Thai Tea Infused Cookies

I woke up this morning, thinking about how lovely Thai tea smells when it's brewing. Like sweet baking cookies. It has notes of vanilla and caramel. I started my day with a cup and then thought, "there has to be a way to get those flavors into cookies!". I went to Google of course, and searched, 'how to incorporate tea into cookies' and was delighted by the first post I found. Stef of the blog "Cupcake Project" posted a very helpful tutorial for how to infuse tea into baking. I'll walk you through the recipe I altered, but please follow the link over to her post "The Secret To Baking with Tea" for full instructions as well as more delightful recipes. The recipe I altered came from a blog called "This Silly Girl's Kitchen" and utilized her recipe for "Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cookies". Check out her blog for more delicious recipes as well! Lets get started!

The tea I used which is found on Amazon.

 

Creamy Thai Tea Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) softened
• 12 teaspoons Thai tea
• 3 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch kosher salt
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Instructions For Tea Infused Butter

1. In a saucepan, place butter on low heat and melt until just liquid. 
2. Add tea leaves and stir. 
3. Allow to steep on low heat for five minutes, and remove from heat. 
4. Allow to stand for an additional five minutes. 
5. Strain butter out of tea by placing cheesecloth in a strainer. Press well to get as much butter out as possible. You can gather up the cheesecloth and twist to get the last bits. You'll lose a little butter, but that's okay. I increased the amount of butter for this recipe in order to compensate for that. 
6. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Instructions For Cookies

1.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar until combined. Add egg, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine. Add flour in slowly until fully incorporated, scraping the sides as needed. Place in fridge for one hour to rest.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, add sugar. Set aside.
3. Roll dough into 1 inch sized balls, about 2 teaspoons worth of dough. Roll until coated in sugar. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. 
4. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until just set. Do not over bake, it is hard to tell when these cookies are ready, they will puff up but won't get golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.
   
   And there you have it! Delightful tea infused cookies! Serve with either a warm mug of Thai tea with a splash of milk or tall glass served as a classic iced Thai tea with sweetened condensed milk. Yum!
   
   

   Bonus!

   

   
   

   How to make Iced Thai Tea:

   Thai Tea is made from strongly-brewed black tea, often spiced with ingredients such as star anise, crushed tamarind, cardamom, and occasionally others as well (often making this beverage a favorite among masala chai tea fans). This brew is then sweetened with sugar and sweetened condensed milk, and served over ice.

   
   
   

   • 1 cup (80g) Thai tea
   • 4 cups (960ml) water
   • 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
   • about 1 cup (240ml) sweetened condensed milk 

             or half and half
   

   • ice

    
   

   1. Bring water to boil and add the Thai tea mix. Add sugar and gently stir to completely dissolve sugar. Gently boil tea for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
   2. Allow tea to steep for at least 30 minutes and allow it to cool. The more concentrated the tea flavor, the better the Thai tea tastes.
   3. If you are using the Thai tea mix, strain the tea leaves. Set finished Thai tea aside to cool.
   4. You can make this ahead of time and have the Thai tea chilling in the fridge. I like to make this tea mix one day ahead.
   5. Fill glasses with ice and pour in Thai tea leaving enough room to fill in your sweetened condensed milk (or half and half for less sweet flavor). Stir. ENJOY!