I think someone should throw me a dang parade for coaxing Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread out of my oven. With hours dedicated to flour and yeast, I feel like a parade (or a really solid high-five) is a totally reasonable return. It’s yeast induced hero-status… am I wrong?
Sometimes hero status doesn’t require multiple hours in the kitchen, and flour in your hair. Thank goodness.
Making a simple syrup is the easiest way for me to feel super clever in the kitchen. It’s the best way to bring together ultra comforting flavor combinations without making a huge fuss. Make a big fizzy soda, totally fancy-up happy hour, or add this sweet syrup to hot water with lemon. It’s bottled delight… and you really don’t have to tell anyone just how easy it is to make.
You probably have some chamomile tea bags in the back of your pantry, right? Have some honey lying around somewhere?
That’s it! You’re all the way there!
Tea bags are steeped in simmered water. Honey is stirred in, and the whole mixture is cooked down to a syrup-y consistency. With the addition of soda water… it’s totally time for sweet refreshment.
Where hot tea meets bubbly refreshment. I think this soda is best served with lemon cookies. Most things are best served with cookies. These Lemon Meringue Sandwich Cookies are little cloud dreams.
Honey Chamomile Soda
makes 2 cups of syrup
2 1/2 cups water
3 chamomile tea bags
1 cup honey
For serving:
cold club soda
ice cubes
lemon wedges (optional)
Bring water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat, add tea bags, cover and allow to steep for 10 minutes. After steeping, remove the tea bags and discard. Return to heat and add honey. Stir to melt the honey into the liquid. Bring to a boil and simmer mixture to reduce to just less than 2 cups of syrup, about 15 minutes.
Pour syrup into a heat-proof jar and allow to cool to room temperature or cold before serving.
To serve, fill a class with ice cubes. Add about 3 tablespoons of syrup to 1 cup of club soda. Add more or less syrup to taste. Add a squeeze of lemon if you’d like. Enjoy!
Syrup will last for several weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Hortensia Peralta
Chemical compounds present within chamomile have demonstrated the ability to bind GABA receptors, modulate monoamine neurotransmission, and have displayed neuroendocrine effects.'”,,
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Anna K.
Made this tonight and it was terrific. I meant to add a splash of lemon juice at the end but forgot. It was great without but I think that a bit of acid would take this over the top. Yum. Thanks for the recipe!
mariah
It makes me happy to see your rainbow table cloth again!
WolfSong
Well now, I’m going to have to try this with a few of the assorted tea bags I have around the house…Bengal Spice comes to mind first! Plus, I want to try it with home grown and dried chocolate mint. Oh the possibilities! Thanks for sharing this one. :)
Heidi - Apples Under My Bed
Oh, so good, Joy. Thank you!
Heidi xo
Molly
Hi Joy – I don’t think I’ve ever commented here before which is weird b/c I visit your site all the time. There are a LOT of great cookbooks out right now – I wanted to let you know I ordered yours, because I love your writing so much – it’s so honest and unpretentious! Keep ’em coming! -thanks, Molly
Annie
Hello Joy love your blog voice and podcast. You and Tracy rock! Is that your handwriting on the label in these photos? Because if it is- you have lovely handwriting for someone who self professed to know little about fonts! Bought your cookbook and looking forward to doing some joy baking! Thank you.
Laliv
Looks great! I have to try it now that Spring is officially here! tanx for the idea.
Katie @ Blonde Ambition
I love chamomile tea, and honey is a perfect complement! Also I feel like it’s worth pointing out that we totally have the same half-cursive, half-print handwriting :)
Anika
Sounds amazing!!!!!
Amy
Joy, you are a genius, a true inspiration and I couldn’t love your blog more… To me, you are hosting one of the best blogs out there. Keep on you totally rock :)
Bernadette @ Now Stir It Up
Chamomile has to be my favorite tea. I love the idea of making a soda with it. Sounds amazingly refreshing. :-)
Bea @ Bea's Bites
Mmm, interesting. I’ve always been afraid of making syrups because I’m scared of heating sugar but if it’s already in honey form, this sounds good!
Also, cinnamon pull apart bread–memories!
Packing Rainbows
Yes! I love it when simple meets greatness :) Thank you!
Lindsey
awesome and super easy.
Sara {Home is Where the Cookies Are}
I love fresh, home made sodas like this! I always keep sparkling water around so we can have that with a splash of juice instead of having true blue soda, but I love the idea of mixing up our own syrups too. Great inspiration!
anna
all i can say is oooooooooo mmmmmmmm
Whitney @ The Newlywed Chefs
Yum. This is so perfect to dress up spring drinks. Thanks!
Tracy
1. I love your handwriting!
2. You are so creative and inspirational
3. Your honey chamomile syrup sounds divine!
Thanks Joy!!
Julia
Goodness! That sounds WONDERFUL!
Elaine K.
I really need to integrate more flavored syrups into my life. Tea in syrup is a revelation. Can’t wait to experiment! Thanks for the inspiration!
Jenn
I mean, yeah I should be making my own soda. Thanks for the idea.
-Jen (westiela.com)
Elizabeth
Your Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread is BEYOND hero status. I make it whenever I have someone to impress. It’s seriously the most incredible thing I’ve ever eaten!
Rocky Mountain Woman
that looks like the perfect thing to sip on the deck before going to bed!
Ashley @ Yeah. We Bake.
Hey joy,
can’t wait to give this a try!
xo,
Ashley
Anne
Do you think that agave could be substituted for the honey? I have a lot of it in my pantry!
dixya@food, pleasure, and health
what a simple concept for a delicious drink. BTW I cant tell you enough how amazing your podcast is..I had been missing all this time! Thanks to Tracy as well.
Monica P
I had to stop by as this drink just sounded too good to pass up!
Monica.
Bee @ deux dilettantes
Is that bad that the first thing I thought of was how to use this syrup in cocktails?
Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe
you’re just so dang clever. and i would totally throw you a parade for that bread. i mean, c’mon, it’s practically legendary!
BWL @ Better with Lemon
Nothing better than a homemade sparkling beverage when you’re thirsty. I bought the iSi soda siphon last summer and used it non-stop until the weather got too cold (I like sparkling drinks when it’s hot).
Holiday Baker Man
A perfectly yummy spring treat! Thanks!
Krissy @ Make it Naked
Is that for real your handwriting?! So pretty. I write like a kindergartner that just discovered a pencil for the first time. Love this idea. So creative.
FashionEdible
What a great idea!! I love chamomile and drink it often in hot teas (sometimes mixed with Green Tea). This hot summer day drink sounds perfect.
FashionEdible Blog
Jamie @ green beans & grapefruit
This looks fabulously refreshing! Sounds like a good place for gin to rest too ;)
erin @hooleywithaz
i’m loving all the sodas i’ve seen popping up lately…this one looks so refreshing, and i wouldn’t mind maybe adding some bourbon to it on a friday night!
Katy @ KatysKitchen
Yummy, I like the looks of this! Its nice to have something simple after spending hours in the kitchen working on a recipe like bread!
Brianna
This sounds so refreshing. What a perfect recipe to have on hand for guests. Can I offer you in some honey chamomile soda? Fancy… Thanks for posting this!
Sherry
Love this. I just made honey lemon syrup to keep for use in hot tea. Cold season you know. It is so handy. Definitely going to try this one!
Sahar
This is so great! I’ve been drinking Twinings Camomile Honey Tea pretty much every night and I love the idea of having this syrup on hand for cooler drinks. I must make it soon :)
Linda from NJ
This looks wonderful! I’m looking forward to making a batch. I appreciate that I can control how much syrup I want to use to make a glass of soda … nice! Thank you.
Tieghan
I want a glass now please!
Quinn Cooper
Wow! What an awesome easy recipe. I really want to try a syrup with earl grey and honey because I’m obsessed with it. Do you think those flavors would work? Thanks for the inspiration Joy!
Quinn Cooper Style
Shelly
I know some people who are getting this as a birthday present. Thanks for the idea.
Laura
All the things, you win all the things!!
Abby @The Frosted Vegan
Nailed it, fancy pants soda!
Not Only Sugar
Interesting soda…
Not Only Sugar
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
i love how simple this is! And totally delicious sounding!
Jayne
Oooh… I love doing these sorts of things. The other time I made a lemon-thyme syrup and had that with lime juice. Cinnamon and clove syrup is lovely too. Now I have this to try. Thumbs up!
leaf (the indolent cook)
This is such an interesting flavour for soda. I’d be up for it!
Lexi {Whisking It}
This looks so great! Beats a store bought cordial any day! so healthy and delicious sounding. Must definitely give it a try.
Douglas E. Welch
Thinking of making a self-carbonating version of this much in the same way I make my ginger beer.
With the honey as food, it should just take the addition of small amount of yeast to the drink and letting it set for about 25 hours. Typically I then put it into the fridge to stop the fermentation so the bottle doesn’t pop and the yeast settles out.
The amount of alcohol produces is minimal, but the carbonation is usually quite fizzy with very small bubbles. I find it very refreshing. I have also done sparkling fruit juice in the same way.
Anna K.
THAT is a great idea.
Vicky
oh wow, this sounds perfect for the first days of spring… I can’t wait to try it. Thank you for posting!! have a great day.
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Honey-made simple syrup, infused with chamomile, oh wow, what delicate and lovely flavors that I need…like right now a mug of tea sweetened with that would be wonderful! Tea with my tea, of sorts!
Caz
This is so simple and so refreshing. I’ve never liked chamomile tea much on it’s own but with honey it’s a whole different story. :)
Catherine
Sounds fabulous. I used to make chamomile tea with dried flowers, add lemon juice and comb it through my hair and sit out in the sun in summer in order to lighten my hair. Only much later did I drink chamomile tea, at night, to aid sleep. Did you know chamomile tea is a diuretic?