Tuesday, August 16, 2011

earl grey shortbread cookies.

I love shortbread. And I think I've also shared my love for earl grey tea some time not too long ago. So when I was snacking on some crackers the other day during the afternoon, I decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to combine both shortbread and earl grey tea into one thing. Earl grey shortbread cookies, obviously.

As soon as I finished up my little mid-day snack, I decided to get to work on finding a recipe, and ended up satisfied with this one, by Nutrition Kitchen! It seemed too good to be true - 40 calories per cookie? I know it's a large number, but for a shortbread cookie, it is a small price to pay, compared to the 80+ calorie ones I've eaten.



Cookies have always been pretty easy - I don't want to jinx it, but I've always had somewhat good luck with them and the instructions for cookies are as simple as it gets. And these cookies are no exception. You literally measure out everything, mix it all together according to instructions, pop it in the fridge, cut 'em out, and bake!

I didn't follow the instructions to a T, deciding that it was enough dough for one long log, since I had room in the fridge to fit it all in, anyway. I guess it's just a matter of how much space you have in the fridge! But I also decided to cut these out thicker the first time (about 3/4") since my mom liked thicker shortbread cookies, and that came out to be just a little over 2 dozen cookies. The second time around, I cut them a bit thinner (about 1/2") and I got just around 3 dozen - naturally the amount you get just depends on how thick you cut your cookies!

Speaking of cutting these cookies though, that was my favorite part. Getting them out from the fridge and then cutting them all up into tiny circles. I should think you could roll out the dough and then cut out cute shapes with it, but I was getting impatient and I wanted to taste these babies soon! So in the oven they went (about 10 minutes for me) and out came this delicious aroma of earl grey.. I couldn't wait till they cooled down some.

Really though, the phrase, "it's as easy as pie" should be changed to, "it's as easy as cookies" because these are the quickest, simplest yet most delicious shortbread cookies I've ever wanted to come into my life. So without further ado!

Earl Grey Tea Cookies (from Nutrition Kitchen)
makes 3 dozen*
  • 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp Earl Grey tea, loose leaf
  • 7 Tbsp unsalted butter, cooled slightly until softened, diced
  • 1 Tbsp brewed Earl Grey tea, cooled
* - Just depends on how thick/thin you slice 'em!

Preparation:
  1. In a small bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Set aside. In a spice grinder or food processor (spice grinder works best), process the loose leaf tea until coarsely ground.
  2. In a food processor, add the powdered sugar, tea, and butter. Pulse the mixture until the sugar and butter are combined. Add the flour mixture, and process the dough until it starts to comes together. Then drizzle in the tablespoon of brewed tea, and process until all ingredients are combined.
  3. Split the dough in half. Form each half into a log, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in a piece of plastic and place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours until cold (I left mine in overnight).
  4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice the cookies so that they’re approximately 1/2 inch in width. Arrange the cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, or until slightly browned on the edges. Then have some tea time!



Ten minutes allowed them to be kind of softer than how shortbread cookies usually are, but I liked them a bit on the softer side - if you like them crunchier, anywhere from 11-13 minutes might not be a bad idea, though. They tasted so much of earl grey, I could hardly contain my happiness. I know I'll be making these again and again (especially because there's no egg in this!) and I've already made three batches in the past two weeks!

The third batch I made though, was a green tea version which I don't think I'll blog about, since it's so similar to this one already. It had juuuust a smidgen of green tea, which I love, but it was not enough green tea for me - so I'll be adding more next time. I'm actually very excited to try all different variations with this recipe, especially black sesame since that's one of my favorite flavors.

1 comment:

  1. What a great and easy recipe. I love earl grey, but never tried it in baking.

    I`m printing it to try after work.

    Thank you :)

    ReplyDelete