During the holidays, I looked through the Bon Appétit holiday issue on Libby and they had a really nice-looking selection of cookies ("The Hometown Cookie Collection"). The actual recipes are behind a paywall. But fortunately they printed all of them on the Good Morning America website, where they also have a nice video segment with the magazine's editor displaying all six of the cookies.
They honestly all look good (except the peppermint ones), and very different from the usual holiday classics. Two of them stood out to me, though, and I will try the Key Lime Pie Thumbprint Cookies eventually. But after having Mr. Graham's award-winning chocolate sandwich cookies at Christmas, I wanted to try these sandwich cookies first.
These are really pretty easy for a sandwich cookie, and you can be done from start to finish in not much more than an hour. The real selling point, though, is the taste, which is so distinct with the Indian flavors, including black tea leaves in the cookies and cardamom and fresh ginger in the filling. Everyone loved these, including our guest tasters Mary Alice and Graham. I'd have to say they're pretty easily a top five cookie for me now.
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| The schmear on this one wasn't big enough. |
Masala Tea Creme Pies
Adapted from Shilpa Uskokovic via Bon Appétit (Dec 2025/Jan 2026) and Good Morning America (Dec. 20, 2025)
Time: ~1 hour
You can use loose whole-leaf tea but only if you grind it finely before using it.
Cookies
113 grams (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon black tea leaves (3 tea bags should do it; see note)
1 large egg
150 grams (¾ cup) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
187 grams (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
Filling
85 grams (¾ cup) confectioners’ sugar
85 grams (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
1. For the cookies: Place a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 375 degrees. Line two 13-by-18 inch (half sheet) baking pans with parchment.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Pour and scrape the butter into a medium bowl. Whisk in the tea leaves. Let sit for 10 minutes. This is enough time to gather the rest of your ingredients.
3. Add the egg, sugar, salt, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
4. Add the baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, and whisk to combine.
5. Using a silicone spatula, fold in the flour just until incorporated (no white streaks).
6. Divide the dough into 32 portions of ~15 grams (~1 tablespoon) each. You can do this pretty accurately using a #60 disher/cookie scoop (which is smaller than the #40 scoop you use for Katherine Redford’s). Roll each portion into a ball and divide between the prepared baking sheets, spacing the dough balls evenly.
7. Bake, one sheet at a time, until the cookies are puffed, lightly browned, and dry to the touch (they’ll still be a little soft), about 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat with the second baking sheet. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks.
8. For the filling and assembly: Place all of the filling ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment (or use a hand mixer). Beat, starting on low speed then moving up to medium once the confectioners’ sugar is incorporated, until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
9. Using a small icing spatula or a dinner knife, schmear the filling evenly over the flat sides of half the cookies (~1 heaping teaspoon per cookie). Place the remaining cookies, right side up, on top of the filling, and press gently to get the cookie sandwiches to stick together. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Makes 16 sandwich cookies.
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