Day 1 - Chai Shortbread recipe by MyPersonaliTea

Here is a modification on the classic Canada cornstarch shortbread recipe a chai shortbread. I have just added in some chai spice that you can either buy or make yourself. Either way, add as much as you want to taste. I prefer a strong spicy flavour so I prefer more.

Ingredients

1 c flour
1/2 c corn starch
1/2 c icing sugar
3/4 c butter
2 tbsp chai spice mixture (cardomom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves)

Cream together first 4 ingredients.
Add in the chai spice mixture. Add more or less based on desired level of spice taste.
Roll into 1 inch balls
Flatten balls with fork onto cookie sheet.
Chill in fridge for 30-60 minutes
Preheat oven to 300F.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown around edges and bottom on cookies.

Notes: Again, I’m not a cook and I’m sure there are many techniques to baking that would make the above recipes tastier. In any case, I hope you enjoy the recipe and the results.

Some variations on the classic shortbread recipe involve adding in extra liquid. With those recipes I find you get a shortbread that spreads out more than usual. If you don’t want this then I suggest reducing the amount of butter a bit or increasing the dry ingredients a bit.

For the savory shortbreads I would suggest limiting the sugar content. I will keep working on the ratio of sweet to savory for those but the do smell wonderful when you take them out of the oven!

Tea Pairings: Good question. Honestly, I think shortbread goes with anything! And tea goes with anything too! So, it’s a match made in heaven. I have tried different teas with each of the shortbread varieties with no particular pairing methodology behind the pairing. Each tea I have used can stand on its own. However, in this particular picture above, I had a yellow tea that I wanted to try so here we have chai shortbread and yellow tea.

Modifications: OMG! There are so many modifications to the classic shortbread recipe which is from the Canada brand of corn starch. A picture of this shortbread recipe on the back of the Canada brand cornstarch box can be found in the figure below. I’m considering trying adding loose leaf tea leaves into the classic shortbread batter after it is creamed together. For example, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Lavendar, any herbal tea. After I have finished the 12 days of shortbread I will included a list of recipes of future shortbread variations such as caramel, toffee, skor, sea salt, white chocolate macadamian nut, carrot cake, pumpkin spice, cranberry and pistachio. I’m also considering more savory variations using other types of cheese like brie, havarti, smoked cheeses, maybe even some cream cheeses.

References

17 Incredibly Perfect Tea and Biscuit Combinations, Emma Cooke, March 2016, buzzfeed.com, URL: https://www.buzzfeed.com/emmacooke24/digestives-and-breakfast-tea-is-life
The best tea and biscuit pairings, Niamh Ollerton, Nov 2016, lovefood.com, URL: https://www.lovefood.com/news/56428/tea-biscuit-pairings-breakfast-tea-chocolate-hobnob-earl-grey-ginger-nut

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Lani and Norm

I enjoy learning and sharing that knowledge.Sharing has been in many forms over the years, as a teaching assistant, university lecturer, Pilates instructor, math tutor and just sharing with friends and family.Throughout, summarizing what I have learnt in words has always been there and continues to through blog posts, articles, video and the ever growing forms of content out there!