With just five ingredients, this simple Earl Grey shortbread features sweet citrus flavour with a hint of black tea. Just right for an afternoon treat!
Photography by Sophie MacKenzie.
Earl Grey tea is black tea flavoured with bergamot, a delicious citrus flavour. This Earl Grey shortbread takes a really simple, easy to make cookie and adds that fantastic complex flavour, for a very special dessert.
While we usually add flavourings to the butter or fat to ensure the best carry-through in the bake, in this case the tea is blended with the flour instead. It’s still noticeable in the cookies and you don’t want to be overwhelmed by what can be a too-strong taste if you’re not careful.
Bergamot isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like Earl Grey, you’ll love these.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
Method
Add tea and flour to a blender. Mix until well ground. Add soft butter to a bowl. Cream the butter. Add the vanilla. Mix to combine. Mix in sugar and flour. Form into a rough ball. Divide in half. Shape into logs. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 4 hours. Slice the chilled dough. Place onto a lined baking sheet. Bake until lightly golden. Mix the icing. Dip or drizzle the cookies. Set and serve.
Tips and Notes
If preferred, serve the cookies without frosting. Don’t use the icing sugar frosting if you don’t like very sweet cookies.
Beeswax wrap can be used instead of plastic to wrap the dough for chilling.
If you plan on storing the frosted cookies, let the icing set completely before stacking or placing into containers. We recommend storing with pieces of parchment between layers to prevent icing sticking to any other cookies.
Substitutions
Dip in melted white or dark chocolate instead of using the icing sugar frosting.
We topped with lavender buds for the pictured cookies, which is a great flavour combination with the tea. Use sprinkles for a nice substitute.
Use a good dairy free butter for vegan Earl Grey shortbread. We like Miyoko’s or Naturli (in block form).
More Shortbread Recipes
Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread
Chocolate Shortbread Sandwich Cookies
Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies
Recipe
Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies
Description
Equipment
- Blender or coffee or spice grinder
- Mixing bowl
- Electric beater
- Parchment paper
- Bees wax wrap or plastic wrap
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- 2 cups white all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons Earl Grey tea
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup icing sugar
Instructions
- Add the flour and tea to a blender and blend until the tea is very finely ground and well combined. Alternatively, grind the tea in a coffee or spice grinder and then mix with the flour.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter on high speed to cream, 4-5 minutes. It should be fluffy and lighter in colour.
- Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
- Beat in the sugar, starting on low speed and increasing to medium until all of the sugar has been incorporated.
- Mix the flour and tea mixture in, beating on low speed until combined. The dough will look crumbly.
- Turn the dough out onto a work surface and use your hands to shape into a rough ball. Divide into two equal pieces.
- Shape each half into logs about 7 inches (18 cm) long. Wrap in bees wax wrap (or plastic wrap) and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Remove the bees wax wrap and slice each log into ¼-inch (.5 cm) thick cookies and place 1-inch (2 cm) apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden.
- Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before removing to cool fully on wire racks. Top with a simple icing sugar glaze if desired.
Notes
Substitutions
Dip in melted white or dark chocolate instead of using the icing sugar frosting. We topped with lavender buds for the pictured cookies, which is agreat flavour combination with the tea. Use sprinkles for a nice
substitute. Use a good dairy free butter for vegan Earl Grey shortbread. We like Miyoko’s or Naturli (in block form).
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