Although it's traditional to use raisins in Icelandic tebollur, tea buns, my sister-in-law Magga also likes to use white chocolate chips and dried cranberries in a modernized variation. The size and texture of the baked "buns" are a cross between a muffin and a cookie.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 18 Tbsp. butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp. orange extract (or 1 tsp. grated orange zest)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips or coarsely chopped white chocolate
- 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375º. By hand or with a mixer, beat together the sugar and butter. Stir in the eggs, one at a time. Sift together the flour and baking powder; lightly stir dry ingredients into the batter, alternating with the milk, just until the flour and milk are incorporated (Note: you don't want to overmix this batter; it should be about the consistency of muffin batter). Using a spatula, gently fold in the orange extract, white chocolate chips, and cranberries by hand.
Drop generous tablespoons of batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake on center rack of oven until golden, about 15 minutes (since these cookies are rich in butter, check at 10 minutes to make sure they don't burn). Remove and cool on rack.
Yield: 48 tebollur.
