Today I am so happy to have Miranda from Mangoes & Chutney doing a guest post. Miranda is a homeschooling mom of a 4 year old and she has her MBA (so cool, right?). She really has a love of cooking that is apparent when reading her beautifully laid out blog. I really appreciate how vividly Miranda lays out each recipe in her blog – you can almost smell the food cooking….. and that makes me want to make the recipe for my own family to enjoy! See what I mean below and then head on over to her blog & let her know you are visiting from Living Life Intentionally!
Ahhh, tea. You either love it or you looove it. Okay, so some of you may like it a little bit and maybe you don't like it at all. If you are in the last camp, you just haven't had the right kind to flip you over to the Tea Lovers Anonymous. In an attempt to flip you, I bring you this easy recipe for Black-Apple Tea I found from Country Living. Subtle notes of apples and cloves are so inviting. Not only is this great for a cold winter night, it's great for anytime. Especially holiday gifting.
Gone are the days when you gift items to people that they don't want - whether they admit it to you or not. Some of the best holiday gifts come right from your kitchen and I bet you've got a lot of ingredients to work with already. If tea isn't your thing or you don't really have anyone that would appreciate it as a gift, check out some other items from my Holiday Gift Guide.
What you'll need:
The recipe calls for you to start with a fresh, sweet crisp apple, but to tell you the truth, you could probably get the same results with a bag of apple chips. If you do, skip right to the mixing the tea together part. If you decide to dry your own apple, slice it thin and soak it in an ice water/lemon bath for 5 minutes. Lay them flat on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with powdered sugar and bake in a 200 degree oven for 90 minutes until dry and crisp.
Once the apples are done, mix all ingredients together and store in empty tea bags.
Store them for yourself or wrap them up pretty to prepare them for gifting. Remember, this recipe is very adaptable to your tastes and you can add other flavors or spices to your liking. Mix it up and have fun! Pictured below is a nifty honey spoon - I have yet to try out. You can get these at Teavana.
1 sweet, crisp apple
juice of one lemon
1 Tablespoon confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup loosely packed black tea
15 whole cloves
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Fill medium bowl with water and ice and squeeze in lemon juice. Slice apples thin and soak them in the water bath for 5 minutes. Pat them dry and lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar and bake apples for 90 minutes until they are dried.
Break apples into small pieces and mix with remaining dry ingredients. Pack about 1 tablespoon of mixture into individual tea bags and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
To prepare: steep one tea bag in 8 ounces of hot water for 5 minutes or until desired strength is reached.
Thanks Miranda, that looks delicious! My hubby would love this in his stocking for Christmas! Here are some of my favorite posts from Mangoes & Chutney:
- Move Over Chocolate, There’s a new Fudge in Town!
- 5 Ingredient Fix: Rigatoni with Pumpkin Cream Sauce
- Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake, Ya’ll
