Use Honeybell Oranges to Sweeten up Holiday Treats

Honeybell oranges are a beloved holiday treat. Because these delicious fruits are only in season from late December to early February they are often given as holiday gifts or used in holiday cooking. Honeybells have a rich, sweet taste and a lot of super sweet juice. That makes them perfect to use in holiday cooking. Using orange juice instead of sugar to sweeten holiday treats like cookies, cakes, and drinks is a smart way to give your family and friends an extra nutritional boost and to sweeten their favorite treats naturally instead of using refined sugar. Refined sugar can be difficult for the body to break down, and often ends up being stored in the body as fat because it can’t be broken down for energy. But, the natural sugars in the juice of Honeybell oranges, grapefruits, and tangerines can be easily broken down by the body. Those sugars get processed and used for energy instead of being stored as fat. These healthy natural sugars plus the extra vitamins and minerals in the orange juice make it a smart move to replace refined sugar with Honeybell juice when cooking this holiday season.

In order to cook with Honeybell oranges you just need to replace the water in the recipe with the juice from Honeybell oranges and reduce the amount of sugar you use, or eliminate the sugar altogether. Once you make a few treats replacing water with orange juice it will get easier to judge how much juice you need in order to sweeten the final product. Simple recipes like sugar cookie dough, pie c rusts, and cake batters are the easiest to make substitutions in but even more complicated recipes like sauces can be made over with a healthy Honeybell twist if you are willing to experiment. If you want to try and make your traditional holiday treats as healthy as possible this year substituting Honeybell oranges for refined sugar is a great way to start. Adding Honeybell juice and Honeybell segments to cocktails, punches, and other holiday drinks is also a nice way to incorporate a healthy shot of vitamins into treats that usually don’t contain many healthy elements even though they are tasty. Cooking with Honeybells also will make it easier for friends and family who have dietary restrictions against eating too much sugar to find treats that they can enjoy without worrying about blood sugar spikes or other health problems.

Taste the Sunshine with Hale Groves

At Hale Groves, we believe the best gifts come from the land, not a factory. For generations, our fruit has been grown slowly under the Florida sun, picked at its peak, and delivered fresh to your door. From sweet Navel Oranges to rare Honeybells, every gift shares the simple joy of real flavor—perfect for holidays, milestones, or everyday moments worth celebrating.

Shop Now