But for now, let's rewind back a few weeks to a Cookie Sunday where I decided to whip out my mother-in-law's Albanian Cookbook (yes, that's the title). I flipped through the dessert section and came upon a recipe for tea cookies. They're so pretty with their little awareness ribbon shape, sprinkled with sesame seeds.
I decided to give them try, even though for some weird reason I was out of all-purpose-flour and had to use whole wheat. This obviously led to a denser, drier cookie, but then again, they're tea cookies. They're supposed to be hard and crunchy and dunked into coffee or tea to soften!
Unfortunately when I brought a bunch up to Gram's, my relatives weren't super keen on them. I think they may have been expecting sugar cookies or something. With only half a cup of sugar, these are not overly sweet, but they are pretty and dainty and have that lovely sesame taste. Trust me when I say that the tea cookie name is no joke; you want to take these for a swim in your coffee and tea. Dare I say they could be acceptable breakfast fare?
Albanian tea cookies
from Albanian Cookbook by the Woman's Guild of St. Mary's Albanian Orthodox Church in Worcester, MA, 1977
Ingredients:
3 to 4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
4 eggs (reserve 1 yolk)
1 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
sesame seeds
Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Add slightly beaten eggs, milk, baking powder, and vanilla. Add flour until right consistency is attained.
2) Take a small amount of dough, roll out pencil thin, 8 inches long. Make a U with the dough then flop one end over the other and twist once. Alternately, make a figure 8.
3) Brush with slightly beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
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