Beyond Chocolate Chip Cookies
We all know and love the classic cookie recipes: chocolate chip, peanut butter, and snickerdoodle. But sometimes, the heart (and the stomach!) craves adventure. Enter caraway tea biscuits – a unique twist on a classic cookie recipe.
The recipe for what we are calling Caraway Tea Biscuits is most likely from 1793! The recipe is attributed to a codex put together by the University of Pennsylvania of early American recipes.
This recipe was originally called Desart Cake recipe. To us it seems like a cookie and scone cross. It doesn’t use baking soda or powder as neither were invented or available in 1793, so it lacks the rise we expect in cookies, but it’s not quite as dense as a scone. So a tea biscuit it is!
The original recipe didn’t include vanilla extract and instead was flavored with rum, but we find vanilla a nice addition. One more change we made was substituting half & half for heavy cream. We thought that half & half might be more accessible to most of us. Whichever you use will work well!
Serve up with your favorite mug of hot tea!
The Secret to a Good Cookie? Balance is Key
A truly great cookie goes beyond sweetness. It’s about achieving a perfect balance of flavors and textures. Great cookies offer a satisfying bite, with the right amount of sweetness, a touch of salt, and sometimes, a surprising twist. This is where caraway seeds come in!
What Do Caraway Seeds Taste Like?
Caraway has a long history in Europe as it easily grows in most of the climates there. So unlike spices that needed to be imported from more tropical locations, caraway was found in most European kitchen gardens as well as growing wild in some countrysides.
Caraway Seed has quite a pungent aroma with a warming and bittersweet flavor and notes of orange peel and a lingering hint of anise seed. In central Europe, caraway seeds are found in rye breads, crackers, sausages, cabbage dishes, as well as in soups. You’ll also find caraway flavoring traditional European alcohols such as kummel, schnapps, and akvavit!
The subtle anise-like flavor of caraway seeds adds a touch of complexity to this cookie recipe, complementing the sweetness of the sugar and the richness of the half & half. This unexpected yet delightful combination elevates the cookie experience from ordinary to extraordinary.
Find Caraway Seeds and over 100 more spices at Spice-Topia.com
Let’s Get Cooking!
Caraway Tea Biscuits
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
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In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Add half of the half & half or cream and vanilla extract. Stir until everything is combined. Repeat with the rest of the cream or half & half. Cover bowl with a tea towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
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Lightly flour your hands and the bottom of a glass. With your hands, roll 2 tablespoons of the biscuit dough into a ball. Place on cookie sheet. With the bottom of the floured glass press the ball into a flat circle about 1/2" thick. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
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Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a lightly golden brown. Cool on the cookie sheet pan for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.