Tea Is For Cookie

Do you think the song would have caught on if Cookie Monster held his furry, blue pinky out while sipping some Earl Grey?

Hmm...probably not. But, since I'm not a coffee drinker <gasp!> I'm always on the look out for cookies that will pair nicely with a nice, hot cup of tea. I think I may have found just the one with this Spiced Almond Wafer. 

This cookie is another one from my Martha Stewart Cookie Book, and it will definitely be one that I'll be  making again. Not only were they tasty, but they were pretty easy to make. 

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp

1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup sliced, blanched almonds

Directions

1. Line two mini loaf pans with plastic wrap. I got crafty here and used one mini loaf pan and a plastic mini box from my son's lunch box. Unlike Martha, I don't just have mini loaf pans laying around. 

2. Whisk together flour, baking soda & salt. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed for 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add in eggs and spices. 

Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions.

3. Press cookie dough into pans and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for 1 1/2 hours or up to one month! 

An "Almost Chef" sighting! Pressing the dough into the mini loaf pans

1 actual mini loaf pan (in back) and 1 makeshift pan - worked out perfectly

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove dough from 1 pan. Let soften slightly. 

Cut eight 1/8-inch- thick slices with sharp knife. Unlike Martha, my knife skills aren't all that amazing, so, I have no idea the exact thickness of my slices, but I managed to get a lot. 

5. Cover remaining dough and freeze until ready to use. Place slices 1 1/2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat. I used parchment paper, and probably didn't space them that far apart either. Look at me breaking all the rules! 

Don't forget to press a few almond slices on each cookie right before you bake them!

And you know what? They came out just as well...

6. Bake until dark golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool on sheet on a wire rack. 

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Spiced Almond Wafers - Martha Stewart Recipes 

The cookies ended up being the perfect compliment to a nice mug of tea, although my folks (who enjoyed a fresh batch themselves) suggested easing up on the ginger. The nice thing about these cookies is that you can adjust the spices to your own taste...jazz them up, tame them down...either way, the texture and sweetness is probably just enough to get Cookie monster to change his tune...