Green Tea Halloween Sugar Cookies

If you liked the Green tea cake, I've got another spooky recipe for you.  You can bake round cookies, but if you use special halloween cookie cutters you really get some great shapes.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp matcha
1/2 tsp non-aluminum baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
2-3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions: 
In large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well blended.
In a separate bowl combine flour, matcha, baking powder and salt; then, with mixer at low speed, beat into butter mixture to blend well. If mixture is a little dry, add 2-3 tablespoons milk until it comes together. Form dough into two balls. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least an hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Sprinkle unbaked cookies with a little granulated sugar.
Place about 1–1/2 inches apart on ungreased, parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake 10–12 minutes. Cool on wire rack and store in an airtight container.

Green Tea Cake

It's almost Halloween so what better than to serve a yummy GREEN cake :-)

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 3/4 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar
3/4 c butter
2 T green tea powder (Macha gives the best results - do NOT buy Sencha or you will not end up with a green cake)
1 T chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Put butter in a bowl and stir until soft.
Add sugar, mix well.
Add eggs.
Sift flour and green tea powder together, add to mix, add chips if you want.
Place baking wax paper into medium loaf pan (I grease 3-4 mini loaf pans and make individual cakes instead).
Bake at 360 degrees (182 celsius) for 35 minutes.

oatmeal chocolate chip honeybush cookies

I don't know why but come October and I seem to yearn for oatmeal cookies. These cookies are soft and full of oats and chocolate chips with the presence of honeybush tea to bring the other flavors together. I always tend to keep a few but since they are wonderful warm while the chocolate chips are still melty we never leave them to eat cooled as a snack.

Ingredients:
1 cup walnut butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup double strength honeybush tea, completely cooled
2 and 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1 tsp crushed honeybush tea leaves
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 and 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat over to 375 degrees.

In a bowl combine the oats, flour, tea leaves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl beat walnut butter, brown sugar, and vanilla together.
Beat in the egg and the tea. Make sure the mixture is well beaten.

Add chocolate chips and part of the dry ingredients. Begin mixing again, add the rest of the dry ingredients a little bit at a time, just until combined.

Drop small rounded spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Press the dough to about 1/2 inch.

Bake at 375 for about 10 to 12 minutes.
Do not over bake these cookies.

When done cool on wire rack, and enjoy.

Store in an airtight contairer, but they are best the day they are made.

Earl Grey tea

Any Star Trek fan knows that Captain Picard drinks Earl Grey tea (hot!). Well, lots of other people drink Earl Grey too. It's one of the most popular and best known kinds of tea in the Western world.

First of all, Earl Grey tea was indeed named after the second Earl Charles Grey of Britain back in the 1830s. Though proof is scarce, he is traditionally credited with the creation of this blended tea. Charles Grey was prime minister from 1830-1834, during which time the act was passed to abolish slavery in the British Empire. Seems like quite an accomplishment, yet most people know him for his wonderful tea instead.

Contrary to popular belief, Earl Grey is not a kind of tea at all. It's actually plain black tea, infused with the citrus flavour of bergamot (similar to orange blossoms). This gives a bright, tart and refreshing tea that is unlike other black teas.

While the term 'orange pekoe' is all about the quality and grade of a tea, Earl Grey tea is not necessarily a high quality tea. Since the taste of bergamot is quite strong, it is often used to mask the lack of flavour from poor quality black tea. When shopping for Earl Grey, make sure to double-check the grade of the tea before making your choice.

Earl Grey tea is a favorite in Britain and in North America, and you can be sure to find it on the menu at any tea room, or in any supermarket.

Savory Tea Scones

Submitted by: Ann Weekley

This is a healthy recipe as olive oil substitutes for the usual butter, oatmeal gives a rustic texture and Pu Erh adds a subtle but earthy flavor.

Ingredients:
Dry ingredients:
One cup quick oats
Two tablespoons of honey
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 heaping tablespoon of Pu Erh tea

To this add:
2 eggs
10 tablespoons of olive oil
2/3 cup buttermilk.

Directions:
In a 400 degree oven toast oats for 8-10 minutes. Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. To the dry ingredients add the eggs, oil and buttermilk. Stir just till ingredients are moistened. Let stand for five minutes.
Pat the dough into two six inch rounds, cut each round into six wedges. Brush the top with a little olive oil. Bake for 16-18 minutes in the 400 degree oven.

Oatmeal tea Muffins

Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk
3 honey-orange teabags
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 cup raisins

Directions:

In a small saucepan, heat milk just to the simmer. Off heat, add the teabags, submerging them completely. Set mixture aside to cool. When cool, remove teabags, squeezing them to remove liquid.
Adjust rack to lower third of oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour 12 muffin cups.

In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the oats and brown sugar. In a small bowl, combine the steeped tea milk, oil, and eggs. With a rubber spatula, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid mixture. Stir the ingredients together just to moisten and combine. Do not overmix or the muffins will be tough and coarse in texture. Spoon thick batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each one 3/4 full. Bake 20 minutes or until muffin springs back when lightly pressed in center. Cool on wire rack for about 5 minutes before carefully removing from pan. Serve warm, if desired.

Blueberry Tea Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
3 orange-spice teabags
2 cups sifted flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh blueberries, room temperature

Directions:

In a small saucepan, heat milk just to the simmer. Off heat, add the teabags, submerging them completely. Set mixture aside to cool. When cool, remove teabags, squeezing them to remove liquid.

Adjust rack to lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch square cake pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, cream the shortening and the sugar to blend thoroughly. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the flour mixture alternately with the steeped tea-flavored milk mixture in three or four additions.

Fold in blueberries and spoon batter into pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed in center. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes before inverting.

Pumpkin/Chocolate Chip Tea Cookies

Since it's pumpkin season I'd like to share this yummy recipe for Tea Cookies

Submitted by: Ann Allison

Adding Irish Breakfast Tea does not alter the taste much but certainly helps to make a much more moist cookie which is an excellent choice to accompany a nice hot cup of Irish Breakfast Tea.

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1/4 cup
steeped, warm Irish Breakfast Tea
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Mix all except the last two ingredients which are added last. Drop by teaspoonsful on parchement lined cookie sheets. Bake in pre-heated 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes about 4 dozen soft cookies.
They freeze very well.

The traditional British Afternoon Tea can still be enjoyed in the elegant and grand surroundings of the country's finest hotels and restaurants. This site will help you to find the perfect Afternoon Tea location and provide all the information you need to make your visit as comfortable as possible - what time is tea served, what should I wear, how much will it cost?

http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/