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Prep time
50 minutes
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Cook time
10 minutes
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Makes
38 - 40 cookies
Author Notes
Aunt Da was the much-older sister of my favorite grandmother, Nanny. We all lived in the same town when I was growing up, and she was a great cook with a few distinct specialties. I mostly remember her desserts: French Silk pie, lemon meringue pie and wonderfully simple tea cakes that seemed simultaneously substantial and light. She always made huge batches and stored them in a silver canister that seemed bottomless.
Here, I've reimagined them to be even lighter (using a combo of cake and whole wheat pastry flour) and slightly spiced with Irish Breakfast tea, Meyer lemon zest and a nice dose of marzipan (rather than the originally called for vanilla).
These are absolutely delightful, subtly flavored, not-too-sweet pillows of comfort. And, they last for weeks! Make them a day or so in advance if you can!
Great for holiday gifts and parties! —em-i-lis
Ingredients
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1 cup
sugar
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2
bags Irish Breakfast tea, carefully opened, tea reserved, bags discarded
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1
stick butter, slightly chilled, cut into 1 tablespoon chunks
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3 ounces
marzipan
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2
eggs
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zest of 1 Meyer lemon
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1 cup
cake flour
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1 teaspoon
baking powder
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1/4 teaspoon
baking soda
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1/4 teaspoon
salt
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1/4 cup
milk
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3 cups
(or slightly more) whole wheat pastry flour
Directions
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the sugar and loose tea. Add the butter chunks, and with your fingers begin to incorporate it (this is optional but I like to get it started before beating). Put the paddle attachment on the mixer and cream the marzipan, butter, and tea-sugar until well-combined. Add in the zest and then the eggs, one at a time.
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Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and when evenly incorporated, add in the milk and 2 cups of the pastry flour. When that's well incorporated, slowly add the remaining cup of pastry flour.
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The dough will be a bit sticky and this is OK. If it seems wet though, add a bit more flour (you're going to be rolling this out on a generously floured surface after chilling so keep that in mind). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375.
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When the dough is chilled, place it on a generously floured work surface (I use a silpat covered with flour) and roll it out to about 1/2" thickness (I use a rolling pin and pastry sock). Cut into your desired shape, place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-11 minutes, until lightly tanned on top and darker brown on bottom. Store in an airtight container.
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