Several years ago, my job (working with children with autism) took me from New York, where I was living at the time, to England every few months. Having done a fair bit of traveling in my younger years, and growing up in Canada where we are rather proud of our ties to the UK, I felt that I was fairly well-versed in English traditions. For one, I grew up drinking tea every day. In fact, I even had my own tea cup, adorned with Beatrix Potter bunnies, which I happily pulled out whenever a plate of cookies (or biscuits, as our English friends would call them) was placed on the table.
Despite my familiarity with English teatime, I had forgotten what a big deal it really is. I was at my client's home, working with the child and training the parents and a team of instructors. We were rolling along nicely, making progress with our goals when the clock struck two and everything came to an abrupt halt. Out came the teapot and the china cups, out came the cookies, and the next half-hour was spent chatting over cups of piping hot tea. It was relaxing, it was tasty, and it was utterly delightful. Let me tell you, the English are on to something.
These petite cookies, which are adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Berry Tea Cookies have a cake-y texture and are scented with fresh orange juice and zest. The coconut, while it lends a subtle background flavor, mostly contributes a pleasing texture whenever you happen to bite into a strand of the sweetened fruit.
The recipe:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Be sure that the racks are positioned so that the oven is divided in thirds. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment or silicone mats.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ground ginger, salt and orange zest. Whisk together and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed until fluffy and creamy. Add sugar and beat for an additional minute, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add egg and beat for 2 minutes. The mixture will be silky and smooth.
Add milk, vanilla extract and orange juice. Beat briefly, just enough to combine the ingredients. Now, don't panic - the mixture will look curdled. All is well.
Add the flour mixture a little bit at a time, mixing on low, until the ingredients are just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in shredded coconut.
Scoop out rounded teaspoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake the cookie for 10-12 minutes, switching the positions of the pans and turning them from back to front halfway through baking. The cookies will be done when the bottom edges are just starting to turn brown and the cookies are slightly firm when you touch them. The tops of the cookies will still be fairly pale.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 1-2 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Serve when cool. Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.
Other tea cookies to enjoy:
White on Rice Couple's Orange Marmalade Cookies
Use Real Butter's Chocolate-Dipped Orange Peel Cookies
Recipe Girl's Iced Orange Cookies
Dianasaur Dishes' Vanilla Orange Shortbread
Orange & Coconut Tea Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅔ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoon milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup fresh orange juice
½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Be sure that the racks are positioned so that the oven is divided in thirds. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment or silicone mats.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed until fluffy and creamy. Add sugar and beat for an additional minute, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add egg and beat for 2 minutes. The mixture will be silky and smooth.
Add milk, vanilla extract and orange juice. Beat briefly, just enough to combine the ingredients. The mixture will look curdled.
Add the flour mixture a little bit at a time, mixing on low, until the ingredients are just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in shredded coconut.
Scoop out rounded teaspoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake the cookie for 10-12 minutes, switching the positions of the pans and turning them from back to front halfway through baking. The cookies will be done when the bottom edges are just starting to turn brown and the cookies are slightly firm when you touch them. The tops of the cookies will still be fairly pale.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 1-2 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Serve when cool. Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.
Makes 45-50 cookies.
