Tea Cookies

April 22, 2011

A simple, infallible mood-lifter, it's easy to see how the custom of thwarting late afternoon fatigue with a steaming cup of black tea and cookies took hold. These 13 delicate cookies make ideal accompaniments for an afternoon cup.

These chocolate-dipped sandwich cookies are filled with a luscious mixture of pistachios and almond paste.Landon Nordeman

Use a good salted butter with a high butterfat content, such as Kerrygold, to make these shortbread cookies. See the recipe for Punitions »Todd Coleman

Perfumed with floral lavender, these fragile, crispy thin wafers are a delicate cookie to serve on their own or as a crisp contrast to creamy desserts like crème brulée, pudding, or pie. See the recipe for Lavender Tuiles »

These traditional crumbly cookies from the Basilicata region of Italy are flavored with Strega, an Italian herbal liqueur, but Galliano, which can be found in most liquor stores, is a fine substitute.

Chewy Almond Macaroons — These intensely-flavored cookies have a crunchy caramelized exterior and a chewy, amaretto-flavored interior.Helen Rosner

Oatmeal Lace Cookies — Light and crisp oatmeal cookies make a pleasant alternative to heavier treats. Dip them in melted chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt for a decadent, lacy crunch.Noah Fecks

Anise-Almond Sprinkle Cookies — A Pernod-accented glaze gives these cookies their trademark anise flavor.Helen Rosner

Swedish Dream Cookies — Called dream cookies because of their airy texture, these Swedish treats are meant to dissolve in your mouth when you eat them.Todd Coleman

Gluten-Free Vanilla Crescent Cookies — Akin to the famed Mexican wedding cookies, Greek kourambiethes, and Southern pecan puffs, these crumbly shortbread crescents, made gluten-free with a variety of specialty flours, are showered with confectioners' sugar while still hot from the oven.Anna Stockwell

This recipe came from master baker and cookbook author Nick Malgieri. You can make and chill the dough for these cookies up to two days in advance. See the recipe for Swiss Raspberry Preserve-Filled Sandwich Cookies »Sarah Karnasiewicz

These popular Mexican butter cookies are typically decorated with chocolate sprinkles. See the recipe for Mexican Butter Cookies with Sprinkles »Todd Coleman

Scottish cooking authority Catherine Brown provided us with this recipe. Rice flour yields crisper shortbread, while that made with cornstarch is softer. See the recipe for Shortbread »Steve Giralt

Use this rich, buttery dough to make perfect tea cookies. See the recipe for Butter Cookies »Christopher Hirsheimer

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