Cookies that taste like Clouds

There is a delicate art to using tea in food, and after many experiments, I have finally found a tea line with unexpected flavors that have made some amazing cookies. The brand is called Tay Teas, and they are all handmade in upstate New York, in a small town called Andes. It was first introduced to me by my friend Carolyn, former owner of Jan & Aya, who carried the line in her shop. The teas are packaged in simple stamped tins, and are no match for the explosion of flavor and harmony each blend contains.


Duchess First Love tea

When using tea in baking, the oils and aromas from the tea is brought out by heat, and sometimes proves disastrous in taste. But making my Crisp, Crumbly Tea Cookies with 2 tablespoons of ground Duchess First Love tea, made a cookie that someone said "tastes like clouds". One of the more memorable compliments ever.




The trick to using tea in baking, is to make sure it is not too coarse or bulky. Sometimes I will rip open tea bags, but in general prefer loose tea as I can grind it to be more fine, or keep it chunkier.

While visiting the Tay Tea shop last weekend, I had the chance to sample some other teas that struck me as ones to experiment with. Persian Rose, for example could make an amazing tea infusion for a Madeline or crisper textured cookie.


Another soft spot towards the Tay Tea shop, is that it is located 20 minutes from where I got married in the country. That may be the reason the baking gods are looking down on me from their fluffy white clouds, to help me bake some magic.