Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons best-quality black tea leaves, such as Darjeeling, coarsely ground in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- Pinch ground cloves
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for rolling
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or paste
Chef notes
While these powdery treats may resemble Mexican wedding cookies or Russian tea cakes, they have a decidedly different flavor, thanks to the chai-inspired combination of Darjeeling tea and warming spices in the batter.
You can also find the recipe on MarthaStewart.com.
Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 325°F, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a bowl, whisk together both flours, tea, salt, pepper, and spices. In another bowl, beat butter with sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour mixture, beating just until a dough forms. Roll level tablespoons of dough into balls. Place 1 inch apart on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets.
2.Bake, rotating rack positions once halfway through, until cookies are set and golden on bottoms, 15 to 18 minutes.
3.Let cool on sheets 5 minutes. Roll in confectioners' sugar; let cool completely on a wire rack. Generously coat in more confectioners' sugar before serving, or store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks.
