Directions

For ganache, place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil; remove from heat. Add tea bags; let stand 10 minutes. Discard tea bags.

Reheat the cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; let stand 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, until ganache thickens to a spreading consistency, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, salt and pepper; cut in butter with vanilla until crumbly. Knead until dough holds together when pressed. Shape into two disks; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness, lifting and rotating dough as needed. Cut with a 1-1/2-in. round cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until light brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Spread 1 heaping teaspoon ganache on bottoms of half of the cookies; cover with remaining cookies. Let stand until set.

Freeze option: Prepare dough. Transfer wrapped disks to a resealable plastic freezer bag; freeze. To use, thaw dough in refrigerator until soft enough to roll. Make ganache. Prepare, bake and fill cookies as directed. Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.