Berry Tea Cookies

These wonderful berry tea cookies are flavored with jam and spices. Serve them with your favorite tea or coffee.

Growing up in Canada, we always had a wide selection of tea in our pantry. Earl Grey, Orange Pekoe, Darjeeling...the list goes on and on. Tea time was a ritual, from pre-heating the teapot to adding sugar and milk until the tea was just so. I remember the first time I was allowed to have my own cup of tea. I was about 10 years old and we actually have a Polaroid of the event. Ah, Polaroids. I think I might be dating myself a little. Do you remember the excitement of seeing that black square slide out of the camera? We would fan it wildly in the air or stick it under our armpits to encourage the picture to develop faster. Anyways, I am grinning from ear-to-ear in that picture, tea in hand. I believe my pinkie may have even been jauntily sticking out to the side.

Part of the tea time ritual included a little cookie or chocolate. To this day, my mum will not indulge in something sweet unless she has a cup of tea by her side. These little lovelies reminded me of many cups of tea I shared with my mum. Next time I am at my parents' house for a visit, I'll be sure to whip up a batch of these little cookies so that we can enjoy them together. I think she'll like them, too.

This recipe comes straight from the pages of Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking: From my home to yours. I can't say enough about this book. Everything I've tried has been amazing! The cookies take on the flavor of jam that you choose, so make sure the jam is of good quality. I used some Montana huckleberry jam that we had in the fridge and the flavor was perfect for our taste buds.

How to make tea cookies:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Be sure that the racks are positioned so that the oven is divided in thirds. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment or silicone mats. I have yet to use silicone mats. I can't make myself pay the price when parchment paper works so well. Not very environmentally friendly of me, is it?

In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour...

1 teaspoon baking powder...

½ teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon salt.

Whisk together and set aside.

For the next steps, you can either use a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer. Whatever works for you. Put 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter into the bowl. The butter should be room temperature or else your frustration level will rise very quickly. Nothing that a cup of tea can't fix.

Beat the butter on medium speed until it is creamy.

Add ⅔ cup sugar and beat for an additional minute, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Add 1 egg and beat for 2 minutes. The mixture will be silky and smooth.

Add 2 tablespoon of milk and ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract.

Beat briefly, just enough to combine the ingredients.

Now, don't panic, don't check the expiration date on your milk. The mixture will look curdled. All is well. (Thank you, Dorie, for mentioning this in your book!)

Add ¼ cup of the jam of your choice and beat on low for about 1 minute.

Isn't that pretty? And it smelled so good!

Add the flour mixture a little bit at a time, mixing on low, until the ingredients are just combined.

Scoop out rounded teaspoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. That's right - teaspoons, not tablespoons. These are supposed to be dainty and almost bite-sized. You can't see the Queen chowing down on a cookie the size of her hand, can you?

Bake the cookie for 10-12 minutes, switching the positions of the pans and turning them from back to front halfway through baking. The cookies will be done when the bottom edges are just starting to turn brown and the cookies are slightly firm when you touch them. The tops of the cookies will still be fairly pale.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 1-2 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Serve when cool. Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

Tea steeping, pinkie in position...and a sigh of relaxation.

Berry Tea Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅔ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoon milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup jam (whatever flavor strikes your fancy)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Be sure that the racks are positioned so that the oven is divided in thirds. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment or silicone mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and salt. Set aside.

For the next steps, you can either use a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer. Put the butter into the bowl. Beat the butter on medium speed until it is creamy. Add the sugar and beat for an additional minute, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the egg and beat for 2 minutes. The mixture will be silky and smooth. Add the milk and vanilla extract. Beat briefly, just enough to combine the ingredients. The mixture may look curdled. Add the jam and beat on low for about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture a little bit at a time, mixing on low, until the ingredients are just combined.

Scoop out rounded teaspoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookie for 10-12 minutes, switching the positions of the pans and turning them from back to front halfway through baking. The cookies will be done when the bottom edges are just starting to turn brown and the cookies are slightly firm when you touch them. The tops of the cookies will still be fairly pale.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 1-2 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Serve when cool. Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

Makes 45-50 cookies.

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