Summer Iced Tea

Iced Tea is one of my favorites during the summer.  So cool, refreshing, and great tasting.  In this recipe, the refreshing flavors of mint, orange and lemon are combined to make one of the best tasting teas I have had in a long time.

Brew some tea and make a simple syrup.  To the syrup add some fresh mint sprigs.  In a large pitcher add some orange juice, lemon juice, water, tea, and the syrup - mint sprigs removed.  Stir and chill.  Serve over ice and you will enjoy a very tasty and refreshing summer beverage.



Summer Iced Tea

Ingredients:
4 black tea bags
8 cups water - divided
1 cup sugar
3 mint sprigs
1 cup orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice

Directions:
1.  Bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  In 2 cups of boiling water brew the tea bags for about 20 minutes. Remove the tea bags.
In the remaining 2 cups of water add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Let set for 20 minutes.
2. In a large pitcher add the remaining 4 cup of water, orange juice and lemon juice.  Remove the mint sprigs from the simple syrup and pour into the pitcher along with the brewed tea.  Stir well and chill for about 2 hours.
3.  Pour over ice and garnish with a mint sprig if desired.

Christmas: Gingerbread Scones

Scones go perfect with a nice cup of tea or coffee.  These scones are no exception.  They have the flavors of the holidays and are tender and flavorful.  They are like eating a delicious ginger snap cookie in scone form.

I made three changes to the recipe.  First the instructions state to cut in the butter.  I like to grate my butter and work it in with my hands.  I like to feel the mixture.  Also, the  aroma of the spices is delicious as you are working in the butter.  Second, I added 2 tablespoons more milk.  My dough wasn't coming together as it should- it was dry.  Just that little bit of milk cured the problem.   I liked the texture of this dough. It wasn't too sticky and this made it easy to work with.  Finally, instead of cutting the dough into 12 wedges, I only cut it in 8 wedges.

Once the dough was patted into a circle, you cut it into 8 wedges, brush with some egg white and sprinkle with coarse sugar, and bake.  These scones smelled wonderful as they were baking.    Remove from oven, cool and eat.

I enjoyed mine with a cup of Starbucks Blonde Roast Holiday blend I made in my Keurig.  A great way to start any day or just for some "me" time.

Gingerbread Scones
From "Taste of Home" Magazine

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, separated
Coarse sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, whisk the first seven ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In another bowl, whisk molasses, milk and egg yolk until blended; stir into crumb mixture just until moistened.
2. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 6-8 times. Pat into an 8-in. circle. Cut into 12 (I did 8) wedges. Place wedges 1 in. apart on a greased baking sheet.
3. In a small bowl, beat egg white until frothy; brush over scones. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Yield: 8 scones