Honeysuckle Blossom Coffee Creamer

As a kid, one of my favorite parts of summer was picking honeysuckle blossoms from the overgrown fencerows and sucking the sweet, honey flavored nectar from inside. You can capture that flavor in this simple homemade coffee creamer.

Capture the taste of summer with this homemade honeysuckle coffee creamer. All image by author.

When it comes to honeysuckle, native varieties are more flavorful than the invasive Japanese variety, but either will work. Some honeysuckle leaves and berries are toxic, so take your time and pick only the flowers. You will need one to two cups of flowers for this one.

Pick only the blossoms, avoiding as many stems and leaves as possible.

Once you have the flowers, go through them and pick out any stems or leaves. Green portions of the plant will impart a grassy, herbal flavor to your creamer. It goes away and the floral flavor comes through with some time in the refrigerator, but try to avoid getting any green if you can.

After picking, place the flowers in a strainer and give them a quick rinse to rid any small insects or dirt that might be on them. Pat the blossoms dry with a clean kitchen or paper towel.

In a sauce pan, heat 2 cups of heavy cream and a cup of milk.

Heat two cups of cream and a cup of milk in a saucepan.

Add a half cup of either honey or brown sugar, the vanilla and a pinch of salt until it barely starts to simmer.

Add honey or brown sugar.

Stir often as the mixture heats to prevent the cream from scalding.

Once the mixture is hot, add the flowers and stir well to blend. Kill the heat and let the mixture steep for 30 minutes.

Add the honeysuckle flowers to the hot cream and cut off the heat to steep.

After the rest, strain the mixture through a wire mesh strainer or cheesecloth.

Strain the mixture into a clean container to remove the blossoms.

Pour into jars, cover and refrigerate at least overnight for the flavors to fully open and any grassy flavor to dissipate.

Pour the creamer into jars and refrigerate.

Use just like you would any store-bought coffee creamer.

Add the creamer directly to your coffee.

The homemade creamer will last up to two weeks when refrigerated.