Summertime is here and what it means differs among us. For some, it means freedom from school to play baseball at the park, for others hiking, or picnics with friends. Some go on vacations, some kick back and read, and still others like cookouts and yard games with the fam.

But whatever your dream summer vibe is, there's one thing we can all agree on: there's nothing more summery than the beach (after all, where else can you do nearly all of the activities listed above in one location?).

In honor of our favorite summer spot, we're making Chocolate Chip Summertime Sandies. Sandies, or as they're known in fancy circles, are cookies named for their delicate, crumbly texture. Unlike most cookies, which break apart into pieces or larger crumbs, Sandies crumble away similarly to, you guessed it, sand. They're a close relative of the shortbread and the sugar cookie and are often made using pecans. If you're not a pecan fan, don't panic. These cookies are still delicious even without.

Like most great things, you'll start by making tea, in this instance, Chocolate Chip. You'll need two tablespoons of Chocolate Chip for this recipe. The first tablespoon will be used as a dry ingredient. The second one will be steeped and used as the liquid.

For the steeped tea, steep it in a quarter cup of water following the usual instructions regarding temperature and time. For the dry ingredient, grind the tea up to add to your dough. When grinding your tea, make sure to remove anything that you either don't want in your cookie (like cocoa nibs) or that might clog your grinder (like chocolate chips). We recommend our gritTea grinder for all your tea grinding needs, though if you want a finer texture, you can use a coffee grinder, too.

Pro tip: You only need a tablespoon of the hyper-concentrated steeped tea for the recipe, so when your dough is done, add more water to the rest of the quarter cup to dilute it for drinking use!

Once your tea is ready, you can start your dough. Begin by lightly beating your butter to break it up. Then add your granulated sugar and liquid tea and beat until combined. Add your flour and ground tea next, switching from beaters to a spoon if needed. If you want a little extra texture or chocolate punch, you can add pecans or mini chocolate chips directly to your dough at this stage. Alternatively, you can also use them as garnish when preparing your cookies to go in the oven.

Once your dough is ready, you're ready to shape your cookies. The easiest way to do this is to shape them into small balls (~1 inch), but if you're looking for that extra ounce of beachy flair, you can also use silicone molds. Sandies keep their shape much better than other cookies, so simply push your dough into your molds and then let them chill for a little bit to firm up (about 5-10 minutes). Remove them from the molds and garnish as desired with pecans, chocolate chips, or extra tea. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and then bake them at 325F for about 20 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Once they're cool, you can either enjoy them as is or lightly toss them in powdered sugar. It's grand in the sand, friends! Happy summer!

Chocolate Chip Summertime Sandies Recipe

Ground tea adds a sandy look that perfectly matches these crumbly cookies' perfect beach vibes.

Makes: ~24 small cookies
Time to make: ~40 minutes

Ingredients

2 1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tbsp. Chocolate Chip, separated
1 c. and 2 tbsp. flour
1/2 c. room temperature butter
powdered sugar (optional)
chopped pecans (optional)
mini chocolate chips (optional)

Equipment

Electric mixer
Silicone molds (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F.

Steep 1 tbsp. of Chocolate Chip tea in 1/4 c. water. Grind the other tbsp. of Chocolate Chip to desired fineness.

Lightly cream butter in mixing bowl. Add granulated sugar and 1 tbsp. of steeped Chocolate Chip and beat until combined.

Slowly beat in flour and ground tea. If dough becomes too dry for beaters, mix the remaining flour in with a spoon. Optionally, you can add in pecans or mini chocolate chips (about 1/2 c. total between both ingredients).

Shape dough into small balls (~1 inch) or push dough into shaped silicone molds of choice. If using molds, make sure to chill the dough ~5-10 minutes before de-molding.

Place cookies on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.

Cool cookies on a wire rack. Optionally, lightly dredge the cookies in powdered sugar when cool.

Tea Chef

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