Candied lemon slices are made by gently cooking thin Meyer or regular lemon slices in honey until they become glossy and sweet. The result is a chewy sweet-tart treat that's ready in under 15 minutes with no refined sugar.
Instead of simmering lemons in sugar and water, the honey does all the work in just a fraction of time. It gently caramelizes, thickens, and coats each slice in a rich, golden glaze.
They look like little stained glass windows and are just as fun to eat as they are to decorate with. The result is a candy lemon slice that's perfect for garnishing cakes, adding to tea, or snacking straight from the freezer.
Jump to:
- Why Use Honey Instead of Sugar?
- How to Make Honey Candied Lemon Slices (2 Ingredients)
- Freezing for the Best Texture
- How Heat Affects Honey: The Science
- How To Use This Recipe for Lemon Slices
- Don't Skip the Honey Glaze!
- Recipe Tips
- How to Store?
- Meyer vs Regular Lemons (Which Should You Use?)
- More Lemony Treats
- Honey Candied Lemon Slices (Meyer or Regular Lemons)
- Recipe Tips
- Storage:
Why Use Honey Instead of Sugar?
Texture
Honey candied lemon slices are flexible, soft, chewy, lightly sticky, smooth and have a texture closer to a bright citrus taffy instead of the dry, crunchy kind. They flexible enough to bed and shape, making them perfect for crimping into a 3D flower shape for a cake or cutting one edge to hang off a cocktail glass. Try that with a traditional candied lemon made with granulated sugar!
Flavor
The flavor is deeper, slightly floral, and less sharp than traditional candied lemons. It has an added dimension of flavor due to the gentle caramelization of the honey.
How to Make Honey Candied Lemon Slices (2 Ingredients)
- Slice lemons thin (about ⅛ inch) and remove seeds
- Add directly to a pan with honey
- Heat over low to medium heat
- Honey will loosen and then begin to bubble
- After a few minutes, it thickens and deepens in color
- Flip slices occassional until coated, glossy and honey reduces by half
- Place lemon slices on greased parchment paper lined dish
- Spoon remaining honey sauce from the pan, onto the lemons to fill any gaps
- Freeze until ready to use
In about 10 minutes, you will have thick, sticky, lemon candy.
Freezing for the Best Texture
Once cooled, these are already chewy. But, what about after they freeze?
They transform!
- Firm, but not hard
- Flexible, not brittle
- No crystal sugars
Freezing prevents crystallization, so insteady of turning grainy, they stay smooth and candy like. If you plan on eating them straight out of the freezer as a snack, just let them set for a minute or two for a citrus taffy experience.
How Heat Affects Honey: The Science
Honey isn't just a swap. It completely changes the result.
Ok, let's get a little science nerdy for a moment. Honey is mostly sugars (fructose and glucose). When gently heated, the water content evaporates , and the sugars begin to concentrate and caramelize. Yes, and that is where you get that delicious flavor!
Honey Responds to Heat by:
- loosening and becoming pourable
- then gently caramelizes
- thickens and reduces into a rich syrup
As the honey cools, it firms up into a chewy caramel like natural candy coating without needing sugar and water.
How To Use This Recipe for Lemon Slices
- Garnish cookie cakes, cupcakes and any dessert
- Add to cocktails or mocktails
- Stir into hot tea
- Top yogurt, oatmeal, or even top off your pancakes
- Chop and fold into baked goods
- or eat straight from the freezer (highly recommended!)
Don't Skip the Honey Glaze!
That golden syrup left in the pan is pure liquid gold. Don't waste it!
It's a thick, citrus-infused honey glaze that's incredible:
- drizzled over tarts
- stirred into a homemade cough syrup, if you are not feeling well.
- spooned over fruit or mousse desserts.
Recipe Tips
- Cook the lemons and honey on the stovetop over low-medium heat. If the heat is too high, the honey will overbrown before the lemons had to chance to cook down. Keep the heat moderate and not too hot because honey can scorch quickly.
- It takes between 7 to 10 minutes for the lemon pith (the white part next to the rind) to turn from white to lightly translucent while cooking. This step removes the bitter taste from the lemon.
- Rinse and soak your pan and all utensils used to make these candied Meyer or regular lemons straight away. When you cook honey, you make taffy candy and it sticks to everything. You can thank us later!
How to Store?
- Store in an airtight container in the freezer lined with greased parchment paper for up to 2 months.
- Keeps texture smooth and prevents crystallizing or melting in warmer temperatures.
- Grab what you need. There is no need to thaw fully.
Meyer vs Regular Lemons (Which Should You Use?)
We tested this recipe with both Meyer lemons and regular lemons. The lemon on the left is a regular lemon and the one on the right is a Meyer lemon.
Meyer lemons are naturally sweeter with a suble floral, almost mandarin flavor. They are more orange in hue compared to a standard lemon. Meyer lemons are usually only in season from December through May.
Regular Lemons bring that bold, puckery contrast that makes the sweet honey pop. You can find regular lemons all year around, making these an easy choice.
Honestly, both are equally irresistable depending on your mood. If you love that sweet meets sour candy vibe, both candied Meyer and regular lemons are dangerously addictive.
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More Lemony Treats
Honey Candied Lemon Slices (Meyer or Regular Lemons)
Equipment
- parchment paper to prevent sticking
- spray oil to prevent sticking
Ingredients
- 1 Lemon (Meyer or Regular lemons) sliced thinly about ⅛ inch.
- ⅓ cup Honey (we used raw honey but use whatever you prefer)
Instructions
- Slice lemons into symmetrical ⅛ inch slices and remove any seeds.
- Over low-medium heat, add ⅓ cup honey to a large frying pan. Add slices of Meyer lemons or regular lemons and cook until the honey mixture is warm and bubbly. Turn the lemon slices over a few times during the cooking process.
- The Honey Candied Lemon Slices are done when the peel is tender, and the honey glaze mixture has reduced to ½. The glaze will become golden and thick. Cook time is from 7 to 10 minutes.
- Cool and dry your Honey Candied Meyer Lemon slices on a greased parchment paper lined plate or baking tray. Spoon the remaining golden honey sauce from the pan over the lemon slices to cover any gaps or holes in the slices before it gets hard.
- Finish the drying process in the freezer. Line a freezer safe container with greased parchment paper to prevent sticking and place the candied lemon slices on top. Freeze until you are ready to use. The texture will remain chewy like toffee with delicious sweet and tart flavor, even straight out of the freezer.
- Optional: (DO NOT THROW AWAY the leftover honey glaze because it is liquid gold! Delicious in tea, cocktails, drizzled over desserts and more.)
- Then, immediately rinse off your pan and all of your utensils you used during the cooking process. Don't wait! Remember, you are making candy so that cooked honey will harden on your surfaces making it difficult to clean later. At least get them soaking. You can thank us later. Enjoy!
- Enjoy decorating cakes, cupcakes, desserts, cocktails and more with these beautiful Meyer or regular honey candied lemon slices.
Video
Notes
Recipe Tips
- Cook the lemons and honey on the stovetop over low-medium heat. If the heat is too high, the honey will overbrown before the lemons had to chance to cook down. Keep the heat moderate and not too hot because honey can scorch quickly.
- It takes between 7 to 10 minutes for the lemon pith (the white part next to the rind) to turn from white to lightly translucent while cooking. This step removes the bitter taste from the lemon.
Storage:
- The candied lemons will stay chewy even when dried or frozen
- Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Heidi says
Your lovely candied lemon slices are the prettiest way to dress up my baked goodies! The fresh and tart flavors go so well with all my favorite spring desserts. Plus, with just 2 ingredients and 5 minutes prep... you've made them so crazy easy to prepare!!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Heidi! These candied lemon slices are an easy way to spruce up all your desserts, not to mention eating them straight out of the freezer as a sweet-tart treat!
Hannah Kaminsky says
I made candied lemons with some of my first Meyer lemon harvest, too! You beat me to posting though. It's a good reminder that I need to share, ASAP!
HWC Magazine says
Great minds think alike! Candied lemon slices are such a gorgeous addition to many spring time desserts and beverages. I can't wait to see your post. Take Care
Suwanee says
Love this! I'm always buying my lemon/lime/orange dried wheels from the store to garnish my cocktails. I'm so happy you have the homemade version and it's with honey! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you! The weekend is coming soon! Perfect for a cocktail with honey candied lemon slices.
d says
can i use maple syrup as a vegan alternative instead? i really don't want to use sugar.
HWC Magazine says
Unfortunately, maple syrup does not have same consistency as honey and will be too liquid for this recipe. Hope you can give our other vegan recipes a try instead... https://www.hwcmagazine.com/recipe-category/dietary-restrictions/vegan/ Take care and stay well.
Tamara Andersen says
These are gorgeous Bobbi! I can totally see these lovely slices on a lemon sorbet. I appreciated the information on the sugar vs. honey... I happen to have a clamshell of meyer lemons on my counter. Yay!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Tamara. These little lemon slices are really addictive. Totally jealous. Sure wish we had some Meyer lemons but we do have regular lemons so might have to make another batch.