Are you a spice lover? Well if you are, we've rounded up some of our favorite recipes filled with sugar, spice, and everything nice. Cold weather is perfect for indulging in some exotic and flavorful meals. We've included breakfast dishes like cinnamon rolls as well as sweet, seasonal gingerbread cookies!
 Cranberry Gingerbread Cake |
 Cinnamon Rolls |
 Gingerbread Cookies |
 Matcha Shortbread Cookies |
 Cardamom Granola |
 Salted Chai Caramels |
Tea-infused desserts are all the rage, and after YumSugar assistant editor Nicole made chai caramels, I felt inspired to make chai snickerdoodle cookies. Traditionally, snickerdoodles are a buttery sugar cookie, coated in cinnamon sugar. It's a childhood favorite, but I wondered how the cookie would hold up with more robust spices like ginger, cardamom, black pepper, and cloves.
As it turns out, chai in snickerdoodles is an enticing match. These cookies maintain snickerdoodle integrity with their fluffy, moist centers, and crunchy sugar-granule coating. The spices and tea are slightly tart and balance out the sweet, buttery cookie. The black-tea flavor blooms as the cookie dissolves, but get ready for the spicy black-pepper finish!
Forget about brewing tea; make a batch of tea cookies instead.
I've been known to serve bread pudding at Easter for dessert, but this year, I found myself torn between a sweet rendition with mangoes and chai spice, and a savory version with asparagus and Camembert cheese — so I'm making both! Because plain white breads such as challah, brioche, or pullman loaves have a neutral flavor, they work well as the filling either when baking bread pudding for dessert or as a side dish. Regardless of whether you go for the sweet or the salty, make the flavors current by maximizing ingredients in store now. Use fruits like mango or vegetables such as asparagus. For both recipes, read on.
Most of you aren't taken by the idea of a hot smoothie, but maybe the concept isn't too far off. This week, Jamba Juice introduced Hot Blends, a new line of organic hot blended beverages. The drinks, which are $2.95 for 12 ounces, come in four flavors: Heavenly Green Tea, Perfectly Chocolate Chai Tea, Original Spiced Chai Tea, and Classic Hot Chocolate. All are blended hot with nonfat, two percent, or soy milk. "Building on the spin of the blender and taking it from cold smoothies to hot beverages is something that hasn't been done before," the company said.
Jamba has also begun serving new scones and Mighty Leaf whole leaf teas in-store. Later this month it will expand its grocery offerings with smoothies in three of its most popular flavors: Razzmatazz, Mango-a-Go-Go, and Strawberries Wild. The make-at-home smoothie packs will come with frozen fruit, nonfat yogurt, and antioxidant boosts.
Sounds like Jamba Juice is firing back at other chains competing for market share in the recent fast food coffee drink and breakfast wars. I think the idea of hot blended drinks is silly — that's why it's never been done before! Do you agree?
Despite hard times, coffee chain Starbucks continues to try new tactics. Two weeks ago, I introduced you to the company's tea lattes, its latest beverage to hit counters nationwide. But if lattes aren't your thing, Starbucks is hoping you'll reach for its new Tea Infusions instead, which are available in two flavors: Tazo Berry Chai and Tazo Apple Chai. I had a chance to give these drinks — a nondairy blend of Tazo black chai tea and fruit juice — a try. To find out how they fared, read more
Something about the flavor of cardamom makes me crave chai tea, so I was curious about the Chai Bumble Bar with Almonds. An energy bar that tastes like chai — how delightful.
This bar, like all Bumble Bars, is organic, vegan and gluten-free. These bars were dreamed up by avid hiker Elizabeth Ward who found it oxymoronic that hikers were enjoying nature while eating snack foods made with ingredients that harmed the planet, being conventionally grown. I wouldn't limit my consumption of this bar to just hiking, it is a great pre-gym snack.
To see what I thought of the bar and its nutritional information read more
A lovely Indian breakfast: Spicy Egg and Mushroom Roll with Masala Chai. You guys know how I feel about breakfast, this one is definitely going on to my list. - What's For Lunch Honey?
Have you heard of Tazo Tea? They're a unique tea company offering delicious tea from all over the world. The name Tazo actually means "river of life," and "fresh." It's a great name considering that Tazo teas are invigorating, satisfying, and all around good for the soul.
You can get black tea in flavors like Vanilla, Earl Grey, Citron, Darjeeling, and they even make a decaffeinated Chai tea.
Tazo also makes delicious green teas. You can get Green Ginger, Lotus, and Zen teas that combines green tea with the taste of spearmint, lemongrass, and a hint of lemon zest. I love the one named Om, which is a combination of green and black teas.
Since I have a sweet tooth, I love their herbal infusion teas. Flavors such as Sweet Cinnamon Spice, Wild Sweet Orange, and Tazo Honeybush are wonderful on a cold day.
Fit's Tips: I always keep Tazo's Calm tea in the house when I need to relax with the soothing taste of chamomile. Tazo's Refresh is great for a tummy ache with its mix of peppermint and spearmint. In the summer time, I love to make iced tea out of Tazo's Passion tea. It's a light red tea with a delicate hint of hibiscus flowers.
