"Les Petits Macarons" by Kathryn Gordon & Anne E. McBride

I made my first macarons in 2012, having beginner's luck and finding success on my first attempt, and I was on a macaron kick for a while. I bought magazines with macaron recipes, tried the macarons everywhere I saw them, and even bought a macaron cookbook. Then my interest waned, and when I saw this pretty cookbook that had come out at about the same time, I decided I didn't need it.

But when the Salvation Army in Carrollton had their 5-for-$1 book sale, I quickly decided that 20¢ was not too much to pay to check out a mint-condition copy of Les Petits Macarons. Since I haven't made (or eaten) macarons in a while, I'm practically drooling over all the offerings in this book, and I was surprised to find quite a few tea-flavored macaron recipes, including these flavors: green tea, green tea and white chocolate, chai, and lapsang souchong with whiskey (variation: Earl Grey). There are also some flavors I consider tea-related, such as chamomile and lemon curd.

And in what I think is a super-smart move, authors Kathryn Gordon and Anne E. McBride offer tips on recipes you can make with any less-than-perfect macaron shells that you end up with, things like tarts and trifle. There's also a section on trouble-shooting tips, so even though I've had macaron-making luck in the past, I'm please to see tips on how to resolve any issues in the future!

Cooking and baking and holiday making!

Have you noticed all the white cakes on magazine covers this month? Southern Living always has what they jokingly refer to as the Big White Cake on the cover of their Christmas issue, but Taste of Home and Tea Time have followed suit this year with their own white cakes.

Southern Living's cake comes with a bit of a twist this year. The recipe for the cover cake is included in the magazine, but so is a variation on the cake from Publix.

And Publix has an ad in the new Southern Living that is simply one of the prettiest teatime images I've seen all year. Isn't this gorgeous? It caught my eye immediately as I flipped through the magazine. I note with interest that the ad says, "For tasting tips and ideas, visit publix.com/holiday tea." Click there now if you want to see another version of this lovely photo.

So this year, Publix has partnered with Southern Living and included in the December issue this little foldout leaflet, which has the recipe for a variation on the Big White Cake, an organic option with cranberry filling. There's also a gluten-free option, which is available online here along with the organic cake recipe.

And lest you think I'm only promoting Southern Living, I'm stepping outside the South to let you know that the December issue of Food Network Magazine hasn't forgotten tea lovers either.

Matcha Palmiers, anyone? 

Or Chai Meringue Drops, perhaps? I'm going to be doing plenty of Christmas baking in the days ahead, and it's so nice to have so many great new recipes to try. Have you tried any of these yet?

A visit to Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC

Whenever I'm out of town, if there's time, I love to visit a local independent bookstore. In Raleigh over the weekend, that was Quail Ridge Books, and I absolutely loved this store!

I've seen this particular C.S. Lewis quote in a bookstore before, but not nearly as well done as it was here.

And look at this little reading nook near the magazine section. I would like to transport that to a corner of my home! I'm crazy about the clear chairs too!

And I should have taken a photo of it, but they had a cute vignette dedicated to the recent Royal Wedding, complete with Harry and Meghan paper dolls, tins of tea, a book about Prince Charles's gardens at Highgrove, and this book, National Trust Book of Afternoon Tea by Laura Mason, which I asked if I could pluck from the table (it was a bookstore, after all). The employee smiled and said yes, and she thanked me for asking so she could reshuffle things on the table. I knew I wanted this book because Linda recommended it here. I'm a lazy tea book collector these days, so I sometimes wait for one of my fellow tea bloggers to recommend a book before I purchase it. Besides, I know I can trust anything Linda recommends!

I've already made one very simple and quite delicious recipe from the book, for Moroccan Mint Tea. It's simple. In a teapot, add three teaspoons of green tea, three tablespoons of sugar, and a handful of fresh spearmint leaves. Fill the pot with boiling water (I used "just under boiling" water), and let steep for three minutes. I can't remember the last time I actually added sugar to a cup of tea, but this was absolutely delicious!

Rooibos Tea and Black Bean Chili

Recently a friend and I were talking about cooking, and I told her not to forget to treat her tea bags as an extension of the spice cabinet. I believe I first read that idea in a Celestial Seasonings cookbook, which suggested tossing in a cinnamon tea bag when cooking carrots.

I've used tea in dozens of recipes over the years, and one of my favorite ways is to use tea as the liquid whenever I'm cooking chili each fall and winter. I've used green tea, black tea, oolong tea, and lately, I've added a slight touch of sweetness to my chili by using rooibos tea! Here's the recipe if you're up for a new chili recipe yourself.

Rooibos Tea and Black Bean Chili

1 pound turkey or ground beef (I like turkey)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 small sweet red peppers, chopped fine
2-3 tablespoons chili powder, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5-ounce) can black beans
3 teaspoons rooibos tea steeped for 5 minutes in 1 cup boiling water


Over medium-high heat, brown the meat, then add garlic and red peppers and cook until garlic and peppers are softened. Add chili powder, salt, and pepper, stirring well. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and black beans and bring to a boil. Add steeped tea and again bring to a boil, stirring well. Turn heat to low and let chili simmer for one hour. Yields 12-14 servings.

Blueberry-Peach Cobbler with Earl Grey Streusel

My mother was clearing her freezer of frozen blueberries this weekend in preparation for the blueberry picking that is about to commence, so I was happy to help her out by bringing home a few bags of this fruity goodness. I looked online for a little baking inspiration, but the recipes I found were either too difficult (I don't want to read through endless computer screens for a recipe) or too easy (dump in blueberry pie filling and top with biscuit dough). I decided to experiment with my own recipe and here's what I came up with. My husband said "Bullseye!", and I have to say I rather like this myself!

Blueberry-Peach Cobbler with Earl Grey Streusel

2 cups frozen blueberries
2 fresh peaches, diced
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Earl Grey teabags
1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix fruit and pour into an 8 x 8-inch baking dish. Mix flour, sugar and egg until coarse and crumbly. Open teabags, add tea to the other streusel ingredients and mix well. Spoon streusel over fruit, then drizzle with butter. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!