Baking in the Fog

By Shannon Scales

Spring has sprung! And with it, the hope that this cold and flu-filled winter has come to an end! I don’t know how the rest of you fared this year, but illness certainly held residence at our house longer than we would have liked. It seemed to have been the winter of the epic flu and we saw our share in the Scales house. Today is the first day in a while that I have been feeling like myself and less like a tired, achy, half-human. I am happy to be back in the kitchen baking!

We had rain here this morning and I found myself inspired to bake a batch of my London Fog cookies made with Lady Baker’s London Fog tea. This tea is a signature blend of Lady Baker’s and encompasses the full, creamy vanilla flavour of the popular earl grey latte. I love this tea because I have always enjoyed a London Fog latte, a strongly steeped earl grey with vanilla syrup and steamed milk, but I never really liked how sweet it was or that to have the vanilla flavour I had to have a processed syrup in my tea. As a tea-only girl in a coffee filled world, the London Fog latte was often one of the only options for a specialty tea beverage in a coffee shop. But now I can have that amazing blend of bergamot and vanilla, sweetened to my liking (just a touch of brown sugar) without the syrup or artificial flavours! Lady Baker’s London Fog tea is a perfected blend of our Cream Earl Grey and Vanilla Almond Rooibos. Just add milk (steamed or not), and you’ve got a perfect London Fog latte! It’s wonderful on its own as well, which makes it the perfect tea for entertaining.

I am way too enthusiastic about this cookie recipe! I love to bake and challenge myself with complex recipes that impress, but sometimes you just want a simple cookie that looks impressive, but is incredibly simple. This is the cookie, friends! If you have a food processor, you can prepare the dough for these cookies in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. I love dough that can be made in a food processor. No fancy techniques, just turn it on and away you go.

I found these cookies to be light with a bit of a crunch and a lovely soft centre. Everything you want in a cookie with a little added crunch from the tea leaves mixed in there. They are also the perfect dunker for a hot cup of tea! I'm pairing mine with an exquisite cup of Heaven on Earth. This tea really is heavenly, with its blend of black, oolong and white teas, and soft undertones of rose, vanilla and pomegranate. It is soft, aromatic and pairs perfectly with these cookies.

London Fog will be Lady Baker’s featured tea of the month for April. You will find it tucked inside our monthly subscription box, delivered right to your door, along with two other staples of the Lady Baker’s Tea collection, a special tea-essential gift and my recipe for London Fog Cookies! You can order yours right here at ladybakerstea.com under Subscriptions and enjoy ~30 cups of Lady Baker’s tea each month!

London Fog Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp Lady Baker's London Fog Tea

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup icing sugar

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla

2 tsp water

½ cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Pulse together all the dry ingredients in a food processor until the tea leaves are pulverised. Add vanilla, water and butter. Pulse together until the dough is formed. Place the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and form into a log. Wrap the plastic wrap around the log and roll smooth (I like to make sure my ends are relatively flattened, creating a cylindrical shape). Chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

When chilled, slice the log into ⅓ inch thick disks. Place on baking sheet, an inch apart, and bake until edges are lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

I like to serve these as is, but they would lend themselves well to a little dot of buttercream frosting, partially dipped/drizzled with melted white chocolate or an icing sugar glaze. Enjoy!