Tea Time.
Recently I tried to take up tea drinking. Ever since the great teatastophe of '97 I made the informed decision to henceforth swear off tea in all its guises. Iced tea. Green tea ice cream. Long Island iced tea. Matcha cake. It was just awful. I sipped a bit of my mom's green tea and made a funny face. I was traumatized.
Despite my tainted past with tea, over the years I have acquired a handsome collection of tea related things. Tea towels, tea cups, saucers, tea spoons, cream and sugar sets, cute napkins. It got me thinking, maybe I like tea after all.
I was going to give tea another chance. Maybe we could get reacquainted and become fast friends. I'm sure we just got off on the wrong foot. Perhaps it was high time for some high tea.
I had it in my head I was going to throw tea parties with all my civilized tiny hat wearing buddies. We were going to sit in my dining room all prim and proper with our ankles delicately crossed. We were going to sip fancy earl grey and chamomile out of dainty pink cups with our pinkies out. We were going to gossip and giggle and nibble on petit fours.
I mean what better place to show off my Royal Wedding worthy feather fascinator right?
Alas it was not meant to be. Tea and I just don't get along. I made the face again. It wasn't pretty.
There is one part of tea time I think we can all agree is the very best part. The treats. The tiny individual cakes, the gooey squares, the cute cookies, the powdery truffles, the glazed tarts. Because if you take away the tea isn't a tea party just a swanky buffet?
And none of that roast beef and shrimp crap. The good stuff. The end of the buffet we all save ourselves for. Let's all just admit it. You might have stuffed yourself with more than your money's worth, but you just can't refuse that spread of sugary bliss on top of everything. Even if it means that you don't feel physically capable of eating another bite for at least another week.
Here's my contribution to tea time. The best part. The star. The crowd pleaser. The treat. Cardamom Clementine Cookies. They're light and airy with the floral scent of cardamom and the subtle brightness of citrus. I'm guessing they'd go well with a steaming cup of chai tea, but I'm certainly no expert. You'll have to let me know!
Cardamom Clementine Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Source: My imagination.
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp clementine zest
1 tbsp clementine juice
2 eggs
2 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cardamom
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the clementine zest, juice and eggs then mix until they're just blended.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cardamom, baking powder and salt. Add it to the butter mixture and combine it well.
Separate the dough into 2 even balls and wrap one in plastic wrap to save it from drying out before you need it. On a floured surface, roll out the unwrapped dough ball. Using a medium round cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Dip the flat bottom of a glass in the reserved sugar then very lightly press the sugar into each cookie. A little tip to get the sugar to stick to the glass, first press the glass into the unused cookie dough. Bake them for about 7 - 10 minutes until the edges start to turn a light golden brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
January 26th, 2012 - 00:52
If I had to choose, I would have to say I’m more of a coffee than tea gal, BUT, I agree wholeheartedly that the treats (along with the pomp and circumstance) of tea time is utterly alluring. And fascinating. (I’ve always found the name “fascinator”, well, fascinating!
Your cookies would be absolutely perfect with a cup of tea!
January 26th, 2012 - 11:02
Here’s the trick to tea: sugar, sugar, sugar (or splenda — I prefer splenda).
January 26th, 2012 - 11:08
Sugar makes everything better, haha.
January 26th, 2012 - 11:22
These cookies sound so light and refreshing. I would think that they’re the perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of tea!
January 26th, 2012 - 11:49
Oh I love tea..and these cookies do appear to be a perfect compliment. So gorgeous and light in appearance.
January 26th, 2012 - 12:07
These look fantastic, yummy!
January 26th, 2012 - 13:25
I am a big fan of cardamon and glad to find a tasty cookie using this spice. Also like that you brought some citrus into the equation! Perfect for high tea in the afternoon. Thanks for sharing this one-yum!
January 26th, 2012 - 19:51
I like my tea black and with lots of sugar and a slice of lemon
and these cookies would be perfect with a cup! They look delicious! Thanks for sharing 
January 26th, 2012 - 23:49
Cardamom and clementine!! Such a lovely combination. I love cardamom, should try making this soon!
January 27th, 2012 - 04:04
What a perfect combination! Cardamom and clementine are so perfect for each other. These cookies must be delicious.
January 29th, 2012 - 07:15
Welcome back girl! I was just thinking about you the other day (saw a necklace on etsy that I had to share – its lost to the pinterest sea now). As always, your photography is perfect!
I am trying to become a tea fan – and not an iced and loaded with sugar type of fan either, got the part covered. Went and bought a bunch and was trying to make myself drink it around the house. Maybe its time to give that another go. ><
January 29th, 2012 - 10:43
Thanks Kita! Tea is one of those things I want to love, but can’t quite manage it. Kind of like mushrooms and lobster.
January 29th, 2012 - 14:10
Hi, I’m a new reader. Your cookies sound delicious! Just wanted to share a little advice on tea. I’m a coffee drinker myself, but I have a cup of tea around 3pm everyday at work. The best tea’s to drink are the loose leaf tea’s. I used to drink tea’s in filter bags, pyramid shaped bags, silk bags, you name it. Once I tried loose leaf, I never went back to bags. I usually order from Red Blossom Tea company. I usually get the Oolong Formosa’s—Jing Xuan, to be specific. Check it out. Read the description and you’ll know why I fell in love
Hope this converts you back to tea drinking again.
January 29th, 2012 - 18:47
Thanks Olivia! I’ll definitely look into that tea!
January 30th, 2012 - 07:59
Forget about high tea. That’s for fussy people. I’m more of a low tea guy, myself and maybe it’s due to my preference for the lowly orange pekoe. Ive tried some of the upper-crust teas like chai and chamomile, but they are quite incompatible to my palate. To me, chamomile tastes like the stuff you scrape off the bottom of your lawn mower. While I’ve never actually tasted that stuff, it’s not too hard to make that association. Next time you do a batch of cookies, sit down with a cup, no, a MUG of good ol’ western orange pekoe with an ample amount of whole milk and a teaspoon of honey. Smooth. No funny face, just a satisfying smile.
January 30th, 2012 - 11:36
I will try that! Thanks for the suggestion! I bought a box of lemon zinger tea and it really did taste like grass.
January 30th, 2012 - 09:58
These cookies sounds lovely.
February 2nd, 2012 - 05:12
Welcome back Lindsey! I sure missed reading you!
have you tried adding few drops of milk to your tea? OMG! I couldn’t believe how much better it makes the tea! No wonder the Royals drink the tea with milk!
February 2nd, 2012 - 10:57
Thanks Roxana! I’m so happy to be back.
I have tried adding some milk and I guess I’m just trying all the wrong teas because it really doesn’t help. I’m not giving up though!