The first time I had a cup of Chai it made me want to spit it back out. Andy and I were dating, and he had a box of Chai tea in his apartment, I gave it a try and I thought it was disgusting- too many spices, and I wanted tea, not a spice drink. I still don’t know why Andy had that box of Chai, because he really can’t drink it. Even the smell of Chai turns him off. While I can feel sorry for him that he can’t enjoy the pleasures of a great cup of Chai, that just means more for me. So fast forward a few years, and I am pregnant with Zander, and I’m trying my best to avoid caffeine. While visiting with my parents, my mom pulls this box out of the fridge and says, “you’ve gotta try this”. She pours a little into a mug, then adds milk, and nukes it for a few minutes. The resulting beverage was like nectar of the Gods to me. That mug, that beautiful mug of Rooibos Chai completely changed my opinion of chai forever, and I will forever be an addict.
So when I was looking for a biscotti recipe yesterday and came across the recipe for Chai Spice Biscotti, I was instantly lured. There was one thing though that kept me from leaping up and making it on the spot, and that was that it called for 3 Chai tea bags to be used. And not brewed up as tea, meaning the bags are cut open and the actual tea added to the dough. I wondered about that. I like tea a lot, I love tea, and obviously chai as well, but I don’t like tea-flavored things. Tea ice cream? Not for me. Tea cookies? I don’t think so, and the things I’ve seen lately like tea-crusted fish? No way… But I decided to throw caution to the wind, and worst case scenario, I’d be throwing out the biscotti. Plus I was using chai anyway, so the tea flavor itself doesn’t come out so much as the spices that accompany.
I use Stash brand teas as a norm, so that was the chai I used. Chai Spice Black tea in case you’re interested- although if I’d had some of the Vanilla Chai on hand, I bet that would have worked even better. The biscotti dough took a little while to come together, it was very dry and crumbly at first, but a little kneading and finally I had two logs of biscotti ready to go into the oven.
These biscotti have a kick. The spices are assertive and loud and clear, and no, I don’t taste that tea flavor at all- just the chai spices which I love. I really like the biscotti- it makes an excellent accompaniment to my coffee. The only thing I would change is that I would use a little less allspice- of all the spices, that one really comes through the most, and it’s just a touch too much. Otherwise, these biscotti are delicious and well worth the time to put together. I was also thinking that some sliced almonds would be excellent in the dough as well. I think they would add something texture wise to the cookie. Otherwise, two thumbs up. I can’t get the kids to even try them,but hey, more for me!
Chai Spice Biscotti 1 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon loose Chai spice tea or orange spice tea (about 3 tea bags)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon triple sec (orange-flavored liqueur) or orange juice
3 large eggs
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (flour through allspice) in a large bowl. Combine the oil, liqueur, and eggs, and add to the flour mixture, stirring until well-blended (the dough will be dry and crumbly). Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 7 or 8 times. Divide the dough in half. Shape each portion into an 8-inch-long roll. Place rolls 6 inches apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; flatten each roll to 1-inch thickness.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove the rolls from baking sheet; cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Cut each roll diagonally into 15 (1/2-inch) slices. Place the slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°; bake 10 minutes. Turn cookies over; bake an additional 10 minutes (the cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack.