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."

This post was featured:

     

Thai Tea Two Ingredient Ice Cream (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

So "Phase One" of Rebuild Natalie's world is complete.

My Bestie is all moved and settled into the Coastal Land of the Hippies...more commonly known as Santa Cruz.  

And I've only been to visit her twice!  

She's been gone five whole days!  

That's pretty impressive considering we've seen each other practically every day since we decided to become BFF's three years ago.  

Yes, we literally just decided...like kids in kindergarten.  

And the rest is history!

I have to say, though, I knew I would miss her once she moved out, but I thought I'd miss our lamenting over the decline of "Smash" sessions or her incessant need to show me every. single. item of clothing she bought that day (yes, every. day.).  

So I was surprised that it hit me hardest at 6:30am, the morning after we moved her out.  

Because I am a morning grump!

I've spent the past ten months praying every morning that our paths wouldn't cross for at least a good half hour...or better yet - ever.

I know!  I sound horrible.

It's because I am!

I need the morning to adjust to being alive again. What am I doing?  Why am I here?  Do I really exist?

These are some of life's most difficult questions and I get asked them each and every morning.  

So ya, I'm not really excited to talk about how amazing it will be when we all have a chance to walk on the moon.  At this moment, I kinda want to blow up the moon.

But that morning, it hit me.  I would never inconveniently bump into her again.  Those weepy Dolly Parton serenades that used to aggravate me to no end, now sounded kind of sweet.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still not fully functional until 8am.  

It's been a few days and I think I've gotten the hang of this new routine.

So I think I'll stick with the memories for now. :)

One of my favorite memories, though - untainted by morning grumpiness - has to be the day Bestie introduced me to Thai Tea.

I had dragged her to a Salsa lesson at my University because I needed extra credits for my PE class, and I didn't want to go and face the swarms of creepy men who had no where else to be on a Friday night alone.

I realize now, that this was at the very, very beginning of our friendship because she wouldn't be caught dead going to a Salsa class now.  Oh, the things you'll do in the early stages of a relationship. (Like pretend you can tolerate 80's movies!)

Afterwards, we stopped by the resident college "Boba" shop and I ordered my usual blended coffee with pearls.  But Bestie.  She ordered this orange stuff.  And it changed my life.

Thai Iced Tea is slightly sweet, creamy, and a little spicy.  It's reminiscent of Chai, but has its own unique qualities.

At that moment, I was introduced to one of my new favorite foods.  Where had this drink been all my life???

Best friend?
Who needs a best friend when there is Thai Tea?

"Thai Tea" Two-Ingredient Ice Cream (Machine *Not* Needed)
Utilized Important Information from Use Real Butter

• 3 Cups of Heavy Whipping Cream (set aside 1 cup)
• 1/2 Cup Thai Tea Leaves (found at Asian food stores or here)
• 1 Can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk

Needed:

-Strainer

-Airtight Storage Container

-Makes 8+ Servings

*Requires Cooking, Cooling, and Overnight Freezing Time*

So I know there are actually 3 ingredients, but the base to make plain ol' ice cream is just two ingredients.  Plus, no machine required!  Hello! Amazing. 

1) In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups of cream to a low boil.  
2) Immediately remove from heat and add in Thai Tea.  Stir until completely combined
    and let steep for 30 mins.

3) Place strainer over large bowl and pour tea mixture over it.  Try to press out any remaining liquid 
    to get a much of the tea infused milk as you can out of the leaves.  You'll notice you've lost a lot of 
    volume.  What was once runny and 2 cups is now thick and 1 cup. 
4) Let cream cool to just about room temperature, then let cool completely in the fridge (at least 2   
     hours).  I reused the cream container to store this mixture. 
5) 10-15 mins before starting the next step after the mixture has cooled, place large mixing bowl in  
     the freezer.  This will help the cream whip up faster.

6) Pour Thai Tea mixture along with the extra 1 cup of cream into the cold bowl.  Beat until fluffy and 

    no longer runny.  Stiff peaks should form. 

7) Once cream is whipped, fold in the sweetened condensed milk just until combined. 

8) Place mixture into a covered container (tupperware, etc.) and place in freezer.  Freeze overnight. 

    Scoop.  Enjoy!

Thoughts: This was good, but a little on the sweet side and the tea strength was a bit overpowering.  Next time I would definitely use less tea - probably only 1/3 Cup, and I would play around with the cream to condensed milk ratio.  

I was very skeptical about this whole "two-ingredient" fad when I decided to try it last summer.  I just couldn't believe that something so simple could actually become "ice cream."  But I have to say, it's pretty darn close.  If you want the real deal you've got to use a machine, but if you are looking for quick, simple, and easy this isn't a bad option at all. 

A word of warning though: because it's pure whipped cream and a whole lot of sweetened milk this type of ice cream is very intense and rich.  One scoop is usually plenty. 

Thai Tea is life-changingly delicious.

But I'll admit, it's no substitute for a cherished friend.

Throwing some Boba on top doesn't hurt though.

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This posted was featured on:

Tea Cookies (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

OMG!  Guess what?!...

Okay, cool.  

So now that I've got your attention, I have some business to discuss.

And since I know I'm going to lose most of you in like T minus 102 words, I'm gonna bore ya while I have ya.  

---

The rating system is up!!!

I post-rated each and every baking entry and all posts from here on out will contain star ratings as well.

And why would I do this?  

Because I wanted to go through and re-live all of my baking experiences, duh!  

Actually, not really.  

And some of my earliest posts are just plain awful.  Picture-wise.  Content-wise.  You name it.

But even so, there were some good recipes in there and you deserve to know about them...without having to dig through my lifeless entries.  

Honestly, though! Makes you wonder what the heck I was going through back then. 

Plus, I pride myself on being self-critical...er, honest.  

I follow a lot of blogs and I rarely come across a post where a recipe came out as less than Martha Stewart worthy.  Really?  Really???  I don't think so.  

If something's a bummer, you know about it.  

Now you can spot one from a mile away.  You can even sort and search for them.  Frankly, they've been my heavy hitters...everybody loves a good rant.

But back to busz...

Each title will now feature a number of stars, from 1 to 5.

With "★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆" being  - "Run.  Joey.  Run, Joey...RUN!!!"

And "★ ★ ★ ★ ★" being  - "Are you ready for a miracle? The Spirit will set you free!"

Want more deets?  Scroll to the bottom of my last post: Nats Ratings System. 

And now back to your regularly scheduled Thursday trip through the Viola cloaked garden.

Cause you know, today is Tea Cookies.

But in order for you to understand how these came about you'll have to follow me back to the sixth grade...

...when I saw the Titanic for the first time.

I know, I know, but I always bring it back don't I?

It was like my eyes had been opened, and cupid had struck my heart.  I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Kate Winslet's long, red, curly hair...
Leonardo DiCapro...
Amazing costumes...
Leonardo DiCapro...
The chemistry...
Leo...

To me, it's the most romantic movie of all time and rare in that it only gets better every time I watch it.

On the 100th anniversary of the sinking, at that very second in fact, I was sitting at the IMAX with my 3D goggles on hyperventilating as the water poured in around me and Rose and Jack were frantically trying to reach the deck through eerily lit stairwells.

Talk about intense.

That hundredth anniversary was April 15th - all of five months ago.  Obviously, it was time for another viewing.

Best Friend bought this crazy edition with an extra forty-five minutes of previously deleted scenes.
Well, wunderbar!  The perfect excuse.

I was perfectly contented to just curl up in a blanket and have a good cry, but Bestie was the one who convinced me a "time-period" snack was in order.  We literally pulled up the first class menu to see what kinds of desserts would be appropriate.

It is a sickness. 


So long story short:

We didn't want to make any of the highfalutin "sweets" offered to the ships finest guests.  Chartreuse jelly?  The name alone tells me time, detail, pain.

What simple, yet elegant delicacy would please even the most conniving "needing to marry off my daughter to a complete turd so I can continue lavishing myself in luxury" of mothers?

Well, the Tea Cookie of course!  The embodiment of Edwardian living.

Not too sweet.
Slightly buttery with a refreshing orange zing.

Think of a moist scone or a less oily madeleine.
Sure they're a little hard on the eyes...But they're oh, so good.

All you need is a cup of steaming hot tea.
But the flavors are subdued enough to allow for your favorite jams, butters, and spreads.

In fact, Bestie's dad, who is an incredible gardener, provided the plum and strawberry preserves for this endeavor. Seriously, the best strawberry jam in. the. world.  I do not exaggerate.

Tea Cookies
Slightly adapted from "Fork, Spoon, Knive" Buttermilk Tea Cookies

3 Cups Flour
Zest of 1 Orange
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 Sticks Butter, Room Temperature
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2/3 Cup Buttermilk
*For best flavor results refrigerate dough overnight.  Although, as far as look and texture they remained essentially the same.

1) Preheat oven to 350F Degrees.  Grease baking sheet.
2) In medium sized bowl, mix flour, zest, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
3) In large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy.
4) Add eggs to butter/sugar mixture one at a time.  Beating thoroughly after each one.
5) Add vanilla
6) Alternate adding buttermilk and flour to the wet ingredients in the large bowl, beating on low in
     between each addition.  Dough will be slightly sticky.
7) Place heaping teaspoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
8) Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until puffed and dry to touch.
9) Let cookies cool 1-3 minutes before moving to cooling rack.

Lemon Curd, Plum Jam, Strawberry Preserves

The Titanic, Tea Cookies, and a Tale. 

Come on, that's destiny right there.






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