Chai Crunch Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300°F. In ungreased large roasting pan, mix cereals, almonds and banana chips.
• In 1-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat. Stir in honey, dry milk, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, orange peel and vanilla until well mixed. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.
• Bake 45 to 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until golden brown. Spread on waxed paper or paper towels; cool about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.

Steps:

• Combine first 5 ingredients in medium saucepan. Using mallet or back of large spoon, lightly crush or bruise spices. Add 6 cups water; bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover pan, and simmer gently 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add tea bags and steep 5 minutes. Discard tea bags. Add milk and sugar. Bring tea just to simmer over high heat, whisking until sugar dissolves. Strain chai into teapot and serve hot.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the first six ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. , Stir in milk. Return to a boil; boil for 1 minute, then strain. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Pour into mugs. Top each with whipped cream, cinnamon and a cinnamon stick if desired.

Steps:

• Coarsely crush cardamom pods with a mortar and pestle, then partially grind seeds. Transfer to a plate. Grind peppercorns with mortar and pestle until about medium-coarse; transfer to same plate.
• Rinse a medium pot (about 9" diameter) with water (this helps keep the milk from scorching). Combine milk, cardamom pods and seeds, pepper, and ginger in pot and bring to a rolling boil over medium heat, scraping sides and bottom of pot occasionally with a heatproof rubber spatula. When foam starts to rise, cook 20 seconds, scraping spices from sides of pot (some plant-based milks won't foam; simply cook 30 seconds from boiling). Reduce heat to low to allow foam to die down, then increase heat to medium-low and simmer, scraping bottom and sides of pot occasionally and adjusting heat as need to keep foam from rising, until milk is light tan in color from spices, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in tea and simmer, scraping pot occasionally and adjusting heat as needed, until milk is deep tan and reduced by one third, about 4 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring glass, pressing on solids with spatula. (Soak pot in hot water immediately to help with cleaning.) You should have 2 cups chai concentrate; return chai to pot and simmer another minute to reduce further if needed. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
• Place ice in a large heatproof bowl with a spout or a large heatproof pitcher. Immediately pour hot chai over ice. Stir until ice is almost completely melted (larger cubes may take longer), about 2 minutes. Taste chai and add up to 2 Tbsp. cold water or 1 Tbsp. simple syrup (dissolve 2-4 tsp. sugar in 2 tsp. warm water) if needed. Serve in glasses filled with fresh ice if desired.
• Do ahead: Chai can be made 3 days ahead. Transfer to an airtight container; cover and chill.