Texas Tea Cookies

Prep: 45 mins
Bake: 12 mins
Makes 16 cookies (serves 16)

Thank you to my bestie, Dr. Dan Engle MD, for introducing me to these elegant cookies.  We were having dinner and I asked the question I always ask…”what is your top favorite dessert because I want to Detox it”.  A Texas native, he told me about his fond memories of the Texas Tea Cookie as a kid.  I researched online, found a 5-star recipe using whole vanilla bean.  I made my 4 simple swaps and WOW, these made my top 5 fave cookie list.  They bake up thick, soft and pillowy, beautifully speckled with vanilla beans.  It was close to Valentine's Day so I colored the frosting with Dragon Fruit Powder to get a pink color and shaped them using a heart cookie cutter.  Pictures show both Grain-Free and Whole-Grain Flour Swaps, they look slightly different but both bake and taste amazing.  The Whole-Grain dough turns out a little stickier, so I recommend giving your cookie cutter a quick dip in water or flouring your cookie cutter prior to each cut-out.

Dry Ingredients:
1 ½ cups Flour Swap
½ cup Sugar Swap
1 teaspoon baking powder (double for Grain-Free)
¼ tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:
½ cup Butter Swap
1 Egg Swap
1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or 1 whole vanilla bean pod or 1 Tbsp vanilla extract)

Frosting:
¾ cup Powdered Sugar Swap
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 Tablespoons plant milk (to consistency)
1-2 pinches fine salt

Optional natural food coloring or superfood powder (I used 1 teaspoon dragon fruit powder for color)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix dry ingredients well, then add wet ingredients and blend until smooth batter is achieved. Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes to allow the fiber to absorb the moisture, then mix for about 1 more minute.  Press the dough out on parchment paper about 1 cm thick and use a cookie cutter to make shapes or simply roll dough into large balls and press until they are about 1 cm in thickness.  Transfer to a parchment lined baking tray.  These cookies will rise and spread some, but still hold their shape while cooking.  Bake for about 12 minutes until bottoms are golden (both Grain-Free and Whole-Grain cookies are baked about the same time).  Watch them closely after about 10 minutes and remove when the bottoms start to get golden in color and cracks form on top.  Remove from the oven and let them sit on the warm cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to completely cool before frosting.  

Use a wire whisk to mix the frosting ingredients until smooth.  Add plant milk a little at a time until desired consistency is reached.  Color your frosting with a few drops of natural food coloring or a sprinkle of superfood powder and mix until uniform color is achieved.  Dip the top of each cookie into the frosting and smooth the edges with your finger or allow it to drip over the sides.  Return the frosted cookie to your rack and allow the frosting to harden for a few hours on the counter before storing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.  Freeze for long term storage.    

*For best taste, texture and health benefits, always allow Detox Desserts to chill in the fridge overnight before indulging.