RECIPES: For the love of gluten-free cookies and tea
Deklah Polansky and Poorvi Chordia come from different cultures. But in their love of tea and cookies, they have found a common language.
Take a bite of Polansky’s lemon-glazed brown butter and black sesame cookie, a nutty, burnished beauty of astonishing complexity. Then take a sip of the black Assam tea that Chordia imports from hilly northeastern India, a cup that evokes stone fruit and fine-aged brandy.
As Polansky writes in the notes for the cookie-and-tea tasting we experienced recently in her Buckhead high-rise: “Together, the floral bouquet of the tea and the rich soulful cookie is a pair with a point of view!”
Sounds a bit like this tea-and-cookie duo.
Both mothers of two, Polansky is a successful graphic designer who grew up on an Israeli kibbutz, Chordia a Mumbai native who teaches at Morehouse School of Medicine and works as a physician at Grady Memorial Hospital. During the pandemic, both women started to look outside their professions for ways to reduce stress and anxiety — and connect with people.
Chordia and her husband, Abe Thomas, also a physician, turned their love of tea and travel into Herbs & Kettles, a business that imports high-quality teas from India. Polansky, who has enjoyed baking since she was a child but has issues with wheat and processed sugar, started to go deep into gluten-free sweets. She found inspiration in the sesame, tahini and citrus she remembers from Israel.
“I’m pretty sure that my sense of flavor combination was developed earlier on, because I used to dip green olives in sugar,” Polansky said as Chordia poured tea. “I think that when COVID hit, I had such a need to go back to like maybe the safety of my childhood. I had flowers and herbs on the balcony, and it was my escape.”
At the same time, Chordia and Thomas were nurturing a garden that started with a single blueberry bush, and sipping tea. “It grounded us,” Chordia said. When they began to import teas and sell them at local farmers markets, Chordia — who spent a decade moving from state to state while she and her husband trained to be doctors — found camaraderie in tea. It fueled her creativity and stimulated conversations. “The one thing I craved was community, like real people, people I could spend time with having conversations, and feel comfortable,” she said.
In 2022, Chordia and Polansky staged their first tea-and-cookie pop-up at Bella Cucina in Buckhead. Since then, they’ve been sharing their love of camellia sinensis and confections at events around town. Polansky — who crafts sweet treats with the same precision and panache she brings to graphic design — sells cookie boxes via her Instagram account. Chordia purveys tea via the Herbs & Kettles website, and at Grant Park and Piedmont farmers markets.
When I first tried Polansky’s small cookies, I found them unusual, and irresistible. Could low-sugar, gluten-free cookies really be this satisfying? With Valentine’s Day approaching, I asked Polansky to share some cookies suitable for baking at home. I requested that one use Herbs & Kettles tea as an ingredient.
Big thumbs-up to the results.
Her Tahini, Honey and Orange Cookies, little puffy rounds scented with citrus and rolled in sesame seeds, are a cinch to make. Masala Chai Tea Cookies can be cut into hearts, or any shape, and pack all the pleasures of a cup of ginger-and-cardamom-laced tea. Brown Butter-Black Sesame Cookies are flavor bombs like I’ve never had before, earthy, exhilarating and — dare I say? — redolent of strong coffee.
Savoring a few sweet bites in the moment, Polansky says, is far better than binging. But first, Chordia would add, put on the kettle.
RECIPES
Deklah Polansky’s gluten-free tea cookies are sure to make anyone’s Valentine’s Day a little sweeter.
Wheat-free baking is a precise science. If at all possible, weigh the flour and follow instructions for chilling dough and freezing before baking. Unbaked dough may be frozen until ready to use.
Brown Butter-Black Sesame Cookies
Dark-brown butter and heady black sesame are exciting bedfellows, as Polansky’s sensational cookie recipe demonstrates. The lemon glaze gives it a sweet-tangy finish.
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1/4 cup black sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons (145 grams) gluten-free all-purpose flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Baking Flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1-3 teaspoons lemon juice
- In a heavy skillet or pot over medium-low heat, melt butter. (Ideally, you’ll want to use a light-colored pot so you can see the change in color.) As the butter begins to froth, stir continually from the bottom, until the solids have turned golden brown, about 8 minutes. Be careful not to overcook, or the butter will burn.
- In a small dry pan, toast black sesame seeds over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan every minute or so, until they begin to smoke and pop.
- Place sesame seeds into a food-processor bowl. Add coconut sugar, and pulse until the mixture is coarsely ground.
- Measure flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, stir to combine.
- Pour the brown butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. (You may also use a hand-held mixer, or mix by hand.) Add sesame seed-coconut sugar mixture and vanilla, and mix at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing after each addition, until the dough comes together. Don’t overmix. The dough will be soft but not sticky. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop dough out by the tablespoon, roll into balls, and place on baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between each ball. Freeze for 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cookies are brown at the edges but still slightly soft at center. Allow cookies to cool completely.
- Measure powdered sugar into a small bowl, and add lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make a thick glaze. Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze; place on a wire rack until glaze is set. Alternately, you can make a thinner glaze (by adding more lemon juice), and drizzle over cookies.
- Store in a cookie tin or other airtight container. Keeps up to 5 days at room temperature.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per cookie: 93 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 1 gram protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams total sugars, trace fiber, 5 grams total fat (3 grams saturated), 11 milligrams cholesterol, 78 milligrams sodium.Tahini, Honey and Orange Cookies
Almond flour, honey and tahini give these cookies a wonderfully springy texture, and the sesame seed coating imparts crispness. The smell of orange reminds Polansky of her childhood in Israel.
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 1/3 cup honey
- Zest of 2 oranges
- 2 teaspoons orange juice
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups (165 grams) almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup white sesame seeds
- In a medium bowl, combine the tahini, honey, orange zest, orange juice and egg, and mix until smooth with a spoon or rubber scraper.
- In a small bowl, stir almond flour, salt and baking soda.
- Add flour mixture to tahini mixture. Using a large spoon or spatula, stir by hand until just until combined. The dough will be sticky but easier to manage once chilled.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Pour sesame seeds onto a shallow bowl. Scoop dough out by the tablespoon, and roll into balls. Roll balls in sesame seeds so that they are fully coated, and place onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Place tray in freezer for 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cookies until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. They will puff up, spread slightly and crack a little.
- Allow to cool before storing in a tin or other airtight container. Keeps up to 5 days at room temperature.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per cookie: 73 calories (percent of calories from fat, 62), 2 grams protein, 5 grams carbohydrates, trace total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 5 grams total fat (trace saturated fat), 5 milligrams cholesterol, 41 milligrams sodium.Masala Chai Tea Cookies
By steeping masala chai in brown butter, you get a wonderfully spicy cookie. Glazing gently with chai-infused honey adds an extra sweet zing. We used Atlanta-based Herbs & Kettles’ masala chai in this recipe, and loved the results.
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 3 tablespoons masala chai leaves, such as Herbs & Kettles, divided
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 4 tablespoons honey, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (145 grams) gluten-free all-purpose flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Baking Flour
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- In a heavy skillet or pot over medium-low heat, melt butter. (Ideally, you’ll want to use a light-colored pot so you can see the change in color.) As the butter begins to froth, stir continually from the bottom, until the solids have turned golden brown, about 8 minutes. Be careful not to overcook, or the butter will burn.
- Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of masala chai. Allow to steep for 12 minutes or up to 30; the longer the steep, the spicier the cookie. Strain the tea leaves out of the butter. Pour butter into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a medium mixing bowl if using a hand mixer). Add coconut sugar, 2 tablespoons honey, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until smooth, about 3-5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing after each addition, on medium to high speed, about 3-4 minutes total. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Place dough on a piece of parchment paper and shape it into a rectangle. Cover with a second piece of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to roll dough about 1/4-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut into shapes. (Alternately, you may shape dough into 1/2-tablespoon balls.) Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and freeze for 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cookies until they are brown at edges, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly, about 3 minutes.
- While cookies bake, heat remaining 2 tablespoons honey and 1 tablespoon of masala chai leaves in a small pan over medium low, stirring constantly. Once honey starts to bubble, remove from heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Strain out tea; pour infusion into a small bowl.
- Brush cookies with honey mixture. (If the honey has thickened, dilute with a little warm water, 1 teaspoon at a time.) You only need a slight coating of honey. It’s best to do so while the cookies are warm so they will absorb the infusion.
- Allow to cool before storing in a tin or other airtight container. Keeps up to 5 days at room temperature.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per cookie, based on 3 dozen: 55 calories (percent of calories from fat, 49), trace protein, 7 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram total sugars, trace fiber, 3 grams total fat (2 grams saturated), 7 milligrams cholesterol, 37 milligrams sodium.Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
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