Spicy Smoked Tea Pecan Crisps Food

SPIKED SWEET TEA

Steps:

• Steep 8 black tea bags in 1 cup boiling water, 6 minutes; discard the tea bags. stir in 1 1/2 cups raw sugar and the zest of 1 lemon (in strips). let cool; strain into a pitcher. add 3/4 cup lemon juice, 2 cups southern comfort, 4 cups ice cubes and 1 sliced lemon. stir to partially melt the ice. pour into glasses.

CHEDDAR-PECAN CRISPS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and cheese until light and fluffy. In another bowl, whisk flour, salt, garlic powder and cayenne; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Stir in pecans., Shape into eight 10-in. long logs. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm., Preheat oven to 350°. Unwrap and cut dough crosswise into 1/4-in. slices. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges are crisp and lightly browned, 12-14 minutes. Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove to wire racks to cool. Refrigerate in airtight containers. Freeze option: Place wrapped logs in resealable plastic freezer bags; place in freezer. To use, unwrap frozen logs and cut into slices. If necessary, let dough stand 15 minutes at room temperature before cutting. Bake as directed, increasing time by 1-2 minutes.

SOUTHERN PECAN CRISPS

Steps:

• THAW pastry sheet at room temperature 40 min. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix brown sugar, butter and pecans.
• UNFOLD pastry on lightly floured surface. Roll into 15"x 12" rectangle. Cut into 20 (3") squares. Press squares into bottoms of 3" muffin-pan cups. Place 1 heaping tsp. pecan mixture in center of each.
• BAKE 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from pans. Let cool. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Makes 20 pastries.

SPICED TEA MIX

Steps:

• In an airtight container, combine the first five ingredients. Store in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. Yield: about 7-1/2 cups total. , To prepare tea: Dissolve about 1 tablespoon tea mix in boiling water; stir well. Yield: 1 serving., To prepare punch: In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the juices, 1/4-1/3 cup tea mix and cinnamon sticks. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Yield: about 12 servings (6 ounces each).

SPICY SMOKED TEA-PECAN CRISPS

Steps:

• -Preheat 300 degrees. -Toast pecans for 9 - 12 min, stirring. Cool. -Combine the sugar, tea leaves, sea salt, & spices in a food processor. Process 3 - 4 min, or until the tea has reduced to a fine powder. Reserve 1/3 of tea mixture for garnish. -Add flour, 1/2 the chopped pecans & oil to processor. Process until pecans are finely chopped & ingredients are beginning to clump together; scrape down bowl. -Whisk together 1 whole egg, 1 yolk & 2 tbsp water; add to the mixture in the food processor, pulsing until mixture just comes together to form a dough. If dry, add a bit more water, pulsing, until dough holds together. -Shape it into a square, then center it between two sheets of parchment. Roll out the dough (still between the parchment) into a 14" square; peel off the top sheet of parchment. -Cut & patch the dough to make an even square. -Use a fork to whisk together the remaining egg white with 1 tsp water in a small bowl. Brush the dough surface evenly with half the egg white mixture. -Sprinkle half the reserved tea garnishing mixture evenly over the dough, then sprinkle w/ half the remaining pecans & coarse sugar, and 1/8 tsp coarse salt. -Reposition the parchment on top, then roll back & forth with the pin to firmly embed the garnish. Sandwich the parchment & dough layers between two baking sheets & carefully flip over the dough. Peel off the second parchment sheet; repeat brushing on the egg white, then the remaining tea mixture, pecans, coarse sugar & salt on the 2nd side. Trim away & discard the uneven dough edges. -Cut the dough equally into 8 x 8, forming 64 crisps. Transfer the squares to a large parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing slightly apart; retrace the cuts if needed. -Bake for 20 min, invert the crisps; bake on 2nd sides for 20 min. Cool. -Once all the crisps have been baked, gather them on a single baking sheet & place in the oven (turned off; the crisps can over overlap). Let them cool/crisp up in the oven for 45 minutes.

CHEDDAR PECAN CRISPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Beat together butter and Cheddar in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth, then beat in remaining ingredients.
• Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into balls and arrange 3 inches apart on buttered baking sheets. Flatten each ball into a 1 1/2-inch disk and bake in batches in middle of oven until golden, 15 to 18 minutes.