Earl Grey Butter Cookies (4 ingredients)
Whether you’re entertaining guests or looking for a crisp butter cookie to enjoy after a long day, these Earl Grey Butter Cookies will satisfy. Made with just 4 ingredients, they have a crisp, buttery texture and the citrusy fragrant aroma of bergamot. Relax and enjoy with a cup of hot tea for a comforting indulgence.
Servings 15 - 20 cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter see notes
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose OR cake flour
- 1 earl grey tea bag
- 1 Tablespoon warm milk optional see notes
- ⅛ or ¼ teaspoon salt optional see notes
Instructions
Make the dough
- Beat the sugar and softened butter well for about 5 minutes. The beaten butter and sugar should be light in color and creamy in texture. This will result in lighter cookies as opposed to a dense heavy batch of cookies. An electric handheld or stand bowl mixer is helpful to aid in the creaming process.
- Tear open an Earl Grey tea bag and empty the tea leaves into the butter and sugar mixture. Add in the flour and mix with a spatula to form a soft dough.
Pipe or shape the dough
- Pipe the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment/baking paper. see notes
- If you do not want to pipe out the dough, then simply roll out small portions of dough and press down using a fork.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes
- Place the baking sheet with the shaped or piped cookies into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up the piped cookies.
- This prevents the dough from spreading while baking ensuring that the cookies keep their piped shape.
Bake
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a preheated oven of 356° F / 180° C (160° C fan) until the cookies are lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven. The cookies will still be soft when you remove it from the oven so leave them on the baking tray for about 5 minutes. As the cookies cool, they become firm and crisp.
Storing:
- Store the baked cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- The cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Then thaw overnight before serving.
Notes
Butter: The butter should be soft at room temperature but not melted. Softened butter ensures that the sugar is well incorporated. If the butter is cold or hard, it won't incorporate easily into the shortbread mixture resulting in an overworked dough which creates a dense bake.
Salt: I use salted butter for baking, so do not add salt to the dough. If you are using unsalted butter then simply add ⅛ or ¼ teaspoon of salt to your measured flour.
Piping: If you decide to pipe the dough, then use any piping nozzle you prefer. For these cookies, I used my Ateco 844 closed star nozzle.
Milk: Adding milk to your dough is optional. Only add If you feel that the dough is too stiff or hard to pipe. Then just add a tablespoon of warm milk to the dough. This will make the dough softer and easier for you to pipe.
Refrigeration: Once piped, the dough must be refrigerated for at least 20 minutes before baking. Refrigerating helps in 2 ways.
- It prevents the cookies from spreading while baking.
- The flavor of the tea is infused into the dough during this time producing a deliciously fragrant bake.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 98kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 69mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg
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