It's tea time!

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Recipe makes about 30 cookies

Ingredients:

Dough:

1/3 cup non-dairy milk

1 chai tea bag

1 3/4 cups unbleached flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp fine sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 cup vegan butter

1 cup cane sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Coating:

1/4 cup cane sugar

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cloves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line two large baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper; set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the milk to a boil. (You can also do this in your microwave but microwaves freak me the hell out. Oh, and we don’t own one.) Pour the milk into a small bowl and steep the tea bag for 10 minutes. Once steeped, wring excess liquid from bag and set milk aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar; set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, 1/4 cup of the chai milk, and vanilla extract, using a hand mixer on high speed, until combined. The mixture may look lumpy or curdled, but once you add the flour it will smooth out. Add the flour mixture in halves, beating on medium speed after each addition and just until combined.

Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets and freeze for 15 minutes.

Prepare the coating in a small bowl by combining the sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. Remove baking sheets from the fridge and roll dough into round balls then into sugar mixture. Place them back on the baking sheet with at least 2 inches between each cookie. If you prefer thin snickerdoodles, gently press balls with the palm of your hand to just barely flatten the round tops.

Chai Tea Graham Crackers

Ingredients:

1/4 cup & two teaspoons loose-leaf masala chai tea (black tea blended with ginger, clove, cardamom, cinnamon)

2.5 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

7 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into small squares and frozen)

1/3 cup honey (wildflower adds a rich flavor)

5 tablespoons whole milk

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

Add 5 tablespoons of whole milk to a small saucepan. Heat on medium-high until steaming. Remove from heat. Add two teaspoons of loose-leaf masala chai tea to the infuser and steep in milk for 6 minutes. Remove infuser. Let cool to room temperature.

Whisk chai tea-infused milk, pure vanilla extract and honey in a small bowl. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of the dry loose-leaf masala chai tea leaves, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Mix with a handheld mixer or food processor. Add in pieces of chilled butter and stir/pulse to incorporate.

Pour in wet ingredients and mix until dough starts to come together. The dark brown dough should be soft and speckled with bits of black tea leaves and masala chai spices.

Sprinkle counter with flour and work the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cover in plastic and chill in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dust the counter and rolling pin with flour, and roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/8 of an inch thick (keep in mind that the dough will rise and you want to be able to bite through the s’more).

Cut out 8 to 10 4-inch by 4-inch squares of dough (wrap and chill scraps for a second small batch of tiny crackers for tea). Using a spatula, gently remove each dough square from the counter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pop the sheet into freezer for 10 minutes to quickly chill until firm.

Remove crackers from freezer and, using a toothpick, draw a line down the center of each cracker and prick a few dotted rows to create an authentic graham cracker appearance. (Note: Don’t break through the dough.) 

Bake for 20 minutes until firm and slightly brown (rotate sheet at 10 minutes for even baking). Let cool before assembling s’mores.

Oven-roasted Chai Tea S'mores

Assemble the S'mores:

Chai Tea Graham Crackers (see above)

Whimsy & Spice homemade cardamom marshmallows

2 large chocolate bars broken into 2-inch pieces (I recommend milk chocolate for a creamy finish, but dark works well, too)

powdered sugar (for topping)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place half of the graham crackers on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet (these will be the bottom half of your s’mores). Top each with 1 to 2 Cardamom Marshmallows (remember that they will expand when baked in the oven).

Place the sheet in the oven and bake for 4 minutes until the edges of the marshmallows have browned.

For many schools, midterms are right around the corner.  This means a lot of stress and late nights for many of us.  Here are the benefits of a few teas I've found helps me survive the week:

Black tea:  Great for those late nights because of the caffeine content in most black tea.  I recommend drinking a spicy tea over a chocolatey or smooth flavour as this will invigorate your taste buds and help keep your mind awake while you're cramming for that test.

Green tea:  This is great for early morning to wake you up.  The low caffeine content will give you the kick you need to get to class, but the antioxidants will help you avoid illness while your body is stressed and running on little sleep.  I recommend adding lemon and honey for this.

Herbal tea:  These are great when you're ready to sleep because of the lack of caffeine.  I recommend chamomile because it's easy on your stomach.  Catnip or peppermint tea is also good, but it may cause upset stomach or acid reflex in some, so be wary.  Adding honey to these teas is also a good idea.

Blooming tea:  I don't have any specifics on the health benefits, because these teas can vary with what they contain.  But I find that their appearance is relaxing during a study session.