If you missed them earlier, here's a repeat on the November specials - it's not too late to take advantage of them by ordering on line, at a party or by hosting a party yourself! And there is a special on for new consultants, so why not sign up now and start earning some extra ca$h in time for Christmas.
These specials are perfect as we head into a season of entertainment and gift giving!
Green Tea Spritz Cookies makes nearly 5 dozen cookies with a cookie press
1 Tbsp matcha (green tea) powder
1 Tbsp hot water
1 1/3 - 1 1/2 C all purpose
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter at room temperature (1 stick/4 oz.)
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Dissolve the matcha powder in hot water and set aside to cool.
In a bowl, whisk 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour with the baking powder and salt. Set aside the remaining flour to add as needed to the dough later.
Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add the sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract, almond extract, and dissolved matcha. Beat until evenly mixed and fluffy.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt mixture to the ingredients in the mixer bowl and mix until the flour is just incorporated. The dough should look shaggy and somewhat fluffy. If it is too wet, add a little more flour.
Load the dough into the cookie press barrel and press the dough onto a cold, ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 - 12 minutes or until the cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges. Rotate the cookie sheet 180 degrees halfway through baking. After removing the cookies from the oven, run a spatula under all of the cookies to separate them from the cookie sheet. Cool the cookies on the sheet.
Cool and rinse off the cookie sheet before each batch.
Just came across this tasty sounding recipe on goodthingscatered.blogspot.com
The blogger writes: A little sweet, a little bitter, a little spicy. These biscotti are the perfect end to a heavy filling fall meal. Pairs perfectly with coffee or just dipped in chocolate.
Hmmm... Seems to me that biscotti are delicious dipped in tea, too!
What chai will you use for this recipe? Leapin Lizards? Christmas Chai? Masala Chai (rooibos)?
Chocolate Chai Biscotti Ingredients:
2 ½ c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1 ½ Tbsp cocoa powder
1 Tbsp loose Chai tea
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsp allspice
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp Cointreau
1 tsp orange zest
3 large eggs
Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In medium bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour through allspice).
-In bowl of mixer, add the oil, Cointreau, zest, and eggs; and beat to combine.
-Add the flour mixture, stirring until well-blended (the dough will be dry and crumbly).
-Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly until combined (about 9 times)
-Divide the dough in half.
-Shape each portion into an 8-inch-long roll. Place rolls 6 inches apart on a prepared baking sheet.
-Flatten each roll to 1-inch thickness.
-Bake for 30 minutes.
-Remove the loaves from baking sheet; cool for 10 min on a wire rack.
-Cut each roll diagonally into 15 (1/2-inch) slices.
-Place the slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet.
-Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake 10 min.
-Turn cookies over; bake an additional 10 min (the cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool).
-Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack.
Christmas is shortbread season it would seem. How about a twist on your shortbread recipe this season?
| Green Tea Shortbread Cookies #1 |
|
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons powdered green tea (matcha)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Sift the flour, the tea, and the salt into a bowl. In another bowl, beat the butter until fluffy (I did this in my Kitchen Aid mixer), about 3-5 minutes. Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, another 2 minutes or so. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until the dough just comes together (in other words, don't over beat).
2. Place the dough onto a Silpat or piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle with flour and roll until it's 1/4" thick. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes (I rolled my dough out on a Silpat then slid the Silpat onto a cookie sheet before placing in the fridge).
3. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or Silpats. Cut the dough into various shapes--Martha used leaf cutters, and I used stars--and transfer to the baking sheets. Gather the leftover dough and reroll (and rechill if necessary) and cut. Bake each sheet about 15-20 minutes or until the cookies are firm and just starting to color. Rotate each sheet halfway through for more even baking. Remove cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 weeks. |
Green Tea Shortbread Cookies #2
Ingredients
Yield: Approx 25
3/4 cup (2.25 oz) Confectioners sugar
5 oz Unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 3/4 cup (8.5 oz) All-purpose flour
3 Large egg yolks
1.5 TBS Matcha (powdered green tea)
1 cup Granulated sugar (for coating)
Directions
Why not bake up a batch of both and decide which is your favourite?
Do you like a little something to nibble when you are sipping tea?
Steeped Tea offers wonderful, sophisticated cookies to savour with your coffee or tea. Save these for your “me-time”. These are not for sending in the kids’ lunches!
Specially prepared for Steeped, these cookies feature wholesome ingredients like fresh creamery butter, whole eggs, fresh ginger root and are hand-baked.
Maple Pecan Cookies
Firstly, I am always a little tentative about trying cookies with nuts in them because there have been instances where I’ve ended up with a mouthful of rancid nut, particularly walnut, that I’ve then had to either swallow or delicately discard… Awkward either way.
When I smelled these cookies, I could detect immediately the aromas of sweet maple and nutty toasted pecan with absolutely no hint of rancidity.
The crisp cookie was delightfully sweet and oozing maple flavour. Topped with a maple glaze as well, I enjoy this sweet cookie the most with black coffee. A friend of mine, whose palate is accustomed to more sweets than mine adored these cookies the most.
Chocolate Pecan Cookies
I smelled these cookies before tasting and immediately noticed the butter aroma, followed by the toasted pecans.
The first bite of this cookie will fill your mouth with buttery smoothness. Some shortbread cookies can be a bit granular, but this one is not – just sweet smoothness. The pecans and milk chocolate chips complement each other in creating a very delicious grown up chocolate chip cookie! Great with coffee or tea.
Pepper Ginger Cookie
The ingredients of these cookies are reminiscent of an old-fashioned European cookie: molasses, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon and pepper. But sprinkled with crystallized sugar, these look very sophisticated, rather than rustic.
The aroma is of butter and ginger.
The crystallized sugar adds some additional crunch to these cookies. The smooth butteriness mingles with the sharp ginger to create a taste that accompanies both coffee and tea nicely. This one is my personal favourite, but I wouldn’t turn down any of them if offered!
