Hi there!
Welcome to September -- which is my FAVORITE month of the year. 🙌🏼
For one, my birthday is this month, and two, it's just that time of year where you get to decide whether to keep summer going a little longer or jump head first into autumn!
If there's a perfect month, it's most likely September.
This month, I'm sharing my Vanilla Chai Tea Cookie recipe! It is actually VERY similar to one of the recipes that I am including in the { Tea Party Box } this season. I can't give you that exact recipe though #sorrynotsorry. 😉
Vanilla Chai Tea Cookies
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup unsalted butter { room temperature }
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg { room temperature }
The zest of 1 large lemon
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger root
1/2 a vanilla bean, scraped
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of each: freshly grated nutmeg, ground cinnamon,
1/8 teaspoon of each: ground black pepper & ground cloves
A couple pinches of sea salt
1/4 cup buttermilk
1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and shortening until smooth. Add in the sugar and egg until well combined.
2. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk.
3. Once a dough is formed, turn it onto a smooth surface and knead until it is soft, and shape it into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap.
4. Refrigerate for 1 hour { or freeze for 30 mins! } and while the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator or freezer and knead it to soften.
7. Roll the dough between parchment paper -- do NOT add extra flour unless you'd like dry and crumbly cookies!
8. Using a small circle cookie cutter { I use a 2in. cutter } cut out the tea cookies and place them on the baking sheet just a couple inches apart.
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottoms of the tea cookies are a very light golden
Then remove the tea cookies from the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack.
I like to serve these cookies warm and with a strong black loose leaf tea with a hefty dose of cream or milk. If you'd like, as soon as they come out of the oven you can grate just a touch of nutmeg and a sprinkle of sugar overtop of each cookie for more autumn flavor.
If you're looking for some chai tea to pair with these vanilla chai tea cookies, 10/10 would recommend Chad's Chai from NC. Their teas are made with care and intention, hand-crafted in Winston-Salem! So if you're feeling fancy, definitely drink a cup of Original Chai or any strong black tea of theirs with your cookies.
If you tried my recipe, let me know your thoughts in the comments below! ♥️
Tea ya later,