Tea and Cookies (12 page)

3.
Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the blondie comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire cake rack and let cool in the pan.

4.
Melt the white chocolate in the top part of a double boiler over hot, not simmering, water. Remove from the heat.

5.
Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the blondie from the sides. Lift up on the foil handles to remove it from the pan in one piece. Drizzle the white chocolate over the top. Sprinkle with the finely chopped cashews. Let stand until the white chocolate is set. Cut into 30 bars. (The blondies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.)

Granola Bars

MAKES
2½ DOZEN
BARS

These moist bars include some of the familiar ingredients of granola, including oats, brown sugar, coconut, and nuts. I like raspberry preserves as the filling, but you can use your favorite—apricot or strawberry are nice, too. Leftovers from your tea party will make excellent additions to a lunch box.

Softened butter for the pan (optional)

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups rolled (old-fashioned) oats

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

½ cup finely chopped walnuts

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, beaten, at room temperature

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup raspberry preserves

1.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9 × 13-inch baking pan. Pleat a 23-inch-long piece of aluminum foil (preferably non-stick) lengthwise to a 9-inch width. Place in the pan, lining the bottom and the two short sides with the foil, letting the excess foil hang over the sides to act as “handles.” If the foil is not nonstick, lightly butter the foil.

2.
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl. Add the oats, coconut, and walnuts and stir well.

3.
Beat the butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until the butter is creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually beat in the brown sugar and beat until the mixture is light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. Gradually beat in the eggs, then the vanilla. Gradually stir in the flour mixture. Reserve 2 cups of the dough. Press the remaining dough into the pan. Dollop the preserves over the surface of the dough in the pan, then spread evenly with a metal spatula. Crumble the reserved dough as evenly as possible over the preserves.

4.
Bake until the top of the pastry is lightly browned and the preserves are bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire cake rack. Let cool completely in the pan.

5.
Lift up on the foil handles to remove the pastry in one piece. Cut into 30 bars. (The bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

Lemon Raspberry Squares

MAKES
16
BARS

There are countless lemon square recipes out there, but I want to encourage you to try these, made a tad more puckery with the addition of red raspberries. The berries give these a festive touch that is welcome at a special tea. Blueberries are an excellent alternative to the raspberries, or use a combination of berries, adding a few blackberries to the mix. And I highly recommend the passion fruit variation.

CRUST

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, at room temperature, plus more for the pan

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Pinch of salt

FILLING

1½ cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

Grated zest of 2 lemons

½ cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

One 6-ounce container fresh raspberries

Confectioners’ sugar for garnish (optional)

1.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter the inside of an 8-inch square baking pan. Pleat a 17-inch-long piece of aluminum foil (preferably nonstick) lengthwise to an 8-inch width. Place in the pan, lining the bottom and two of the sides with the foil, letting the excess foil hang over the sides to act as “handles.” Butter the foil, even if it is nonstick. Dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess.

2.
To make the crust, pulse the flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade to combine. Add the butter and pulse about 15 times, or until the mixture starts to clump together. Press the dough firmly and evenly into the baking pan. Pierce the dough all over with a fork.

3.
Bake until the crust is set and beginning to brown around the edges, about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven.

4.
To make the filling, whisk the granulated sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the eggs and lemon zest and whisk until combined. Gradually whisk in the lemon juice.

5.
Spread the raspberries evenly over the crust. Pour in the filling. Bake until the filling is puffed and golden brown, about 30 minutes.

6.
Transfer to a wire cake rack and let cool in the pan. Run a sharp knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the pastry. Lift up on the foil handles to remove the pastry in one piece. Using a sharp knife, cut into 16 squares. Sift confectioners’ sugar, if using, over the squares and serve. (The lemon squares can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.)

PASSION FRUIT SQUARES:
These are sensational, if you have access to frozen passion fruit pulp. It isn’t practical to use fresh passion fruit as they are prohibitively expensive, and each fruit yields only about 1 tablespoon of pulp. (For this recipe, you would need at least 10 passion fruits.) Instead of the lemon juice and zest, substitute 2/3 cup thawed frozen passion fruit pulp, available in the frozen section of Latino supermarkets. Omit the raspberries.

Linzer Squares

MAKES
25
BARS

For centuries, the Austrian city of Linz has been famous for Linzertorte, a kind of jam tart with a crust redolent of warm spices and roasted nuts. The concept takes well to a cookie treatment, yielding tender, fruit-filled squares whose spiciness is perfect with a cup of tea. For the filling, use regular preserves, as they have a firmer consistency than the seedless variety, and rub them through a sieve to remove the seeds, if you wish. Try to make these a day ahead to mellow the flavors and soften the crust. Chai may seem like an odd match for these cookies, but the spices in each complement the other well. Serve the one on page 32, or your favorite.

Softened butter for the pan

¾ cup hazelnuts, toasted and skinned (see Note)

¾ cup sugar

1½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons Dutch-processed or natural cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grated zest of ½ lemon

One 12-ounce jar raspberry preserves (not seedless preserves), rubbed through a wire sieve to remove seeds

1.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter the inside of an 8-inch square baking pan. Pleat a 17-inch-long piece of aluminum foil (preferably nonstick) lengthwise to an 8-inch width. Place in the pan, lining the bottom and two of the sides with the foil, letting the excess foil hang over the sides to act as “handles.” Butter the foil, even if it is nonstick.

2.
Process the hazelnuts and sugar in a food processor until the hazelnuts are very finely ground, almost a powder. Add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg, vanilla, and lemon zest and pulse until the mixture begins to clump together. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Using the heel of your hand, press and smear the dough onto the work surface until it is well combined. Using a bench scraper or a metal spatula, gather up the dough and press into a thick disk.

3.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place half of the dough on the baking sheet, and shape into an 8-inch square, using the bottom of the baking pan as a template. Add any of the trimmings to the remaining dough. Press the remaining dough into the bottom and 1/8 inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Pierce the dough in a few places with a fork. Refrigerate the dough on the baking sheet to chill and firm it while baking the dough in the pan.