Surprise #1: Tea Cookie Recipe ❄️

[Alternate Text: A header image of tea cookies on a gray plate. The cookies are rolled in powdered sugar and shaped into little balls, resembling snowballs. Stray sugar dusts the plate.]

Beckett and Ruby

"Are you trying to build a snowman? Ruby will be back soon."

Beckett unconvincingly glances between you and the stack of cookies he's messing with, no longer precariously balancing two of them to form a snowy torso. "…No?" he replies, smiling sheepishly. "I feel bad that she would go get chocolate milk for me now—like right now. I could have had tea or whatever else."

"It wouldn't be what you want," you reason. "She's particular about that."

"Especially when it comes to you," Beckett slyly points out, although his knowing look is quickly traded for one of adoration when [Redacted] skulks beneath his legs to come sit by your side on a blanket. Beckett's attempt to pet the cat stops short when he accidentally leaves behind faint fingerprints of sugary white on his ebony fur. Both you and the cat peer over at him, though the cat's golden-yellow eyes narrow in what may be annoyance or confusion at what's staining him. "Oops, sorry—that was a reflex."

"Here," you quickly intervene, using a cloth napkin on [Redacted]. Naturally, he favors you from your consistent presence in the Verner mansion. He rolls over to present his tummy. "All clean."

The three of you aren't left waiting much longer when Ruby returns with not one, but three varieties of chocolate milk for Beckett to try, which is two more than you expected to exist in Fernweh.

Becca and Reese

"Are you trying to build a snowman? Reese will be back soon."

Becca unconvincingly glances between you and the stack of cookies she's messing with, no longer precariously balancing two of them to form a snowy torso. "…No?" she replies, smiling sheepishly. "I feel bad that he would go get chocolate milk for me now—like right now. I could have had tea or whatever else."

"It wouldn't be what you want," you reason. "He's particular about that."

"Especially when it comes to you," Becca slyly points out, although her knowing look is quickly traded for one of adoration when [Redacted] skulks beneath her legs to come sit by your side on a blanket. Becca's attempt to pet the cat stops short when she accidentally leaves behind faint fingerprints of sugary white on his ebony fur. Both you and the cat peer over at her, though the cat's golden-yellow eyes narrow in what may be annoyance or confusion at what's staining him. "Oops, sorry—that was a reflex."

"Here," you quickly intervene, using a cloth napkin on [Redacted]. Naturally, he favors you from your consistent presence in the Verner mansion. He rolls over to present his tummy. "All clean."

The three of you aren't left waiting much longer when Reese returns with not one, but three varieties of chocolate milk for Becca to try, which is two more than you expected to exist in Fernweh.

(Who needs cell service when you have different types of chocolate milk, am I right? 😌)

Below you will find a recipe for tea cookies that resemble adorable snowballs of sugary goodness! ❄️(They go by many names, but I prefer Italian Wedding cookies for these, possibly because of what I've been writing recently.) The steps are simple, though there is some patience required for the almond preparation and sifting; however, the end result is perfect for any tea time, a subtle flavor of almond/vanilla and distinct fall apart texture.

I third-ed (?) the original recipe and altered it slightly with notes, but this should make around 30 little ones like in the picture above. You can scale it up for gifts/holidays. 🌲

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter. It should be room temperature/softened.

• 1/4 cup of confectioners' sugar

• A little less than an 1/8 of a teaspoon salt, or to taste

• 1/2 cup finely ground almonds (Yes, this one will take some work, but it's worth it! I suggest buying slivered almonds, chopping them up finely with a chef's knife, and then running them through a food processor or blender to make a powder. It's won't be entirely dry since the natural oil makes it slightly malleable like sand on a beach.)

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (the better the quality, the better the taste)

• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar for rolling the cooked cookies in

• Important: Personally, I sift everything to ensure a fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth cookie, so you might want to sift the flour, confectioners' sugar, and especially the processed almonds to weed out any larger nut shards.

Method

• Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C), and ensure a rack is in the center position of the oven.

• Have ready a shallow bowl filled with confectioners' sugar for rolling the still-warm baked cookies in.

• In a medium bowl with a hand-mixer, beat together the softened butter, confectioners sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. (I like to blend the butter and sugar with a fork first to limit it flying everywhere, so make a paste and then further mix it with the hand-mixer, but I prefer doing things by hand/spoon, etc.)

• Mix in the ground almonds and vanilla.

• Gradually (and gently) blend in the flour until well-combined. I used a spatula for this part rather than a hand-mixer to have better control over it. Now, your dough is done!

• Shape into balls using about 1 teaspoon of dough for each one. I'd go a little extra rather than under; they're meant to be little cookies. Place them one inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

• Bake in preheated oven until just browned, 15 to 20 minutes. I'd start checking them (babying them) around the ten minute mark, but I'm also an anxious baker, tbh. :D

• Place the cookies on a cooling rack. Let them cool for 5 minutes since they still need to be warm/hot enough for the confectioners' sugar you set aside to stick to them. Roll them in the powdered sugar. They should resemble little snowballs.

Fun Extras

• These cookies go by many names! They are frequently called Italian Wedding cookies, which means these could win some points with Mrs. Corvin. 🥰👀

• Tea, milk, or whatever else would pair perfectly with this type of cookie!

• You could add some mini semi-sweet chocolate chips to some of the dough balls if you want chocolate in the center.

• These cookies freeze exceptionally well! Simply freeze the dough balls in a freezer bag then you can take one or two out, bake them, and roll them in powdered sugar.