One of my favorite things about growing up in a climate with four seasons is the winter. Where I grew up the snow started falling in November and December. It came and it stayed. The snowfall after snowfall piled up so that, at times, my legs were buried past my knees as I tried to walk through the drifts.
After an hour or more plowing through snow banks, building snow forts and being pulled on our sleds with the buy snowmobile my siblings and I would come in with rosy cheeks and wet fingers. My mom would often have fresh made stove top hot chocolate ready to warm our fingers and stomachs. In my eagerness to drink it, I once burnt my tongue on a cup so bad I couldn’t taste anything for several days. Those were the golden days of my childhood.
I have had a hard time finding a good balance for a warm, just in from the cold, drink for my toddlers. I didn’t want something too sugary, so I tried diluted cocoa. They took one sip before deciding it wasn’t worth their attention. That was when another treasure from my childhood fell into my hands.
I was a Little House in the Prairie girl. I cannot tell you how many times I read and reread the whole series of Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I read fictional prequels and sequels, letters of Laura’s and whatever else I could get my hands on. I even visited her childhood home in Pepin, WI one year. One book from this season of my childhood was a Little House on the Prairie inspired cookbook. As a child I’d used it to introduce my classmates to homemade butter and hardtack.
One recipe in particular was brought to mind as I held the book again as an adult, cambric tea. It is basically warm milk with weak tea and sugar. It was specifically for small children. My oldest loves the smell of his dad’s hot cinnamon spiced tea. So much so, that his loveys (an old style cloth diaper) must be either dipped in it or brushed with the tea leaves to pick up the fragrance. So this seemed like a good fit for their warm, just in from the cold, drink.
However, I’m not one to give tea, especially with caffeine, to my small children. They don’t need any help being energetic. So inspired by cambric tea and my son’s love for cinnamon I created milk tea.
Milk tea, as we call it, is a cup of milk warmed with a splash of vanilla, 2 tsp sugar and a cinnamon stick. Since my kids won’t wait to drink it we also pour it over a couple of ice cubes to get it down to a drinkable temperature.
While this is what we typically use for a cold weather drink it cold be cooled and used for any warm day. It’s a nice treat whenever.
Enjoy!
Lady Worship Fingers 