brown stripes.

The chocolate stripes reminded me of my honeybees so I started to play with the Hershey Hugs and melted white chocolate to see what I could make out of them. Reminded me of when I go shopping for custom wedding ring quilt fabric, sometimes the fabric dictates the pattern.

Adorable, don't you think?

Charlotte

How to Use a Honey Dipper

Honey dippers are designed to easily transfer honey without getting honey, well - over everything.

To use a honey dipper, dip the spiral end into honey and turn to coat. Move the dipper to where you want honey, then slowly twirl, allowing honey to drip.

Use honey dippers to drizzle honey over breads, fruit, salads, even tea.

Wash as you would a wooden spoon. Pat with a dish towel to fully dry; then allow to air dry.

Charlotte

Welcome to Home Sweet Bees

When I started keeping honeybees in 2010, I had no intention of falling in love. Bees, I thought, would be fun to add to the garden to help plant pollination.

I now teach and lecture on beginning beekkeeping and started a bee club to help beekeepers share and learn from each other.

I’m also developing my own lines of honey and bee-related products, not to mention being hooked on my own homemade whipped honey.

Have you tried it yet?

Charlotte