4 December 2011

SRI LANKAN SPICED TEA & COOKIES

Heritance Tea Factory Hotel Spiced Tea * 1 litre hot water * 2 tsps Sri Lankan tea leaves * 5 tbsps sugar * 2 cardamom pods * 1 small piece cinnamon quill * slice lime * 3 mint leaves * 2 tsps pure vanilla essence Place all ingredients in a clean pan and simmer together for five minutes. Strain and serve hot in small glasses.

These star-shaped cookies are delightfully light and crunchy, perfect to accompany tea. Take care handling the dough as it is extremely soft and friable.

Cinnamon & Cardamom Cookies

• 225g unsalted butter
• 200g sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp dark rum
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 300g hi-grade flour
• 1½ tsps baking powder
• ½ tsp salt For the glaze:
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 100g sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Heat the oven to 170ºC. Cream the butter and the sugar by whisking until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg with the rum, cinnamon and cardamom. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, and fold into the butter mixture. Knead the mixture gently on a floured board and roll out to a rectangle about 1cm thickness. Use cookie cutters or a sharp knife to cut into biscuits. Place on a baking sheet, lined with baking paper and brush the tops with the beaten egg whites. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle generously on the biscuits. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and store in an airtight container. Makes 30-40 cookies. REcipes by Lauraine Jacobs Pic by Elizabeth Clarkson