The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club: Lavender and Earl Grey Scones

So every Wednesday, starting in October, I have been a part of a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club on The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. This is different from my book club and the Book Club Picks I have been reviewing (and desperately need to catch up on). The first week we had Cederberg Tea Company Rooibos + Ginger Tea, Cranberry-Spice Scones with Maple Cream, Tea Time Magazine’s Ham and Cheese Tea Sandwiches, Cucumber-Four Peppercorn Goat Cheese Canapés, Fotina & Pork Puffed Pastry, and Mini Apple Pies.

The second week we had Chami Spice Ginger Plum Tea, Dark Chocolate Ginger Scones, Curried Egg Salad Triple Stacks Sandwiches, Turkey-Apple Tea Sandwiches, Fotina Flower Puffed Pastry, and Lemon Gingerbread Cake.

The third week we had Organic India Tulsi Masala Chai Tea, Parmesan and Chive Scones, Cucumber Aioli Canapés, Ham, Cheddar, and Apple Tea Sandwiches, Cranberry, Brie, and Rosemary Bites, and Mini Pumpkin Crème Brûlée.

And now to the fourth week. This week we had Tiesta Tea Victorian Earl Grey, Lavender and Earl Grey Scones, Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Pinwheels, Hummus Tomato Salad, and Triple Berry Salad.

I couldn’t share the recipes in October as I was in the middle of Horrorfst IX, so I am catching up and of course we always start with scones.

This comes from Flour Covered Apron.

And something yummy to eat with it. 🙂

Ingredients for Earl Grey Lavender Scones:

• 2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 Cup of Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 3 Tea Bags of Earl Grey Tea Blend or ~3 Teaspoons of Loose Leaf Earl Grey Tea
• 1/2 Cup of Butter, Frozen
• 1/2 Cup of Whipping Cream
• 1 Large Egg
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Ingredients for Earl Grey Lavender Glaze:

• 1.5 Teaspoons Culinary Lavender, plus more for garnishing
• 1/2 Cup of Milk
• 2 Tea Bags or 2 Tsps of Loose Leaf Earl Grey
• 1 1/4 Powdered Sugar

Directions for Scones:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Open the 3 tea bags and empty the ground tea leaves directly into the flour mixture-whisk to combine. If using loose leaf tea, grind it down so that it is smaller.
4. Grate the frozen butter and cut it into the flour mixture, using the pastry cutter until incorporated and the mixture has the texture of fine crumbs.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the cream, egg, and vanilla extract.
6. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, then mix together.
7. Once completely combined, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it comes together.
8. Shape the dough into a disc about 8 in in diameter.
9. Slice into 8 wedges.
10. Place the wedges about 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet.
11. Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-22 mins, or until scones are tall and golden brown.
12. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Directions for Glaze:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the milk and lavender to a simmer.
2. Remove from heat, then steep the two bags of Earl Grey teabags or loose leaf tea for about 7 mins.
3. Using a small sieve, or infuser, strain the mixture and discard the lavender.
4. Measure 1/4 cup of the steeped milk.
5. Pour into a small bowl and whisk together with the powdered sugar. For a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar until desired consistency and sweetness are reached.
6. Once scones are cool, drizzle with glaze and sprinkle with lavender.

These were extremely delicious, espechially as my sister dried the lavender fresh from our garden. Everyone could not get enough of them.

For more from The Magician’s Nephew Tea Party/Book Club, go to Mini Pumpkin Crème Brûlée

For more recipes, go to Cranberry, Brie, and Rosemary Bites

For more Earl Grey Tea recipes, go to Lavender Earl Grey Tea Shortbread Cookies

For more scones, go to Parmesan and Chive Scones

For more tea posts, go to How the Queen Found the Perfect Cup of Tea

The Picture of Earl Grey Tea Cookies

So I found this recipe on Earl Grey Tea cookies on Pinterest. It immediately grabbed my attention as the baker named them The Picture of Dorian Earl Grey Cookies. I love Earl Grey Tea and I love the book and film The Picture of Dorian Grey. So this was definitely a win for me.

When I did that tea with my friends a couple of months ago, I thought about making it but for some reason I thought you needed to freeze the dough and I didn’t have time for that. So I just forgot about it…until I purchased some The Picture of Earl Grey Tea from NovelTea Tins. 

I thought it would be perfect to use, but then worried that maybe the jasmine in The Picture of Earl Grey might not blend as easily, after all the recipe called for Earl Grey Tea with Lavender not jasmine and rose petals.

Hmm…

So I decided to try both teas out. The recipe makes a small batch, so it wasn’t too much effort to make a NovelTea Tin’s The Picture of Earl Grey Tea cookies and a batch of Tiesta Tea Victorian Earl Grey Tea cookies.

Tiesta Tea Earl Grey Tea on the left and The Picture of Earl Grey Tea on the Right

This recipe originally comes from The Dough Also Rises. 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup of Butter
• 1/2 Cup of Sugar
• 1/4 Tsp of Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp of Vanilla
• A Few Twists of Salt (I did a few pinches)
• 1/2 Cup of Flour
• 1/2 Tsp of Loose Leaf Earl Grey Tea
• Lavender (optional)
• Milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Crush the tea with a mortar and pestle (I used the end of a rolling pin.)
3. Beat the butter and sugar together.
4. Add Vanilla and salt. Mix well.
5. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and tea (lavender as well if you adding it in.) Mix well.
6. If dough is too dry, add a little milk.
7. Create 1 inch balls of the dough, roll into sugar, and place on a cookie sheet (far apart, cookies spread.)
8. Bake for 6 minutes or until the edges are brown.
9. Cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a plate.

The Picture of Earl Grey Tea Cookies

 

Tiesta Tea Victorian Earl Grey Tea Cookies

 

The dough has no egg and did come out a bit dry, so I had to add some milk into it, just a little. So these cookies bake really fast. The original recipe said 10 minutes, but my cookies all burned. I had to bring the time down, finding 5 mins they aren’t baked through, and with 7 mins they burned-6 seemed just right.

But they were delicious. Both The Picture of Earl Grey and the Tiesta Tea Victorian Earl Grey Tea cookies came out wonderful! They were so good, I had to force myself to stop eating them.

I tried to stop myself so I wouldn’t overdo it with drinking Earl Grey Tea and eating Earl Grey Tea cookies, but I didn’t. I ate and drank far too much.

For more Earl Grey Tea Cookies, go to Lavender Earl Grey Tea Shortbread Cookies

For more cookie recipes, go to Ginger Cardamom Meyer Lemon Crinkle Cookies

For more recipes, go to Cucumber Sandwiches

For more tea posts, go to I Won the Kumi Crochet and Tea India Giveaway

Lavender Earl Grey Tea Shortbread Cookies

So last month my friends and I were supposed to meet up for high tea, but then COVID-19 happened and screwed up all our plans.

So we decided to throw a virtual tea party.

We each set up a space with snacks and tea, I drank Earl Grey Tea and made Cucumber Sandwiches to snack on. When it came to the sweets, I was going to make one thing, but then decided now was the time to try and make something I have wanted to for a long time, Earl Grey Cookies. You all know how much I love Earl Grey Tea:

I have always wanted to make Earl Grey Cookies, I have a ton of pins of them on my pinterest board.

Thats me

The only issue is that you have to chill them for a while before baking and I just haven’t had the time to bake, let alone bake something that had to be chilled first. But with quarantine, I have both the time and the ingredients. This recipe originally comes from Let’s Eat Cake.

Ingredients:

• 3.5 Cups of Flour
• 3/4 Cup of Sugar
• 1 Tbsp of Lavender Earl Grey Loose Leaf Tea
• 1/2 Tsp of Salt
• 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1.5 Cups of Unsalted Butter

Directions:

1. Pulse flour, sugar, tea, and salt together for one minute in a bowl or food processor.
2. Add butter and vanilla extract.
3. Pulse until shaggy dough is formed, about two mins.
4. Remove blade and transfer dough to a working surface.
5. Work dough until it comes together and shape it into two discs.
6. Place each disc on parchment paper and transfer to refrigerator for 30 mins.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
9. Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out cookies using a 1 inch wide cookie cutter.
10. Transfer cookies to baking sheet.
11. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are a light golden brown.

So these cookies were good, but after they had been chilled they were so difficult to scoop out, like they were a rock. I had to use a spoon and chisel the dough, making the cookies extremely tiny. Tiny cookies weren’t all that bad as it let me eat more of them.

I ended up overdoing it though. I drank like 16 cups of tea and I don’t know how many cookies and had a hard time falling asleep.

For more recipes, go to Cucumber Sandwiches

For more tea posts, go to NovelTea Tins’ Romance Sampler

For more cookies, go to Ginger Cardamom Meyer Lemon Crinkle Cookies

For more shortbread cookie recipes, go to Basic Shortbread

For more Earl Grey Tea, go to Iced Blackberry Infused Earl Grey Tea

In other news, this week I am going on vacation.

I know, crazy right? A whole week? I had all these plans to spend the time with my niece doing all kinds of things but now it sounds like it will be a staycation. Oh well.

I’ll be on instagram still but I won’t be doing any posting on my blog.

GOOD!