I made mochi for the first time! It’s been on my recipe wish list for a long time. I’ve been nervous to tackle it because I thought it would be a big process. Turns out, it’s super easy. Mochi is a sweet Japanese rice cake made of chewy glutinous rice. The key ingredient for this…
Tag: dessert
Black Tea Blondies
Where’s the hottest place you’ve ever spent a summer? For me, it’s Arizona. I recently moved here and just experienced my first 118-degree day. Yep, that’s hot enough to cook an egg on the sidewalk, and way too hot to turn on the oven. During this same record-hot week, I received samples of the most…
Easy Vegan Matcha Ice Cream
I developed this recipe for a tea company awhile back using just matcha green tea powder, heavy cream, and sweetened condensed milk. I recently pulled the recipe out of the archives to see if I could whip up a dairy-free, vegan version with some coconut milk products I had in the pantry. Good news! It…
Little Nut Tarts
One of my favorite holiday treats is pecan tarts. My mom used to make dozens of them every Christmas season. She made them in mini muffin tins—which is mighty dangerous, since it’s so easy to keep popping the tiny sugary treats into your mouth, one by one, until you’ve lost count of how many you’ve…
Orange Rooibos Pudding
I’m always on the lookout for easiest-ever dessert recipes. The kind that have very few ingredients and don’t take a lot of effort to whip up but still look and taste impressive. This is one of those recipes. This genius pudding from Food52 consists of just three ingredients: half-and-half, sugar, and cornstarch. Then you can…
Matcha Blackberry Muffin Cakes
The ease of a muffin and the beauty of a cake? I’m in! Plus, these handheld treats are perfect for pandemic times; everyone gets their own, with no sharing of utensils and serving dishes necessary. You essentially mix and bake these mini cakes like muffins, then turn them over and glaze them upside down to…
Strawberry Earl Grey Mini Pies
Friends invited us for a socially-distanced pandemic porch dinner for four and I stressed about what to contribute. I never want to show up to dinner empty handed, but what’s safe to share these days? Enter the mini pie. One for each person and no touching of shared serving dishes or utensils required. Plus, they’re…
Gluten-Free Matcha Pop Tarts
Is there anything better than a homemade pop tart? Especially a gluten-free one that tastes like the real deal. Your G-F buds’ eyes will pop out of their heads when you serve these. The G-F naysayers won’t even be able to tell they are gluten-free. A healthy dose of bright green matcha tea powder in…
Rooibos Candied Clementines
Orange-chocolate is my second favorite dessert flavor, next to lemon. I have memories of my dad treating me to Swiss Orange Chip ice cream at Swenson’s as a kid. Anytime I see a Terry’s chocolate orange at the market, I scoop one (or two) up. Set a bag of chocolate dipped candied orange peel in…
Turning Sugar Cookies into Tea Cookies
I used to hate anything heart shaped. Despised! You’d think since I was born on Valentine’s Day this would be innately impossible. But I got an annual overdose of birthdays bursting at the seams with anything and everything heart shaped. Sometime during my third decade, however, I turned from a heart hater into a heart…
Lemon Jasmine Pie
If my last meal on Earth involves any kind of lemon dessert I will leave this planet a happy woman. I always pick out the lemon dessert on a restaurant menu but I rarely make lemon treats at home; perhaps because I know they would disappear too quickly? This lemon pie, however, will make a…
PB&J Pu-erh Tea Tart
My resolutions this year have nothing to do with eating healthy. They do, of course, have to do with food. My main foodie resolution this year is to become a better baker. Sure, I’ll work on some “healthy” baking recipes as part of my quest. But let’s be real, the best baking recipes are indulgent…
Tea & Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
Ground tea stirred into a cookie’s dry ingredients is one of the easiest ways to start cooking with tea. To easily grind tea for baking, toss the dry leaves into a sturdy teacup. Then use a pestle or heavy wooden spoon to crush the leaves while gently stirring in circular motion. Voila! Ground tea. While…
Cherry “Clafou-tea”
If there’s one thing I can count on being in my fridge all summer long, it’s a big bag of cherries. As soon as they become available at our local supermarket, we snatch them up weekly. Even better when the local Colorado cherries arrive at the farmers market a block from our house. As cherry…
Cinnamon Tea Kissed Cookies
Let me introduce you to my new favorite method for infusing tea flavor into anything you’re baking. All you need is butter. Yes, butter. Simply melt the butter you’re using in your next baking project, toss in some flavored tea leaves, let it steep, strain it, and you’re left with a tea-infused butter that will…
Tea Foodie [#cookingwithtea] 