Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies

(The recipe by Claire Robinson can be found on the Food Network site here.)

Step by Step Instructions:

It doesn’t take much to make these delightful shortbread cookies: Salt, All-purpose Flour, Powdered Sugar, Earl Grey Tea (2-3 tablespoons worth of tea leaves), 2 softened sticks of Butter, and Vanilla (or Vanilla Bean Paste is what I prefer to use).

Begin by making the cookie dough. In your food processor, add 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons (I read where some people used 3 tablespoons for more flavor) of Earl Grey Tea and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. I ended up emptying the contents of 6 tea bags, which I estimated being about 2 tablespoons of tea leaves, and I thought it worked fabulously.

Pulse the mixture together until you see specks of the tea throughout the flour.

Then add the 2 softened sticks of butter and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Again, I prefer to use vanilla bean paste because it has incredible vanilla flavor.

Then pulse the ingredients until the dough begins to come together.

Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap.

Then you want to use your hands to combine the dough a bit and form it into a log that is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. I went for a squared log rather than a round one for two reasons: first, most of the shortbread I have eaten is not round so why mess with tradition and second, it was easier. So yeah, maybe it was less about tradition for me. 😉 You can shape the dough into whatever shape works for you. Then twist the ends of the plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Next you must preheat the oven to 375 degrees. After the dough has chilled, you can cut it into about 1/3-inch slices. I used a serrated knife, in case you’re wondering. And PS: this dough is very forgiving, which I love!

Then I lined 2 baking sheets with Silpats and laid out the cookies.

Bake the cookies until the edges begin to turn a golden brown. Depending on your oven, it might take 12-15 minutes, so keep an eye on it. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheets out of the oven for 5 minutes.

Then transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Once they have cooled, dive in. I have to say, they were crazy good just slightly warm, too.

I ate a few with a cup of tea, of course. Share these with your friends and family and enjoy! They will think you are uber fancy too!

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

Preparation Instructions:
1. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, tea, and salt, until the tea is just spotted throughout the flour. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and butter.

2. Pulse together just until a dough is formed. Place dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, and roll into a log, about 2 1/2-inches in diameter. Tightly twist each end of wrap, and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

4. Slice the log into 1/3-inch thick disks. Place on parchment or silpat lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart (2 probably needed depending on size of sheets). Bake until the edges are just brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and cool to room temperature.