Joy to the world… Bigelow Tea is celebrating National Cookie Day tomorrow! With the holiday preparations in full swing, now is the perfect time to bake a batch of your favorite cookies to share with friends, the entire dorm, family, or coworkers. Don’t forget to brew a refreshing mug of Bigelow Tea’s new Peppermint Bark tea to pair with these sweet treats. Here are a few favorite holiday recipes for Cookie Day. Happy baking!
Lemon Lift Glazed Butter Cookies
(Pictured at top)
Ingredients
- ⅔ cups confectioners sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 Bigelow Lemon Lift® Tea Bag
Instructions
Beat together the sugar and butter until smooth and creamy. Stir in flour and salt, blending until dough is formed. Divide dough in half; shape into disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350° F. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to ¼”” thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters, re-rolling scraps for additional cookies. Place cookie shapes on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 12-15 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool. Drizzle with Lemon Lift® Glaze.
*Lemon Lift® Glaze: Pour 2 tablespoons boiling water over 1 Bigelow Lemon Lift® tea bag in a small bowl. Let steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bag, squeezing out liquid. Gradually stir in 1 to 1 ½ cups confectioners sugar until mixture is a glaze consistency, adding a few drops yellow food coloring, if desired.
Vanilla Drop Cookies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (60mL) whipping cream
- 6 Bigelow® French Vanilla Tea Bags
- ½ cup (125mL) butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon (5mL) vanilla
- 1 cup (250mL) sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cup (375mL) flour, sifted
- ½ teaspoon (2.5mL) salt
- 1 teaspoon (5mL) baking powder
Instructions
Heat cream in microwave for 1 minute or until it comes to a low boil. Remove from microwave and add tea bags. Let steep for 5 minutes. Squeeze bags of excess cream and set aside. Cream butter with vanilla and sugar until light and creamy. Add egg and beat until incorporated. Sift flour, salt and baking powder. Add flour mixture and cream alternately. Mix well between additions. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease cookie sheet. Drop cookies, using a teaspoon, onto greased cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet.
Pumpkin Spice Meringue Cookies with Pecans
Ingredients
- ¼ cup hot water
- 2 Bigelow® Pumpkin Spice Tea Bags*
- Egg whites from 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- ½ cup superfine sugar
- ¼ cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
- Parchment paper
*Variations:
Mint Medley Meringues: Substitute Mint Medley Herbal Tea for the Pumpkin Spice, and substitute crushed peppermint candies (or candy canes) for the pecans.
Ginger Spice Meringues: Substitute Ginger Snappish Herbal Tea for the Pumpkin Spice, and finely chopped crystallized ginger for the pecans.
Instructions
In a measuring cup, steep tea bags in hot water for 5 minutes. Thoroughly squeeze tea bags into cup before discarding. Allow tea to cool. Preheat oven to 275º and place rack on middle setting. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat egg whites on medium-high speed with an electric mixer, until soft peaks form (about 2 minutes). Add the cream of tartar, then the sugar, a little at a time, and raise the speed of the mixer to high. Add 1 teaspoon of the prepared tea and continue to beat on high until stiff peaks form (about 5 minutes). The mixture should be very voluminous and look like fluffy whipped cream. Don’t over-beat…the mixture should look glossy, not dry. Using a 2 oz. ice cream scoop (or 2 spoons), place rounded mounds of meringue (about 2 tablespoons per cookie) onto prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Bake for 45 minutes, until firm to the touch. Turn off oven and allow the cookies to slowly cool as the oven cools (at least another hour). They will be crisp on the outside, with a slightly soft center. When they are finished, they will release from the parchment very easily. Cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container on the counter-top. Note: Superfine sugar is sometimes sold as “castor” or “caster” sugar and is available in the baking section in most supermarkets. You can make your own superfine sugar by processing regular granulated sugar in a food processor for approximately 30 seconds. Note: High humidity can sometimes affect the results of this recipe. Dry days are best to make meringues.