Cookie Lynn

I was recently contacted by Naomi of Joy’s Teaspoon about creating a few recipes using their tea and spices, and I am happy to announce the the first is here just in time for some last-minute holiday baking.

I made these gingerbread biscotti using Organic Madagascar Cinnamon and Organic Ginger Powder. They were paired with a fantastic English Breakfast blend, which was just a bit spicier than I’m used to. To add a bit more sweetness to the mix, I included a cranberry/white chocolate variation.

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped (optional)
1/4 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350* and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Cream together butter, sugar, and molasses until light and fluffy.
Add egg and vanilla, mix until fully incorporated.
In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and spices.
Add dry ingredients to wet mixture, a little at a time, until combined.

At this point, I took out half the dough, and gently mixed in the cranberries to the remaining half. (You can skip this step, or make the entire batch with cranberries, using about 1/2 cup.)

Make two logs, about ½ inch thick and four inches wide. Bake at 350* for about 15-18 minutes, or until slightly golden on the edges.

Allow to cool, then cut on the diagonal, creating roughly 1/2 inch slices. Turn the slices on their sides, and bake for another 15 – 18 minutes, until crisp.

If using the white chocolate, melt in the microwave or over a double-boiler, and using a pastry bag or parchment cone, pipe a thick line onto one side of the biscotti.

Makes about 2 dozen biscotti.

I’d like to introduce something I hope to be a regular occurrence here at CookieLynn.com… Tea Time!

I’ve developed quite the taste for tea in recent months, and want to share some of my favorites with you, alongside some tea time treats. For my inaugural post, I’ve chosen Assam Harmony from Adagio Teas and butterscotch scones.

Assam Harmony is a black tea from the Assam region of India. I first discovered Assam teas through Adagio’s black tea sampler pack, and they are by far my favorite variety. This one is especially good, though a bit pricier than it’s cohort, Assam Melody. I thought the full-bodied, malty flavor of the tea would pair well with the richness of the butterscotch in these scones.

Butterscotch Scones
Makes 12 scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in butter, with a pastry blender or by hand, until the mixture resembles a coarse cornmeal.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat together the heavy cream and egg.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry, and mix until just combined.
Add butterscotch chips, and mix until they are evenly distributed.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, divide in half, and flatten each half into a disk. Cut each disk into six even wedges.
Transfer to a parchment lined baking pan, and bake 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

As a side note, I know that there have been very few recipes on this blog. For the most part, I’ve been using recipes found in cookbooks and online, and as a general rule, I don’t post other people’s work without permission. Ever. That being said, as I start adapting basic recipes from my pastry classes, scaling them down to usable quantities, converting the measurements from weight to volume, and choosing my own additions and flavors, I feel comfortable calling them my own, and hope to bring you plenty more in the future.