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With holiday baking time upon us, you’ll really appreciate this recipe for tea cookies. They’re easy to make and you get 2 kinds!
Easy Cookies For The Holidays
The holidays are almost upon us to that means lots of baking. Lots of cookies too and this is a great recipe because you can do so many versions of it.
What’s also terrific about this cookie recipe is that it is easy. Who doesn’t want easy at the holidays or any other time? That answer is “nobody.”
Haul Out That Digital Scale
You need to drag out those digital scales for this one though. The recipe is European.
Now when I bake I mainly weigh ingredients because it’s just a heck of a lot easier and more importantly, you get consistent results when you weigh. Don’t be intimidated by weighing either.It’s easy with a digital scale.
Semolina Crunch
It seems odd that semolina is an ingredient in these tea cookies. However, it adds a little crunch and texture into the mix.
You can add some chocolate chips to this batter as well. I chose not to but do see the recipe notes for how much to add. I will say here that if you do add the chocolate chips then you might want to leave the semolina out and add a little bit more flour–that’s just my best guess as I have not done that. The original recipe does include the semolina for all varieties, so just be advised.
The Recipe
Tea Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 oz flour
- 6 oz soft butter
- 2.5 oz sugar
- 2.5 oz semolina
For Almond Cookies (half the dough):
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1.75 oz sliced almonds
For Lemon Cookies (half the dough):
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tbs demerara sugar or sanding sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F/160C. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment.
- Add the flour, butter, sugar and semolina in a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly with electric mixer until it resembles the texture of fresh breadcrumbs and will hold together when pressed.
- Divide dough in half. To one half mix in the almond extract and most of the almond slices; mix thoroughly. Divide dough into 20 balls. Place balls on prepared pan and press down with your fingers so that they are about 1/4-inch thick. Press a couple of sliced almonds in the center of each cookie.
- To the remaining half of the dough, knead in the lemon zest. Roll into a log about 10-inches (25 cm) long. If using the demerara or sanding sugar, place the sugar on a plate and roll the log in the sugar. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes. After dough has chilled, cut the log into 20 /12-inch (1.25 xm) slices and place on the other prepared pan.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies start to brown around the edges. (Both varieties bake at the same temperature for the same amount of time.
- Cool completely on the baking sheets.
