A baby is brewing! These personalized tea bag cookies were the perfect treats and favors for our afternoon tea themed baby shower. These cookies were so delicious and really added to the theme. I set them inside each tea cup or on the saucer, beside the tea cup. The tea bag label said the last name of the parent’s to be and the date, with the expected baby’s initials on the other side. These are so easy and fast to make and perfect to have with tea. The details and personalizing are what take some time and attention. The most time consuming part was cutting out the tea bag labels which I designed on the computer in MS Word, and threading the labels onto string and into the cookie.

I used this great recipe for shortbread by Ina Garten. The key to getting a perfect dough is to use softened room temperature butter and to beat it until it is fluffy. If you do so and then slowly stir in the flour mixture, you will not have any issues with the mixture being too crumbly or dry. Another problem reviewers may have had is not measuring the flour properly. Flour should not be packed into the measuring cup, but scooped loosely by a spoon and into a cup for accurate measurement. If you have too much flour, the cookie will  be dry. I refrigerated the dough for about 30 minutes so that it is easier to work with and cut into the shape. 

Be sure to cover with plastic wrap before refrigerating…

You could cut the cookie into the tea bag shape by using a rectangular cookie cutter and cutting off the top 2 corners. 

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Sprinkle with some sugar…

I used a large straw to poke out a hole at the top of each cookie, which you need to do BEFORE baking if you plan on getting a tea bag label through your cookie 😉 

The cookies were still fairly soft after baking so I was able to cut the edges smaller and straighter if necessary to achieve the shape I wanted and to poke the straws through the hole again to define the opening (the dough puffs out and expands while baking). But this must be done while the cookie is still hot and malleable. Once the cookie cools, you cannot cut it without cracking the whole cookie. My husband and I had no problems dealing with all those scrap edges! Yum!

Once the cookie cooled, I melted some delicious dark chocolate in a double boiler ( a pyrex bowl sitting over a pot of simmering water does the trick) and dipped each cookie in and laid it on parchment paper to cool and harden overnight. The next day I threaded each cookie with its label.

This Middle Eastern staple has made its way all around the world and is a huge hit! This perfectly flavored chickpea puree provides fiber, protein, and healthy omega 3 fats that are filling, satisfying, and perfectly low in calories. Chickpeas are quite high in fiber, protein, folic acid, magnesium , and zinc and are great for reducing cholesterol and blood sugar.  Hummus makes an excellent spread in sandwiches or a dip for veggies, which makes it a filling snack but lower in fat than mayo, ranch dressings, and other less healthy options.  No wonder this dip is so popular! I love my hummus extra lemony and garlicky, and that’s the beauty of making this easy dish at home- you can add as much or as little flavor as you want. You can vary the flavor, color, and texture by including preferred vegetables such as parsley, beets, roasted red peppers, carrots, or my favorite:  cilantro with jalapeño! Hummus is traditionally prepared with tahini paste, which is basically sesame seed butter. 

As with all of my recipes, I do not use any canned products here, and try to keep everything as natural and homemade as possible. Nothing is more satisfying than enjoying something perfectly concocted in your kitchen and knowing exactly everything that is inside.

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I start with 1/2 cup of dried garbanzo beans or chickpeas. These should be sorted for stones or dirt and washed. Many people need to soak the beans overnight before boiling the next day, but if you use a pressure cooker like I do, no need for that hassle! Simple toss the chickpeas into your pressure cooker, cover with water, add a quarter of an onion, and cook on high pressure for 1 hour. Do not add salt in the pressure cooker as it inhibits cooking. Once the peas are cooked, its as simple as pureeing the little gems with tahini paste in your blender with your favorite spices and flavors! The basics that I must include are salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Its important to reserve some of the water the chickpeas cooked in or have fresh water on hand to thin out the hummus as needed. I forgot about the water at first and had a very THICK dip to start with (it happens!). But no worries,  this is something you can vary depending on how thick or thin your prefer your hummus to be. This dish is really fool proof! When in doubt, start with a little and add more as needed 🙂 I make my hummus in a flash with my trusty Vitamix blender, which does require at least 1/4 cup of water in order to pull all the ingredients downward into its funnel of fury shredding every ingredient into a silky smooth dip!

Hummus

2014-01-13 02:31:48

Serves 4

A delicious and healthy chickpea puree dip with sesame paste, lemon and garlic

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 10 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 10 min

Ingredients

1. 1/2 c dried chickpeas (AKA garbanzo beans)
2. 3/4 c water
3. 1 small onion, quartered
4. 1 tsp salt
5. 1/4 tsp pepper
6. 1/4 tsp cumin
7. 1/4 tsp paprika
8. Juice of 2 lemons
9. 4-6 cloves of garlic
10. 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp for drizzling
11. 2 tbsp of tahini paste (sesame seed butter)
12. parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Sort the chick peas for dirt, stones, or old pieces and wash well. Place chickpeas into pressure cooker and cover with water, about 1 inch above the peas. Add 1 quarter of an onion and cook over high pressure for 1 hour. Do not add salt until after the beans cook. Once done cooking, allow the pressure to release naturally.
2. Strain the chickpeas and reserve some of the liquid for thinning out the puree (or you could use fresh water).
3. Pour 1/4 c water or cooking liquid from the chickpeas to a Vitamix blender or food processor. Reserve some whole chickpeas for garnish and add the rest into the blender.
4. Add Tahini paste, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and garlic cloves. Pulse to combine all ingredients, then puree on high until the mixture is smooth. If using a Vitamix, it is helpful to use the patented push stick to move everything downward into the blades. Add more water if needed to thin it out. Add the olive oil at the end and pulse again until well combined. Taste and add more lemon or garlic to your preference. I usually have at least 6 garlic cloves in mine because we love the taste!
5. Spoon the hummus onto a serving platter, carve lines into the top with a fork or butter knife and drizzle olive oil on top. The oil will settle into the lines. Sprinkle paprika, chopped parsley, and arrange the reserved whole chickpeas in the center to garnish.
6. Serve with cucumbers, or any favorite veggies, pita bread, crackers, or spread onto sandwiches!

Notes

1. While the chickpeas are cooking, roast a red pepper in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees and add to the blender to make roasted red pepper hummus. Or you could add 1/4 cup cilantro leaves and half a jalapeño pepper to make a zesty, spicy green hummus!

By Noha ElSharkawy

Sugar & Garlic https://sugarandgarlic.com/

Some pink strawberry cupcakes were in order for Valentines Day, and my perfectly “pinkalicious” cupcake obsessed three year old was really excited about pink+ strawberries+sprinkles+hearts+cupcakes. So this baking extravaganza and a princesses in tutus playdate was the result! Strawberries and cream cupcakes are the perfect way to bake some love in the summer with freshly picked strawberries, or in the winter using frozen strawberries. The flexibility of this recipe makes it a family favorite. 

These cupcakes are supremely moist and bursting with real strawberry flavor throughout the cake and icing as it is infused with tons of REAL berries. The icing is so lusciously smooth and creamy, reminiscent of a strawberry milk shake. These cupcakes were such a hit with my family and friends, it will definitely be used in a few future parties! Try this for any strawberry obsessed friends, or simply a pink, girly themed party! Strawberry Shortcake obsessed kids? This will be the perfect treat for their next party!

The Ingredients

I made a strawberry cupcake from scratch topped with an amazingly creamy and fluffy strawberry frosting that melts in your mouth! For the cake, I use pureed strawberries (you can frozen or fresh) as well as some freeze dried strawberries (think concentrated flavor).

The freeze dried strawberries are my secret in this recipe. They are essential for getting that pure, concentrated strawberry flavor, and you will also need it for the frosting; it adds a ton of strawberry flavor without any liquid to compromise the frosting texture, along with a burst of natural pink coloring. The strawberry scent and flavor is so intense in each bite, you might think you are really biting into a strawberry!

(Clockwise from top left) Powdered sugar, granulated sugar, freeze-dried strawberries, vanilla yogurt, olive oil, cake flour and almond flour mixture, eggs, and frozen berries (before pureeing).

First beat the eggs with the sugars and oil. I used frozen raspberries here, use what you have in a pinch!

Then add the pureed berries.

Sift all your dry ingredients together (flour, almond flour, baking powder, ground dried strawberries, and salt) and gradually add to the wet part of the batter.

These cupcakes bake up nice and moist, are so fluffy, and berry delicious!

For the frosting, I basically use my vanilla bean frosting and add some of the freeze dried strawberries ground into a powder. The strawberry flavor is so intense, and combined with the creamy vanilla it makes for the perfect strawberry and cream topping! It truly tastes like a milkshake on top. YUM!

I’m no piping expert, but to make the task of frosting your cupcakes a cinch, fold over a pastry bag or plastic zip bag over a cup, as shown below, and fill the cup with frosting. 

Seal the bag, push all the frosting down to one corner and snip off a 1/2 inch from the corner to pipe out the frosting.

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