Tea on Tuesday

Teatime Treats was the title of a full page Red Rose Tea ad in this month's Yankee magazine.

It spoke of matching the right cookie or treat with the kind of tea in your cup. Kind of like- what wine goes with what food!!!

According to Red Rose, their black tea is very strong, so to pair it with a bland biscuit, would be doing the tea a disservice. Red Rose recommends a sweet cookie, like the recipe below: Maple Brown Butter Cookies. They also recommend currant scones with raspberry jam, if you are having English Breakfast tea, and a sweet honey cake with a hot cup of Earl Grey. Food for thought, so to speak.....!!!

Red Rose Tea's Maple Brown Butter Cookies:

1/4 C unsalted butter
2 1/4 C flour
1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon
1/4 tspn ground ginger
1/4 tspn baking soda
1/4 tspn salt
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 C + 2 tspns maple syrup
2 large egg whites, divided into separate bowls
1 tablespoon water
1/3 C finely chopped almonds, walnuts, or pecans
2 tablespoons sugar

In small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until milk solids separate and sink, and butter becomes deep amber in color. Transfer to bowl to cool to room temp, then refrigerate.

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt.

With standing mixer, combine sugar and butter, and beat about 2 min. Add maple syrup and 1 egg white. On low speed, add flour mixture just until blended. Divide dough in half, cover in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 3 days (or freeze up to 2 months).
Heat oven to 350 degrees.

On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Using a decorative cutter, cut out the cookies and place on parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. Beat remaining egg white with with water. Brush tops of cookies with egg mixture. Sprinkle with nuts and sugar.

Bake 10-12 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire racks.


For some news on the artsy front:

The DC Big Flea was this past weekend - and Jean went (and again, I didn't!!!). She has a favorite booth - and you have to see the pin cushions these gals make!!!! Check her post to see the ones she got and there is a link to the website for these little treasures!! I LOVE the Velveteen Rabbit one!!! Very clever idea with the carrot!!!

These gave me some ideas for some new ones of my own!!! As I sit here warming my hands around my mug, and sipping on my home grown sage tea, I am sketching out some new ideas..............