Dipped Chai Cookies (★ ★ ★ ★ ☆)

If this comes off as a love letter, then I apologize.

I'm going to try really, really hard to contain my enthusiasm.

"Once Upon A Time" is back!

Ahem, correction:

My weekly dose of Regina is back!!!

How I love thee, oh, tortured character.

I. am. obsessed.

Let me count the ways...

The fourteen hundred times you snarl, "Miss Swan."

Being forced to obey Mr. Gold's every whim. 

That fateful poisonous apple turnover.

Seeking "magic" therapy.

How can someone be so sinister, so sexy, and so sympathetic at the same time?!  

Oh,  and add smart, sharp, and witty as heck:

Sure she's killed a few people - ripped out a few hearts.

Cursed the purest, truest lovers from ever finding each other.

She may have even kicked a dog. 

But deep down I see the girl with crushed dreams:

The one who watched as her mother killed her true love.

The one who realized her only ally had been the cause of her greatest pain.

The one who adopted a son so she could "feel something."

The one willing to die to save a town so she could be remembered as a person, not a villain.

Gah! Sniff

Cue the waaaaahhhmbulance! And strike up those violins! 

That's a tragic tale if I ever heard one.  

I forgive you, Regina!

You made me lasagna, Regina?

Of course, I'll eat it, Regina!

Why is no one else eating the lasagna, Regina?

Did anyone else feel a tinge when her peace offering was scorned?

Sure it's awkward that the Evil Queen who was hell bent on making everyone miserable is now bringing food to a potluck,

           

        ...why that even came up in the writer's room will never make sense to me...

But come on! Forgive and forget!

Stop harping on the past, fairy tale people! Seriously. 

I guess they are just blinded to her awesomeness.  

Or their past experiences are too traumatic to move on from.

But I, for one, can't get enough.

Give me Regina.  I want Regina!

What petty argument is going to tip her new found resolve to be good?  

What incident is going to trigger another devastating memory from her past?

This is good TV, ya'll!

What better motivation is there to keep tuning in, week after week?

It's not the "high-budget" CGI - I can tell you that much. 

It's the "will she"/"won't she" suspense.  

Am I watching good Regina or bad Regina?

Poisoned apple/peace-offering apple?

Chocolate or spicy chai?

Oh wait...those are my cookies.  

While I definitely did not intend to bake in honor of a television character, after this weeks episode I knew where this post was headed.

Using my absurdly addicting dough from the Dirty Chai Cookies I made last year, I just broke it down to the basics.

The spicy tanginess of chai mixed with the comforting richness of chocolate.   

A cookie with an identity disorder.  

And a delicious one at that. 

Dipped Chai Cookies

• 1 Cup (2 Sticks) Butter, Room Temperature
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 2 Packets Instant Chai Latte Powder (1/3 cup) (I found mine at Whole Foods)
• 2 tsp Chai Tea
• 1 Egg
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat Oven to 375F

Bake for 9-11 Minutes

Makes Approx. 30 Cookies

1) Preheat oven to 375F. 
2) In a medium sized bowl, beat butter, sugar, chai latte powder, and chai tea (Just cut

    open the bag and measure) until fluffy.  For this recipe I didn't have enough chai latte powder so I 

    just added a bit more tea and sugar to compensate. 

3) Add vanilla and egg.  Beat until well mixed.

4) In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt together.

5) Add flour mixture to sugar mixture a little bit at a time until thoroughly combined. 
6) Place rounded teaspoons of dough onto a greased baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

7) Bake for 9-11 minutes or until dry to the touch.  

8) After cookies have cooled, melt cup of chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 sec increments.  Stir 

    in-between to avoid over heating.

9) Dip each cookie halfway into the melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to set or store in 

    the refrigerator until chocolate is thoroughly hardened again (30 min to 1 hour).  Enjoy!

Because sometimes the answer is "both."

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Dirty Chai Cupcakes (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

I've always had a thing against leftovers.

I just couldn't get my head around

1) Having any food left over to have for "leftovers,"

2) Day old reheated food. How is that enticing?

None of those options sounded very good, so leftovers found themselves on my "You're Dead To Me" list. 

Now, maybe you think I'm being "overly" dramatic.

You swear by leftovers and think I should give them another try.

Am I right?  ...Ya  ....Thought so.

I've got you pegged.  ...And it annoys the heck out of you. 

                                  ...And so do all my ellipsis

But what is so great about microwaved pizza?

Don't shoot me, but I don't like it cold.  Why would you consume all that wonderful fattening grease in solid form? Shiver.  Ew, I just got the heebie jeebies.

Microwaved pizza [or insert favorite leftover of choice here] is chewier, limp-ier, soggier...sad-ier than fresh from the oven pizza.   The crust gets tough, the cheese requires 10x the amount of chewing, and that pepperoni scalds the top of your mouth because it didn't need to get warmed up for 50 secs like the rest of the slice.

What about that sounds good?

In all honesty, pizza is a bad example.  Because I actually will eat a day old slice.  But I'm not happy about it!  And all I can think about is how good that piece must've tasted yesterday.

Crust crispy, but soft in all the right places.
Melt in your mouth cheese, with just the right amount of grease.
The aroma of the pepperoni mixed with the spices in the sauce, tantalizing.

Leftovers?  Blasphemy!

But that was then and this is now.

What?!  A thrilling twist!
Didn't see that one coming, huh?
Well, those of you who pay close attention to grammar may have noticed my use of the past tense earlier.

You're going up to check now, aren't you?

It's cool.  I can wait.

-----


-----

Oh good, you're back.

Anyway, now back to me.

Then I didn't have a full time job.  Then I didn't have any real bills.  Then I was going on four hours of sleep every night, skipping breakfast, and eating a bowl of oatmeal for lunch.  Ah, to be a college student again.

Now, my schedule is tighter.  And I'm trying to take better care of myself.
Leftovers suddenly take on a new appeal when that means you don't have to pre-pack your food for the next day.

"I'm so hungry, I could finish this whole filet mignon right now! ...Or I could save half and not have to worry about packing a lunch for work.  Hello halvsies!"

Shocking, I know.
But this is what it's come down to.

Purposely eating only half my meals.
Butchering filet mignon in the microwave.
Freezing the leftover espresso ganache from my Dirty Chai Cookies, and using it to bake "leftover cupcakes."

Yup, that's what I made you today.
Leftovers.

But not just any leftovers.... Dirty Chai Cupcake leftovers.

And if I do say so myself, those are the best kind!

Dirty Chai Cupcakes

Chai Cupcakes:

• 1 Box Vanilla Cake Mix
• 2/3-1 Cup Chai Tea Latte Concentrate (Substitute for water)
• 1-2 Tbsp Chai Tea (ground loose leaf or from tea bag)
• 1 Small Package of Vanilla Pudding

Whipped Espresso Ganache:

• 10oz semi sweet chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp instant espresso

Cupcakes

1) Prepare mix according to box, substituting an equal amount of Chai Tea Concentrate for the amount 

    of water called for.  

2) Add 1-2 Tbsp of Chai Tea.  I used Tazo tea and just cut the bag open and scooped some out.  I like 

    my tea strong and spicy so 2 Tbsp worked for me, but I would start with 1 Tbsp and test the batter.

3) Add vanilla pudding.  Mix well.

4) Bake according to directions on box.  

Ganache
A) Set aside chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
B) In small saucepan, heat cream just until boiling.
C) Add espresso powder to cream and stir until dissolved. 
D) Pour cream over chocolate chips and stir until melted and thoroughly combined.
E) Let ganache cool to room temperature.  With a hand mixer beat until slightly fluffy.  Be careful not   
     to over beat.  Mixture will become like chocolate butter and be very difficult to spread.  (Tip: if
     needed to help with the whipping process place bowl in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Be 
     careful as ganache gets very firm once chilled and will be extremely difficult to spread.)

If you revamp a leftover you can't really call it such anymore, can you?

That's using the ol' noggin. 

Dirty Chai Cookies (★ ★ ★ ★ ☆)

Psst.

I've got a secret.

Okay, I'm not really sure how "secret" it is.  But I've got some information.  And this information has the potential to rock your world. 

But for this to really pack the punch, I must first set the scene.

It's kind of like those episodes of How I Met Your Mother that open up with something completely outrageous and then back up and break it down.  (How totally great are those?)

I love Starbucks. 

Well, actually I love lattes.  Alright, let's break it waaayy down.  I. Love. Foam.

It's like velvety, creamy, whipped goodness.  

But there is good foam and then there is bad foam.

Bad foam is airy, bubbly, runny, flat.

Good foam is like meringue.  Seductive.  Delicious.  A dollop of heaven along with your daily caffeine.

My fondness for Starbucks then doesn't come from the atmosphere or quality, but from the sheer convenience.  It's the new McDonald's.  There is one on every corner.  No other business in the world offers me so many chances to grab coffee and frothy steamed milk. 

Well played, Starbucks, you have earned my respect...and my heart.

Instant Chai Latte Mix, Chai Tea, Instant Espresso, 60% Dark Chocolate Chips

I enjoy all things latte.  I enjoy such things to the extent that I volunteer (as in--for free) at our church cafe several times a month.  The best perk?  Free coffee...all the time.  Win. Win. Win. Win. Win.  

It took me months upon months before I was able to produce the kind of fantastic foam that could meet my unrealistic standards.  If I wasn't impressed, it didn't get served.  Okay, so that basically meant I refused to make drinks, but how can you fault me?  Inferior foam is in an offensive league all its own.  

Once I got that hurdle behind me, it opened up a whole new world of experimentation.  And experiment I did. 

I will try anything.  Edible.  I will try anything edible.  Let me clarify.  Don't get crazy. 

I have a cafe "partner in crime" and together we came up with some doozies including the Cherry Vanilla Latte and my personal fav the Tapatio Latte (the experience - because the taste was just horrendous).

One day, a light bulb went on in my head:

"*Bling* Omg, I know how to fix everything that is wrong with the Chai Latte! Add some shots of espresso!"

My genius lasted all of two seconds.  Because well #1) pretty much everyone loves Chai Lattes, but me. I don't get it.  It's like spicy watery milk and #2) the "Dirty Chai" already exists.  Even Starbucks carries it.  (Yes, the "dirty" part refers to the color of the espresso.  Geeze people!). 

Nevertheless, these are so good I'll let it slide that someone invented it before me.  No biggie.  Heck, I'll even let it slide that Starbucks can make fantastic Christmas-in-a-cup-goodness and yet they keep it on their SECRET menu!  Starbucks, how could you?!

And when it's iced....oh, don't even get me started.

So when a friend of mine asked if I would bake something for the dessert bar at her wedding, I jumped right on that.  I knew we both liked chai.  In fact, she was there the night I came up with my brilliant-idea-that-already-existed-but-nobody-deemed-important-enough-to-tell-me-so-I-had-to-figure-it-out-on-my-own-and-then-not-even-get-to-take-the-credit-for-it.

But I've let that go.  

So the question was: How could I make a dirty chai cookie?

Once I found these Chai Latte Cookies, I knew I had my inspiration.

I added extra chai....like straight up from a tea bag (the spicier the better),

Switched out the buttercream for an espresso ganache,

And boom...

I present to you: The Dirty Chai Cookie.

Dirty Chai Cookies

Chai Cookies:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar + 1/4 cup for rolling
• 2 packets instant chai latte powder (1/3 cup)
• 2 tsp chai tea
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Whipped Espresso Ganache:

• 10oz semi sweet chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp instant espresso

Cookies
1) Preheat oven to 375F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2) In a medium sized bowl, beat butter, sugar, chai latte powder, and chai tea (I used Tazo.  Just cut
    open the bag and measure!) until fluffy.
3) Add vanilla and egg.  Beat until well mixed.
4) In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt together.
5) Add flour mixture to sugar mixture a little bit at a time until thoroughly combined.
6) Pour 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl.  Take a small amounts of dough and roll it into a tiny balls -
    approx. 1/2 inch.  (Seriously, with these think super small. Remember you are going to add another
    cookie plus ganache).  Toss into sugar bowl and place on cookie sheet an inch apart.
7) Very gently press the flat bottom of a glass onto the top of each dough ball.  You just want to flatten
    the top slightly, you don't want increase the diameter of the ball.
8) Bake for 8 minutes or until dry to touch.  Makes approx. 40 cookies.

Ganache
A) Set aside chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
B) In small saucepan, heat cream just until boiling.
C) Add espresso powder to cream and stir until dissolved.
D) Pour cream over chocolate chips and stir until melted and thoroughly combined.
E) Let ganache cool to room temperature.  With a hand mixer beat until slightly fluffy.  Be careful not  
     to over beat.  Mixture will become like chocolate butter and be very difficult to spread.  (Tip: if
     needed to help with the whipping process place bowl in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Be
     careful as ganache gets very firm once chilled and will be extremely difficult to spread.)

Spread a small amount of ganache onto one chai cookie half.  Top with another.  If cookies will not be eaten right away they should be refrigerated, but ganache will hold up as long as not in direct heat.

And they were delish!  This dough is to die for. 

Today photos by: ME!!!  And my new DIY lightbox!

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