earl grey shortbread cookies

Have I told you that I'm a recently converted tea lover? I swore I never would be. I'm a coffee gal, tried and true ever since college. Gotta have my cuppa joe every morning. But, dangit, here we are. Starting every morning with coffee and ending every evening with tea.

And you know what the worst part is? I like my tea a little trashed up. Is it fruity? Is it spicy? Is it named after a dessert? Are there pieces of dried fruit/whole spices/popcorn in it? Yes? Then I'm in!

I'm the tea equivalent of that person who claims to like coffee but will only drink it when it's half cream and sugar or blended with ice and flavored like caramel flan or some nonsense. Call me a coffee snob, but I always thought that the great thing about coffee is that it tastes like coffee. (Also, the caffeine is a perk. But that's neither here nor there.)

Anyway, tea. The BF is an English Breakfast/Irish Breakfast/Earl Grey kind of man. I'm not that classy just yet. But I'm trying…in cookie form for now. I'll work my way up to actually drinking the stuff one day. For now? Tea-flavored shortbread. Obviously.

I haven't experimented yet, but I think this recipe would be great with chai tea or even maybe some fruity green tea? Let me know if you try any variations!

earl grey shortbread cookies

ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea leaves (or 6 tea bags)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

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

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice the log into 1/3-inch thick disks. Place on parchment or silpat lined baking sheets, two inches apart. 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.

Yield: approximately 2 dozen cookies

Source: Claire Robinson at Food Network