Biscotti di Regina

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biscotti, biscotti di regina, Biscuit, Cookie, italian cookies, Sesame, tea time

The queen’s biscotti, it’s a Sicilian cookies, a cake-like covered with sesame seeds and slightly sweet, very good companion with tea or coffee.

Despite it’s italian originality, I grew up enjoying these cookies, having them on breakfast with a cup of chocolate milk, is the world’s best morning treat I had before going to school. Almost every day, my dad used to wake up very early in the morning, hit the humus stand to bring us a plate of humus for breakfast before we going to school, on his way he also brought us a very warm pita bread and some of these biscotti freshly baked from the nearby bakery shop. Until now, every time I went home, my dad knows whats to bring us for breakfast that even my kids enjoy it too.

Qorshalli b’simsim, that’s the name in arabic. These are not too sweet and cake like in the inside, crunchy from the outside and covered with wonderful toasted sesame seeds. The vanilla flavour has its own act with these cookies, and on top of all of that they are so easy to make.

A few months ago, while searching the library, I came around with the Gourmet magazine cookie book, I noticed these cookies and decided to try. To be honest, they came up very delicious like the one’s my dad used to bring, but these are more cake like or more soft from inside, the flavor is the same.
These cookies can be in many shapes. The one from the bakery shop in Palestine make them a fingers shapes or thick sticks.
Don’t forget to enjoy these cookies in the evening tea time too, they are a good companion with tea.

Biscotti di Regina (Queen’s Biscuits)

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
5 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 pound sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 450°
Cream butter add 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg and add gradually milk and vanilla extract.
Sift together into a bowl flour, salt, and baking powder. Make a hollow in the center and gradually work in the butter-sugar mixture. If the dough seems too dry, add more milk.

Shape the dough into a ball and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Wash and drain well sesame seeds.
Break off pieces of the chilled dough the size of walnuts and flatten them slightly between the palms.

Roll the biscuits in the sesame seeds and bake them on a cookie sheet 1/2 inch apart in a hot oven (450° F.) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Makes 5 dozen biscuits.

Chocolate Chip Shortbread with Earl – Grey Infused Glaze

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Baking, butter cookies, chocolate chip, cookies, cooking with tea, Dessert, Earl Grey, Earl Grey glaze, shortbread, tea glaze, tea time

There comes a time in every week ( or maybe in every day) when nothing is more satisfying than a snack of fresh-from-the-oven cookies, alongside a cold and creamy glass of milk or warming cup of tea.

When I’m talking shortbread cookies, I think of simplicity and little ingredients. This recipe of shortbread has no eggs in it, no baking powder, yet it calls for no cooling after mixing the dough. We don’t need to put everything from the pantry into a batch of cookies—a little restraint can go a long way toward helping us remember the pleasure of the simpler things.

But the absolute best part about shortbread? Butter! Shortbread cookies usually have a high percentage of fat and slightly less sugar than other cookies, leaving you with a not-too-sweet cookie that has a nice buttery flavor to it. The butter gives this classic cookie its just-so-slightly crumbly texture, which makes biting into a piece pure bliss. Butter also makes each bite melt a bit on your tongue as you munch on the cookies.

The glaze is new to me, the first time I used it or even see any recipe calling for it. Delicate Earl Grey tea infused glaze gives this unique flavor to the Cookies, calming and refreshing Earl Grey tea taste.

For optimum flavor, use unsalted butter to allow the flavors of butter, chocolate, orange and tea to stand out.

1 cup butter, unsalted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp grated orange peel
2 cups all-purpose flour
1\4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 f. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or leave them ungreased.

Using an electric mixer on low-speed, cream the Butter, orange peel and Sugar together in a bowl until combined, Stop the mixer to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Continuing on low-speed, gradually mix in the Flour, cornstarch and Salt. Scrape the bowl. When dough has formed, add in the chocolate chips, then complete the mixing by hand with a wooden spoon.

Roll dough into 1\4 inch thick rectangle on lightly floured board. Cut dough lengthwise into 4 rows and diagonally into 8 rows. Place shortbread 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until bottoms begin to brown. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pan, cool completely on wire rack. Prepare Earl Grey-Infused Glaze. Drizzle over shortbread.

Earl Grey Infused Glaze:

makes 1\3 cup or enough to drizzle on the cookies

1\4 cup boiling water
3 bags Earl Grey tea
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened

pour boiling water over the tea bags, let steep 3-5 minutes. Remove tea bags.
In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and butter. Gradually stir in enough tea to make glaze thin enough to drizzle.