Chai Tea S’mores with Cardamom Marshmallows

Make the Chai Tea S’mores

1. Heat milk in a small saucepan on medium-high until steaming. Remove from heat and add 2 tsp. masala chai (use an infuser to make your life easier). Steep for 6 minutes. Strain if not using an infuser. Let cool to room temp.
2. Whisk the milk mixture, vanilla, and honey in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Combine the remaining chai tea, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender or food processor.
4. Add milk mixture and mix until the dough begins to come together. The dough will be soft and speckled with bits of tea leaves and spices.
5. Dust your work surface with flour and knead the dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Cover in plastic and chill overnight or at least 2 hours.
6. Dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour and roll the dough into a 1/8 inch thick rectangle. The dough will rise so don’t make it too thick.
7. Cut dough into 8-10 four inch squares. I got the ruffled edges by using a pastry wheel. Save the leftover scraps to bake and use as tea cakes.
8. Use a spatula to transfer each dough square from the counter to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Chill the sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes to set.
9. Using a toothpick, draw a line down the center of each cracker and prick a few dotted rows to give it that authentic graham cracker look. Don’t push hard enough to break through the dough.
10. Bake for 20 minutes at 350F, rotating at 10 minutes for even baking. Let cool before assembling the s’mores.

Make the cardamom marshmallows

1. Line a 9×9″ baking pan with foil and coat it with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Add 1/2 cup of cold water to the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle gelatin over the water and allow it to sit for 15 minutes.
3. Heat the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining water to a medium saucepan over medium-low, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook without stirring until the temperature is 240F on a candy thermometer, about 8 minutes.
4. Once the mixture has reached the desired temperature, remove the saucepan from heat. Turn the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on low speed and carefully and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the bowl and into the gelatin. Increase the speed to high and beat for 15 minutes, until mixture holds thick peaks.
5. While the mixture is being whisked, use a paring knife to slice open the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add the vanilla bean seeds, vanilla extract, and crushed cardamom and beat until thoroughly combined.
6. Spray a spatula with cooking spray and transfer the mixture to prepared baking dish. Spread evenly. Let stand for at least 6 hours at room temperature, until firm.
7. Combine the cornstarch and powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Dust a generous layer of the mixture onto a cutting board. Turn the marshmallow slab onto the cutting board and peel off the foil.
8. Use a cookie cutter, very sharp knife or pizza cutter coated with oil to cut into desired shapes. Re-oil your instrument of choice as needed.
9. Toss the marshmallows in the remainder of the cornstarch mixture. A good method is to do 6-8 at a time in a freezer bag. Tap off any excess mixture.
10. Will keep in a sealed container for about two weeks.