Bergamot Tea Cakes

This Sunday afternoon I was craving something cakey but not, familiar but wholly different, soothing while at the same time uplifting, sweet but subtly so.  I am in no way a baker, but have occasionally dabbled in what I call 'adventure baking' (what bakers would just call 'baking' I suppose).  By 'adventure' I mean make it up as you go, hope the result won't be disastrous, but enjoy the process nonetheless.  It turned out the result was, by unanimous vote (well, all of two voters), a yummy success!

Bergamot Tea Cakes   

1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon glutenous rice flour

1/2 stick of softened butter

a pinch of salt

3 large eggs

1/4 cup of warm water

10 drops bergamot essential oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  With a whisk,  mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls.  Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients to make a thick batter.   Small chunks of butter left in the batter are fine.  Spoon batter into a lightly greased muffin tin or non-greased silicone muffin mold.
Sprinkle tops with a pinch of sugar.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick in center comes out clean.  Break one apart, serve with a cup of tea, milk, or on its own, and go 'mmmm.'

Makes 6-8 tea cakes.
      

Yummy Almond Butter Tea Biscuits: Wheat-free, Dairy-free, Sugar-free (Recipe)

Nope, it's not an oxymoron. I really have found a recipe for some not only edible but quite certainly satisfying cookies, and they're made completely sans allergens!

INGREDIENTS* :

1/2 cup almond butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups barely flour
3 -6 tablespoons agave nectar
0-3 tablespoons soy milk
1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*Based on your personal taste-preferences for sweetness, aim for about 7 tablespoons of liquids total. Add flour slowly and adjust quantities based on the consistency of the dough as you mix. You want it to not be too sticky as you roll it out, but if you add too much flour, it will make a more crumbly cookie. Also, sunflower butter can be substituted for the almond butter, but you may need to add additional flour as it may make the dough creamier. Similarly, if you don't have barley flour, or are allergic, try oat flour or whatever else you feel compelled to. Feel free to experiment with sweeteners, too. Try two tablespoons of molasses or four tablespoons of honey. In the end, just wing it! Trust your instincts and trust the simple nature of the recipe.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the almond butter in a bowl and "stir" with a fork or mix with mixer to soften. You can warm the jar of butter (opened) in a pan of shallow water on the stove before hand to make measuring and mixing easier.
3. Add the flour, sweetener, and extract and mix/knead thoroughly. Get messy and use your hands!
4. Place between parchment paper and roll out to 1/4" thick, then cut with decorative cookie cutters. Lay the cut outs on parchment on top of a baking sheet, spacing them out about 1/2" apart (they won't really rise or spread).
5. Bake 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and set. Cookies will crisp as they cool.
6. Lift parchment and cookies off the pan and let cool for 15 minutes, then store in an airtight container.

Makes about 7 large turtles or 15 small hearts!

These are not ultra dense like a Biscotti but also not really chewy like a Chocolate Chip - just in between. A little bit crumbly, they're perfect left plain as an accompaniment to coffee or tea, and of course they go well with milk. They'll hold up being dunked once or twice, too. Because they're not ultra-sweet, and because they offer up some healthy fats and protein, you can enjoy them for breakfast without any guilt. My personal favorite version of this treat is smeared with some sugar-less applebutter or jam on top (I think it also makes them look prettier). Whether you cut them into adorable, bite-sized animal shapes or into larger rounds or stars, they're quick and easy to prepare and even easier to devour.

I adapted the recipe from this one I found online, using ingredients that were either more readily available at the grocery store, more inexpensive, or that I already had in my home, and then I tweaked the quantites a few times based on the consistency of the dough as I mixed it. I've made them three times, doing something differently with every batch, and they all came out just as tasty.