Fresh Peach Sweet Tea

Right now we have an abundance of late-season peaches in our fridge. They aren't the greatest quality, certainly not mouth-watering like the peaches we get in August. I would never cook with those peaches, they are best eaten fresh, with the juice running down your arm. The ones I'm dealing with now, while the flavor is fine, are not at all juicy and a bit mealy. What to do with all these peaches?

I wanted a special beverage for the dinner, and since I currently have about two pounds of loose leaf black tea waiting to be used (Bless you, dear friend who sent it to me!) it only made sense; Peach Iced Tea.

Here's what I came up with:

Fresh Peach Sweet Tea

Makes about 6 quarts

2 lb fresh peaches (about 6)
6-8 tea bags, or Tbs loose-leaf tea (I highly recommend loose-leaf)
2-3 C simple syrup*
8 C water

Put your water on to boil. While waiting, peel and slice peaches (as long as they aren't super mush, you can peel them with a regular vegetable peeler.) and put through a food mill or food processor. If you want you can then force the peach puree through a fine sieve.

When the water boils, turn off the heat, add your tea bags and allow to steep for 5 minutes. This will make a good strong tea without steeping so long it turns bitter.

This is my kind of tea bag. :)

Now, if you've forced the peaches through a sieve, you could now simply stir it into the tea. I wanted mine very smooth and not pulpy though, so I didn't sieve it. I put the peaches in cheese cloth and poured the tea over it, allowing all the peach juices to be brought out and the fibers left behind. Squeeze the pulp as dry as you can, there is really very little waste. Stir in as much or as little simple syrup as you like, keeping in mind that it's strong tea that will be served over ice, so you may want it a tad too sweet to start with. Enjoy!

* Simple Syrup is made simply by combining equal parts water and sugar in a sauce pan and bringing it to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cool and use in any sweet drinks you want.

Speckled Biscotti

I've experienced biscotti in a number of places; coffee shops where they are individually wrapped in cellophane and so dry they shatter with every bite that isn't dunked, at a part where one of the guests brought a strangely sweet and nearly sticky biscotti (if it could be called that)... but I have yet to find anything named biscotti that I would chose to eat over this recipe. I came across it three years ago and return to it again and again for me favorite dunking dessert! Be it coffee, cocoa or tea (my choice) it'll warm the winter blues.

Pictured in a Christmas gift basket

Preheat oven to 350*

4 1/2 A flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C sugar
2/3 C vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 C lightly chopped pecans
1/2 C semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1/2 C dried cranberries, or dried berries of choice (cherries, blueberries, etc)

Sift together first four ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar, oil and eggs until blended. Gradually add flour mixture alternately with portions of the sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. This will make a very stiff batter. Add the nuts and fruit and stir in as well as you can before turning dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until the fruit and nuts are well distributed. Divide dough into 3 equal portions and shape into 14" 'logs'. These will be roughly 4" wide and 1/2" thick. The dough doesn't spread much during baking and you don't want to end up with short biscotti. Place logs several inches apart on greased baking sheets and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 300*. Let the biscotti cool on the pan 30 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board. Slice the biscotti diagonally in 3/4" wide slices. Return to baking sheets and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer, until firm. Let cool on wire racks. Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired.

Chocolate Raspberry Scones

I'm not a huge fan of raspberry flavored chocolate, but raspberries and chocolate are a totally different story. We have a bumper crop of our own raspberries stored in our freezers, and I'm forever trying to think of something different to do with them. When a sweet ingredient needs to be used up, I generally look to scones for the answer. The results this time are amazingly delicious.

Chocolate Raspberry Scones

2 C all purpose flour

1/3 C sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp butter, cold and cut into pieces

2 ounces dark chocolate chunks* or chips (about 1/2 cup)

3/4 C fresh or frozen raspberries**

1/2 C plain yogurt

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk or sift the dry ingredients together, then cut in the butter until it looks like coarse crumbs, letting some of the butter remain in small pieces. Mix in chocolate and raspberries. Make a well in the center. In a separeat bowl, beat together yogurt, vanilla and egg. Pour into the well in the flour mixture, and using a fork, quickly but gently incorporate the yogurt into the flour. Don't over mix. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead a few times till the dough comes together. Pat into a 7" round, about 1 1/2" thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Place on a pan with about an inch between each scone. Bake 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes, then drizzle with a glaze made of 1/2 C powdered sugar and 1 tbsp milk.



* I roughly chopped 2 ounces of semi-sweet baking chocolate. I actually like this a lot better than chocolate chips, having the varying sizes of chocolate pieces. Also, chips have a way of turning hard soon after the scones are out of the oven. The chopped chocolate didn't seem to do this.

** If you want to use frozen raspberries, like I did, don't defrost them first. Bust them up with a knife and throw them in as frozen as possible to prevent them from bleeding and dissolving into the dough.

Teisen Cymraeg

AKA Welsh Tea Cakes. I've made them twice now, and they are very nice. They aren't the gorgeous dainty little desserts you'd find in a magazine, they are more like comfort-food. And so I shall share the recipe. It should be noted that this picture is NOT mine, but the cakes look exactly like what this recipe makes.

3 C flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C butter
1 C dried currants
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
3-4 Tbs milk
extra sugar
Butter, honey or marmalade for topping.

Cut butter into dry ingredients. In a small bowl, mix together currants, sugar and egg. Add to dry ingredients. Sprinkle in milk 1 Tbs at a time, mix until all ingredients are moist and dough almost cleans the sides of bowl. Gather dough into a ball and roll out 1/2" thick*. Cut into 2 1/2" circles. Cook on a lightly greased griddle or skillet about 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Turn and cook on the other side, then roll in sugar.

*You probably want them a tad thinner than that, or you might end up with slightly doughy centers. I was amazed that they cooked in so short a time as it is.
Also, the recipe says this makes 5 dozen. Following the instructions exactly, I got two. I don't know why the difference, but it's so.
These cakes are best fresh with strong unsweetened tea (imo), but left-overs are excellent when slightly toasted. They also freeze very well.

Maple Walnut Glazed Scones

I meant to take pictures earlier as I was making these, but I forgot to until they were mostly eaten! Oh well, they still look incredibly yummy.

Now, when it comes to pancakes, I'm a stickler for real maple syrup. I wouldn't be caught dead with Aunt Jemima in my house. However, I believe that using maple flavoring in baked goods is excusable, because you can't appreciate real syrup in baked goods, and maple extract is cheap in comparison.

This recipe was actually for pecan scones with molasses glaze. I changed the nut and the flavor, and I personally think they are wonderful.




Maple Walnut Scones

2 C flour
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbs chilled butter, cut into cubes
3/4 C chopped walnuts
2/3 C buttermilk
2 egg yolks
1 tsp maple extract

Glaze:
2 tbs cream
4 tbs butter
1/2 C brown sugar
2/3 C confectioner's sugar
1/8-1/4 tsp maple extract

Preheat oven to 400*

For scones, mix dry ingredients and cut in butter until pea-sized. In a separate bowl, whisk milk, yolks and maple together. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and pour milk into well. Toss with a fork until it comes together in moist clumps. Gather into a ball and press into an 8" round. Cut into 6 (for large) or 8 (normal sized) wedges and place 1/2" to 3/4" apart on an ungreased pan. Bake about 16 minutes. Place on a rack.
While scones are slightly cooling, heat and whisk butter, brown sugar and cream together in a heavy sauce pan until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar and maple. Spread over warm scones and let set 30 minutes, or until glaze is set to the touch.

Enjoy!

Chai!

Chai tea seems to be a big deal right now in the world of hot-beverages-on-the-go. To tell the truth, I've never had any other than what you see in the picture here. So, I couldn't tell you if this recipe makes the same thing you buy or not. All I know is that it tastes good on a chilly spring evening.

Chai Tea

1/2 C water

1 bag black tea, such as English breakfast, orange pekoe or Darjeeling. (I use Yorkshire)

1 3" piece cinnamon stick (I just use regular ground cinnamon... a couple of shakes.)

2 C milk

2 Tbs raw sugar or honey

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp cardamom

Combine water, tea bag and cinnamon in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 5 minutes. Discard tea bag and cinnamon. Stir in remaining ings. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated, but do not boil. Serve in warm mugs.

This is also super easy to make in the microwave.

May I ask a favor? If any of you have had chai before, and want to try this recipe, let me know how it compares. I've asked a friend before *coughcoughyouknowwhoyouarecough* but she never got back to me. Humph.