We were very disappointed that Nestle unsweetened instant tea has been discontinued. However, we found a new instant tea that we like and have been playing with old recipes.
Adjust the spices and sugar to your taste.
Chai Mix, Powdered (Updated)
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie
These are very good with just the chocolate chips, they are even better with ginger, craisins and pecans!
Chinese Five Spice
What we used in our Yakisoba dish.
Powdered Chai Mix (with Hot or Iced Chai Options)
We experimented with the mix recipe, then Megan made her “famous” iced chai. This is good hot, but it is very good iced.
Baklava
A not to sweet dessert that is perfect for special occasions.
Burnt Almonds (Gebrannte Mandeln)
We discovered this recipe while looking for German Christmas recipes. Many “Weihnachtsmarkt” (Christmas markets) serve these cinnamony nuts. While it would make sense to share the recipe for Christmas, we decided to wait until National Almond Day, which is the 16th of February every year.
To keep from burning, the mixture needs to be stirred continuously.
Gingerbread Chai Biscotti
These are a drier biscotti, but are wonderful with hot chocolate or tea.
Apple Crisp
We do not follow this recipe precisely. Depending on who is making the crisp, and how many apples we have, we often fill our pan 3/4 of the way full because we really like apples. Instead of cutting in cold butter, ours is usually softened and we just mix it with the topping ingredients. Since we do not like super sweet apple crisp, we use one cup sugar in the topping, but use more if making for company. If the topping seems a little dry, we add extra butter to the top when we put the apple crisp in the oven.
While this is great for dessert with vanilla ice cream, we often eat it for dinner. We also enjoy it warm for breakfast with milk.
Cinnamon Rolls (with Caramel Option)
This recipe is one we often use for Christmas or for the children’s breakfasts as they head to summer camp. They are easy to turn into caramel rolls by a simple step that I included.
If you prefer to make the dough early, you can form the rolls, place in pan and then cover with heavy aluminum foil. Place in the refrigerator at least 12 hours, but not longer than 24. Then, when ready to bake, place unwrapped pan in cold oven and bake until golden brown (35-40 min).
Cranberry Sauce
I grew up on canned cranberry sauce. I was never fond of it even though I enjoy the tart taste of cranberries. Then one day, I discovered homemade cranberry sauce!
After much experimenting with different recipes, Andrea and I settled on this one as an easy favorite. Feel free to make it a few days early and store tightly covered until needed. We almost always double the recipe and rarely have leftovers.