Books, Tea, and the Trinity: King Arthur Flour Fudgy Brownies

Back in 2020, some friends and I started a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club. We met every Wednesday and worked our way through the Chronicles of Narnia and are currently working through The Chronicles of Prydain. When we started I resolved to share all the recipes, but I couldn’t keep up and that’s why I’m still three years behind (but I’m getting there!) All recipes are now going to be titled Books, Tea, and the Trinity. 

After we finished The Magician’s Nephew, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; A Horse and His Boy,Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: the next book in the series was The Silver Chair.

The first week we had: Cheese and Basil Scones, TeaTime Magazine Cucumber Canapés with Lemon-Basil Butter, TeaTime Magazine Egg Salad and Watercress Sandwiches, and yogurt fruit bark; along with Winter Grey tea.

I’m not sure if you caught it, but almost all the food had a green theme to go with the “Lady of the Green Kirtle”. Something that we continued the following week with: Green Milk Thai Tea, Matcha Scones with Lemon Drizzle, Cucumber Sandwiches, Tomato Mozzarella Pesto Sandwiches, three types of Pasta Salad, and Brownies.

This brownie recipe is my favorite and comes from The King Arthur Flour Cookbook and one of the best brownie recipes I have ever made. I highly recommend these.

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
• 2 cups (14 ounces) sugar
• 1 cup (3 ounces) Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup (4¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (4 ounces) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
• 1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.
2. •In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a medium saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter,
3. Add the sugar and stir to combine.
4. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it’s hot (110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it will become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
5. Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla.
6. Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth, then add the flour and nuts and chips, again stirring until smooth.
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
8. Bake the brownies for 29 to 32 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a tiny amount of crumb clinging to it. The edges of the brownies should be set, but the center still soft.
9. Remove the brownies from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving

These are soooo good! I love them and every time I make them they are immediately eaten up. They never last long at my house or at parties. Highly recommend!

And some of these delicious brownies.

For more brownie recipes, go to Brown Butter Matcha Brownies

For more dessert recipes, go to Apple Buttermilk Cake

For more King Arthur Flour recipes, go to Snickerdoodles

For more from our Books, Tea, and the Trinity tea times, go to Tomato Mozzarella Pesto Sandwiches and Watercress Sandwiches

For more recipes, go to Matcha Scones with Lemon Drizzle

For more tea posts, go to Tea for Me, Tea For YouTea for Me, Tea For You

Books, Tea, and the Trinity: TeaTime Magazine’s Egg Salad and Watercress Sandwiches

Back in 2020, some friends and I started a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club. We met every Wednesday and worked our way through the Chronicles of Narnia and are currently working through The Chronicles of Prydain. When we started I resolved to share all the recipes, but I couldn’t keep up and that’s why I’m still three years behind (but I’m getting there!) All recipes are now going to be titled Books, Tea, and the Trinity. 

After we finished The Magician’s Nephew, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; A Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: the next book in the series was The Silver Chair.

The first week we had: Cheese and Basil Scones, TeaTime Magazine Cucumber Canapés with Lemon-Basil Butter, TeaTime Magazine Egg Salad and Watercress Sandwiches, and yogurt fruit bark; along with Winter Grey tea.

I’m not sure if you caught it, but almodt all the food had a green theme to go with the “Lady of the Green Kirtle”

This recipe comes from TeaTime Magazine, a wonderful gift from a friend that keeps on giving! 🙂

Ingredients:

• 6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup coarsely chopped watercress
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1½ tablespoons mustard
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 slices firm white sandwich bread

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together eggs, watercress, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper until combined.
2. Spread a thick, even layer of egg salad onto 3 bread slices. Top each with a remaining bread slice to make 3 whole sandwiches.
3. Using a serrated bread knife in a gentle sawing motion, trim and discard crusts from each sandwich to create a 3-inch square. Cut each sandwich diagonally into 4 equal triangles. Serve immediately, or cover with damp paper towels, place in a covered container, and refrigerate for a few hours until serving time.

Food was delicious! I loved these sandwiches and have made them multiple times.

And food to go with.

For more tea sandwich recipes, go to Pepper Teigen’s Thai Sweet Chili Tea Sandwiches

For more egg salad recipes, go to Egg Salad and Cherry Tomatoes Sandwiches

For more Teatime Magazine recipes, go to Cucumber Canapés with Lemon-Basil Butter

For more from our Books, Tea, and the Trinity tea times, go to Cheese and Basil Scones

For more recipes, go to Glazed Cinnamon Scones

For more tea posts, go to Tea for Me, Tea For YouTea for Me, Tea For You

How to Throw a Valentea Party

I’m not one of those people who likes to take their holiday decorations right when the holiday ends and set up for the next one. I also celebrate Valentine’s Day until February, but last year I threw a Valentea party in two weeks and wanted to share it with you all. However, I know people need more time than that and wanted to share it with you all.

Christmas 2021 my friend was given a book that had ideas to hold a tea party every month. She held the first party on January 29th and no one wanted to do the next one, the Valentine’s Day party. I agreed and of course had to change the direction to Valentea and Jane Austen.

Invitations:

So the first thing you need for a party is invitations. I like to make my own cards and sent everyone a Valentine. I used romantic and love quotes from my favorite books.

Decorations:

After planning that came decorations. I’m lucky that I still have the ones from my bridal shower. I have reused those so many times! Yep, I used my pink floral table runners, framed Jane Austen quotes (which can be purchased from this shop); along with pink and white flowers.

Menu:

I was able to figure out my menu pretty quickly as I have a Tea Time magazine subscription, a Betty Crocker holiday cookbook, a Nancy Drew Cookbook, etc. I had a lot of recipes to choose from.

Tea Choices:

I wanted everything to be pink and red as it was a Valentea party so I had MadsenCreations make a Red Chai and Pink Moon Tea. I also picked Tiesta Tea Nutty Almond Cream Tea (which turns the water pink).

Food Menu:

We made Teatime Magazine Orange Cream Scones, Tea Time Magazine Lavender White Chocolate & Cranberry-Raspberry Scones, Tea Time Magazine’s Triple Stack Red Bell Pepper and Cream Cheese Sandwiches, Tea Time Magazine’s Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Eating Well’s Radish Tea Sandwiches, French Onion Soup, Tomato Soup, a tart, and Heart Shaped Rice Krispy Treats.

Tea Time Magazine Orange Cream Scones

Ingredients

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange zest
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon cold heavy whipping cream, divided
• 2 large eggs, divided
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest until combined. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut in cold butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup cold cream, 1 egg, and vanilla extract. Add to flour mixture, stirring until a dough begins to form. Working gently, bring mixture together with hands until a dough forms.
4. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead gently 4 to 5 times. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to a 1-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch fluted round cutter dipped in flour, cut 13 scones from dough, rerolling scraps as needed. Place scones 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1 tablespoon cold cream and remaining egg until combined. Brush egg mixture over tops of scones.
6. Bake until edges of scones are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean, 18 to 21 minutes. Serve warm.
7. Optional: Add a glaze.

Tea Time Magazine Lavender White Chocolate & Cranberry-Raspberry Scones

Ingredients

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
2. ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
3. 2 teaspoons baking powder
4. ½ teaspoon dried culinary lavender
5. ½ teaspoon salt
6. 4 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into pieces
7. 1 cup chopped dried Cranberries and Raspberries
8. 1 (4-ounce) bar white baking chocolate, such as Ghirardelli, chopped
9. 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
10. ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, ⅓ cup sugar, baking powder, lavender, and salt, whisking well.
4. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add cranberries, strawberries, and chocolate; stirring until combined.
5. In a liquid-measuring cup, combine cream and vanilla extract, stirring to blend. Add to flour mixture, stirring until mixture is evenly moist. (If dough seems dry, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Working gently, bring mixture together with hands until a dough forms.
6. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently 4 to 5 times. Using a rolling pin, roll dough to a ½-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch heart-shaped cutter, cut 12 scones from dough. Place scones 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet, and sprinkle tops with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
7. Bake scones until edges are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

Games:

Game 1: Who Said It?

For this game I took all the romance quotes I had used on the Valentines and people had to match up the quote with who said it.

Game 2: Who Can Name the Most Romance Movies?

For this game I had everyone turn their sheet of paper over and write down as many romance films they could think of in a minute. This was a ton of fun as afterwards we all talked about which ones we liked and what films were our favorites to watch.

I had a lot of fun with our tea parties, and I hope this helps if you want to plan a Valentea party.

Valentea food also doesn’t count.

For more party posts, go to Jane Austen Birthday Party Music & Party Review

For more Valentine’s Day posts go to, Jane in Love

For more tea posts, go to Spill the Tea: Alley Cat Cafe

For more recipes, go to Dragon Cheddar and Tomato Scones

Brown Butter Matcha Brownies

Do you love Matcha? I do!

And I’m always on the lookout for a new matcha recipe. I discovered this brown butter matcha brownie recipe on Cooking Therapy, last year around Saint Patrick’s day and thought it would be perfect it makes as it is green. Unfortunately, they were out of white chocolate chips and I had to use regular chocolate. It tasted good, but didn’t look very matcha-y. I decided to try it again and make sure this time I had white chocolate.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup unsalted butter browned
• 4 oz white chocolate
• 2 tbsp matcha powder
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 3 eggs room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ¼ tsp flaky salt optional

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 8×8 baking pan with butter and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Heat the butter over high heat until it melts. Lower the heat to low. Heat the butter until small brown bits start to appear. Remove from the stove.
4. Add white chocolate and matcha powder to a small bowl. Pour the brown butter over the top and stir until all the chocolate melts. Let the mixture cool for 2 minutes.
5. In large bowl, combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat with a hand mixer or stand mixer until thick and creamy (5-10 minutes).
6. While mixing, stream in your matcha chocolate ganache from step 4. Whisk until a uniform green batter appears.
7. Lastly, sift your flour into the bowl. Using a spatula, gently fold the flour into the batter using a until a green batter forms.
8. Spoon into your prepared baking pan.
9. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
10. Take out the brownies and slam them on the counter to get rid of some the air. Sprinkle some flaky sea salt over the top and put the brownies back in the oven. Bake for another 10 minutes.
11. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

This was absolutely delicious and I cannot stop eating it. I had to give it away to family it is so good.

Cannot stop!

For more Matcha recipes, go to Blueberry Matcha Smoothie

For more desserts, go to Applesauce Cake

For more recipes, go to Twice Baked Potatoes

Books, Tea, and the Trinity: Apple Cinnamon Scones

Back in 2020, some friends and I started a Tea Party/Bible Study/Book Club. We met every Wednesday and worked our way through the Chronicles of Narnia and are currently working through the Lorien Legacies. When we started I resolved to share all the recipes, but since then have decided to rework these posts. Instead of having the book we are reading through at the front of the recipe, I’m changing it to be our tea group’s name: Books, Tea, and the Trinity.

After we finished The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; the next book in the series was A Horse and His Boy. This book was a bit harder to plan recipes as it didn’t have as many starting off points as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but that also meant we could plan whatever we wanted to.

As I wasn’t in charge of this book, there will be no discussion questions, just recipes.

The first week we had Cederberg Tea Co. Classic Red and Red Chai Tea. We also had Apple Cinnamon Scones, Heirloom Tomato Tarts with Basil, and a Waldorf Salad.

This scone recipe comes from the King Arthur Baking Company.

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 8 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup fresh apple, in 1/2″ pieces (about half a medium apple)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Topping

• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• milk, for brushing

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.
2. Add the butter to the mixture in the bowl, until the mixture is unevenly crumbly.
3. Stir in the chopped apple.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and applesauce.
5. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until all is moistened and holds together.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment; if you don’t have parchment, just use a baking without greasing it. Sprinkle a bit of flour atop the parchment or pan. Or use your scone pan.
7. Scrape the dough onto the floured parchment or pan, and divide it in half. Gently pat and round each half into a 5″ to 5 1/2″ circle about 3/4″ thick.
8. To make the topping, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Brush each circle with a bit of water or milk, and sprinkle with the topping.
9. Using a knife, slice each circle into 6 wedges.
10. Place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered.
11. While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F.
12. Bake the scones for 18 to 22 minutes, or until they’re golden brown.
13. Remove the scones from the oven, and cool briefly on the pan.
14. Enjoy!

These scones were delicious! We instantly devoured them! We had a hard time trying to stop eating.

I also just made them the other day and turned out to be missing some ingredients, having to substitute with more applesauce. The scones were just as good, which is a great marker of the recipe, as the base was strong enough to withstand changes. I highly recommend these scones.

For more from our Books, Tea, and the Trinity tea times, go to Spinach Puffs

For more scone recipes, go to Blueberry Yogurt Oat Scones

For more from the King Arthur Baking Company, go to Snickerdoodles

For more recipes, go to How to Make Royal Milk Tea

For more tea posts, go to Spill the Tea: Caroline’s Coffee Roaster