Cimet i šljiva čajni keksi / Cinnamon and Plum Tea Biscuits

{Please scroll down to English version}

Nakon (pre)dugo vremena, vraćam se tipkanju vama.

Iskreno, nema isprike. Nisam bila na nekom putovanju, nisam imala nikakvih neobičnih događaja, a nikako nije razlog da sam zaboravila na vas. ;)

Blagdani su bili i prošli, a ja se nisam vraćala u kuhinju. Možda je razlog tome puno pečene prasetine, lonac sarme i par kilograma kolača koje smo napravili.

Iako sam pojela manje hrane nego prijašnjih godina, nekako sam se je više zasitila. Da, da – i nama blogerima se to zna dogoditi. Kako ne volim forsirati neke stvari, osluškivala sam svoj organizam i čekala da se sva hrana pojede da se vratim 'igranju' i avanturama.

Vratimo se na temu. ;)

Nisam vrsni poznavatelj čajeva, no veliki ljubitelj jesam. I brat i ja imamo kolekciju čajeva, od onih u vrećicama do onih rinfuznih. Neke kupimo i čuvamo kao zlato za posebna raspoloženja, neke pijemo tjednima bez konkurencije, a neke kupimo i mijenjamo s drugima. 

Volim i zelene, i bijele, i crne, i rooibos, i voćne. Moj najdraži čaj je, bez premca, Mexican Winter. Sadrži u sebi i chilli pa ga ja namjerno stavim više i veselim se što me 'pecka' u grlu.

Njega sam i čuvala za posebne prilike jer je bio moj prvi rinfuzni čaj. I to s malog slatkog štanda s prekrasnim i mirisnim kutijama, koje sam sve pomirisala. I to par puta. :D Moram zahvaliti djelatnicama Kuće zelenog čaja na strpljenju sa mnom i otvaranju velikih limenih kutija.

Njega imam još jako malo, i umjesto da se počastim sa novim pakiranjem svog ljubimca, odlučila sam švrljati i dati priliku novom okusu iz obitelji 'crvenog grma'. Privuklo me je više naziva i mirisa, no na ovaj sam se nekako uvijek vraćala – Cimet šljiva. Možda jer su osim svih sastojaka koje volim bile i sušene ružine latice koje inače ne povezujem s hranom jer sam osjetljiva na mirise. Bila sam presretna kada sam odmah pri dolasku kući napravila prvu šalicu i odahnula jer ruža nije dominantna.

Miris koji se proširio nakon samo jedne skuhane šalice ovog čaja je divan pa sam obavezno odlučila tu divnoću uklopiti u kekse. I to baš listiće čaja.

Čaj Cimet šljiva, osim očitih sastojaka cimeta, šljive i rooibosa, u ovom mirisnom paketiću se nalaze i osušene komadiće papaje, grožđa i latice ruže.

Odavno sam već vidjela na Pinterestu simpatične kekse u obliku vrećice za čaj. Ideja je čekala svoj pravi trenutak i on je došao. Izrezivala sam formu u obliku vrećice za čaj, no posebno sam se igrala sa oznakicama za čaj i šarenim bojama. Izgubila sam pojam o vremenu, no opojni miris koji je dolazio iz kuhinje posjetio me je da se nešto fino peče…

Cimet i šljiva čajni keksi

po receptu Butter and brioche

2 žličice čaja Cimet šljiva

¼ šalice šećera

1 mahuna vanilije

½ žličice cimeta

¼ šalice šećera u prahu

1+1/4 šalice brašna

prstohvat soli

2 žlice mlijeka

½ šalice maslaca sobne temperature

smeđi šećer

Zagrijte posudu s debljim dnom. Kada je vruća, pospite je listićima čaja Cimet šljiva* i protresite da se rasporedi u jednom sloju.

Smanjite vatru. Tostirajte jednu do dvije minute dok ne pusti miris, no pazite da ne zagori. Prespite u posudu da se ohlade.

Tostiranom čaju dodajte šećer u prahu i sjemenke jedne mahune vanilije. Pulsirajte u multipraktiku ili mlinu za kavu kao ja dok se skroz ne usitni. Tome dodajte šećer, cimet, sol i brašno te prosijte.

 U slučaju da vam je promaknulo nekoliko listića čaja koji nisu samljeveni, a mislite da će vam smetati – izbacite ih. Osobno sam ih ostavila,a sve sam prosijala da se jednoliko pomiješa jer nemam multipraktik.
Dodajte mlijeko i omekšani maslac te mikserom s nastavkom za tijesto povežite u kompaktno tijesto.

Ovdje imate dva izbora:

1) Tijesto stavite između dvije prijanjajuće folije ili masnog papira i razvaljajte na debljinu 3-4 mm.Spremite u hladnjak ili zamrzivač na barem 30 minuta ili dok ih ne poželite peći.

U međuvremenu napraviti na papiru ili kartonu oblik vrećice za čaj. Vrećicu za čaj stavite na papir i obrubite te izrežite. Formu stavite na razvaljano tijesto i pažljivo izrežite oštrim nožem. Pazite da zadržite oblik.
Slamkom ili vrhom nastavka za slastičarsku vrećicu utisnite kako biste dobili rupicu za konac. Imajte na umu da će se pečenjem rupica malo smanjiti, pa je zato u ovom trenu proširite s nečim, npr. stražnjim dijelom metlice za mikser.



2)Istresite smjesu na lagano pobrašnjenu podlogu i oblikujte u valjak promjera 5 cm.
Pospite po suhoj podlozi smeđi šećer i dobro uvaljajte valjak dok se cijeli ne obloži šećerom. Zamotajte u prozirnu foliju i spremite u hladnjak ili zamrzivač na barem 30 minuta ili dok ih ne poželite peći.
Režite valjak na kriške debljine jednog centimetra i pri tome okrećite valjak, kako bi zadržao okrugli oblik. 

Kada ih poželite peći, zagrijte pećnicu na 170°C.

Kekse slažite s razmakom na papir za pečenje, iako se neće značajno raširiti. Pecite 10-12 minuta.

Ostavite da se ohlade 5 minuta na papiru te zatim prebacite na rešetku dok se skroz ne ohlade.

Pojedite odmah ili, ako slučajno ne možete, držite u dobro zatvorenoj limenoj kutiji.

Napravite oznakice s vrstom čaja, slatkim crtežom ili porukom ako ćete nekome pokloniti.

Za oznakice je isti jednostavan princip kao i za formu za kekse. Stavite oznakicu sa postojećeg čaja u vrećicama i obrubite.

Imajte na umu da ozrcalite oko gornjeg dijela kako biste ih kasnije mogli preklopiti i između zalijepiti oba kraja konca ili trakice koju ste provukli kroz napravljenu rupicu u keksima.

*Napomena: Imajte na umu da se svaki čaj razlikuje. Svakako koristite rinfuzne čajeve. Ako slučajno niste ljubitelj rooibos čajeva, kekse možete isprobati i s čajem po izboru. Javite mi Vašu kombinaciju okusa. ;)

Šaljite mi svoje fotografije na cutieandpieblog@gmail.com

ili na Instagramu označite sa #cutieandpie.

Dobar tek,

{You're at the English version}

After a (long) time, I'm back to typing to you.

Honestly, there's no excuse. I wasn't traveling, I didn't experience any unusual events, and I definitely didn't forget about you. ;)

The holidays came and went, and I didn't go into the kitchen. Maybe the reason for it is way too much pork, a potload of sarma and a few kilograms of cakes we made.

Even though I've eaten less food than over the years, I got fuller somehow. Yes, yes – it happens even to us bloggers. Since I don't like to force some things, I listened to my body and waited for all the food to be eaten so I can get back to 'playing around' and adventures.

Let's get back onto the subject. ;)

I'm not a good connoisseur of tea, but I'm a great lover of it. Both my brother and I have a tea collection, from the tea bags to those in a bulk. We buy some and treasure them as pure gold for special moods, we drink some for weeks without end, and we buy some and exchange with others.

I like green tea, white, black, rooibos, and fruit tea. My favorite, without a doubt, it Mexican Winter. 

It contains chili so I purposely put in some more, being thrilled by the 'sting' in my throat.

I saved it for special occasions because it was my first tea bought in a bulk. And it came from a cute little stand with wonderful fragrant boxes, and I smelled all of them. A couple of times. :D I have to thank the lovely workers at Kuća zelenog čaja who were very patient with me and let me open all the tin boxes.

I have very little left, and instead of treating myself to another round of my pet tea, I decided to roam around and give a chance to another flavor. I was attracted to a number of names and fragrances, but I always came back to this one – Cinnamon plum. Maybe because, except of the all ingredients I like, it packs rose petals which I don't usually connect to food since I'm sensitive to smells. I was over the moon when, after coming home, I made my first up and sighed with relief since the rose is not dominant.

Cinnamon and Plum Tea, except for the obvious ingredients of cinnamon, plum and rooibos, also hides dried bits of papaya, grapes and rose petals in this fragrant little package.

The scent which spread after a single brewed cup of this tea is wonderful, so I made a strong decision to incorporate this wonderfulness into biscuits. And none other than to incorporate tea leaves.

I noticed on Pinterest a long time ago very cute biscuits shaped like a teabag. The idea waited for the right moment, and it came. I cut them in the shape of a teabag, but I also played with tea-tags and colorful pens. I lost track of time, but the attractive scent which was coming from the kitchen reminded me something good was baking...

Cinnamon and Plum Tea Biscuits

recipe from Butter and brioche

2 teaspoons of Cinnamon Plum Tea

¼ cup of sugar

1 vanilla pod

½ teaspoon of cinnamon

¼ cup of powdered sugar

1 + ¼ cup of flour

a pinch of salt

2 spoons of milk

1/c cup of butter, room temperature

brown sugar

Heat up a thick-bottom saucepan. Once hot, sprinkle it with Cinnamon Plum* leaves and shake it so it evens out.

Lower the heat. Toast the leaves until they release a scent, but make sure they don't burn. Leave them in for one to two minutes, keep an eye on them. Sip them into a cool pot to cool down.

Add the powdered sugar to the toasted tea, as well as the scraped vanilla pod. Pulse them in a blender or a coffee grinder like I did, until it becomes finely ground. Add the powdered sugar, the cinnamon, the salt, the flour, and sift.

In case if you missed a few tea leaves, and you think they will be a nuisance – throw them out. I left them, and I sifted it all through so everything can mix evenly since I don't own a blender.

Add the milk and the softened butter, and mix the dough into a compact mass.

Here you have two choices:

1) Put the dough inbetween two cling foils or baking paper and spread it to 3-4 mm thickness.

Put it into a fridge or a freezer for at least 30 minutes or until you decide to bake it.

In the meantime, make a teabag shape on a piece of paper or cardboard. Put a teabag onto the paper, trace it and cut. Put the cut-out piece onto the spread dough and carefully cut with a sharp knife. Make sure the shape remains intact.
With a straw or the tip of the confectioner's bag make a hole for the thread. Keep in mind that the hole will shrink a bit during baking, so make it bigger with something; for instance, with the back end of your mix spatula.

2) Pour out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a roll of a 5 cm radius.

Wrap it in cling foil and put it away in a fridge or a freezer for at least 30 minutes or until you decide to bake the biscuits.

Cut the roll into slices 1 cm thick and make sure you keep it rolling in order to keep its rounded shape.

Once you decide to bake them, preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

Put the biscuits onto baking paper, slightly apart, even though they won't spread that much during baking. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Leave them to cool for five minutes on the paper, and then transfer them onto a rack until they cool completely.

Eat them straight away, or if you can't by some chance, keep them in a well-closed tin box.

Make tags specifying the type of tea, a cute little drawing, or a note if you plan to give it away to someone.

In order to do the tags, the principle is the same as with the teabags. Put the existing tea-tag onto a piece of paper, trace it and cut it.

Keep in mind to mirror the tag so you can later fold them and tape them between the thread you've pulled through your biscuit teabag.

*Disclaimer: Keep in mind that each tea is different. Make sure you use tea in a bulk. If, by some chance, you're not a fan of rooibos tea, you can try out the biscuits with tea of your choosing. Let me know what you picked out.

Send me your photos at cutieandpieblog@gmail.com 

or use the hashtag #cutieandpie on Instagram,