Earl Grey Butter Cookies
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Crisp, buttery Earl Grey Butter Cookies with a hint of tea. They are a perfect dessert for tea lovers. Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea for a comforting indulgence.
Tea is not only for sipping. These Earl Grey Butter Cookies prove that tea deserves a spot on the dessert table.
They have a crisp, buttery, tender texture and a subtle hint of earl grey tea. Plus, they are not overly sweet and subtly fragrant with their unique floral, fruity aroma, all thanks to the bergamot.
These cookies are easy to make and require basic ingredients. There is no steeping required to infuse the cookies with the tea flavour. The tea leaves are blended and added to the dough for the baked-in tea flavour. Enjoy the cookies with your favourite brew for the perfect indulgence.
Best Tea to Use
These cookies are primarily flavoured with earl grey tea. Earl grey is a black tea blend that is flavoured with bergamot orange oil. You can either use loose-leaf earl grey tea or tea bags for this recipe. However, I highly recommend the loose-leaf tea form instead of tea bags.
The differences between loose-leaf tea and tea bags are numerous, and it goes far beyond the surface. The leaves used in most bags are actually the dust and fannings from broken tea leaves. Finely broken tea leaves have lost most of their essential oils and aroma. More importantly, most tea bags constrain the tea leaves, keeping them from expanding to their full flavour and aroma potential. That is why I love using loose-leaf tea for making baked goods, because it is fresher and more flavorful.
For the best texture and even flavour distribution, make sure to grind the loose-leaf tea until finely ground. A spice grinder will do the job. Large tea pieces can feel rough in the dough.
Ingredients You Need
- Unsalted butter. Since these are butter cookies, you will need butter, of course! The butter flavour shines. Therefore, I recommend using a high-quality butter.
- Confectioners’ sugar. To sweeten the cookies. The confectioners’ sugar will give the cookies a tender and melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Egg yolk. I only add the egg yolk because it adds richness and tenderness with less spread.
- Vanilla extract. To enhance the flavour.
- Cake flour. Cake flour is a lower-protein flour. It has about 7-9% protein compared to the 10-12% protein in all-purpose flour. Using cake flour will make the cookies crisper, lighter, and more tender. You can also substitute cake flour with all-purpose flour, but the cookies will turn a little bit denser.
- Earl grey tea. Choose a good-quality earl grey tea that you enjoy drinking. Since it’s the star flavour, its aroma and taste will shine through in every bite.
- Cornstarch. Cornstarch makes the cookies very tender and prevents them from spreading.
- Salt. To taste.
Baking Tips
- Use high-quality butter. The type of butter you use is very important. I recommend using a high-quality butter with high fat content for these cookies.
- Use room temperature butter. It refers to soft and pliable butter, but still cool to touch. There should be an indent when you press with your finger.
- Measure your flour correctly. Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you still insist on using volume measurement, make sure to fluff your flour and spoon it into your measuring cup. Then, use a knife to level it off.
- Grind tea leaves finely. A spice grinder will do the job. Large tea pieces can feel rough in the dough.
- Add more milk if your dough is too hard. Finding the right consistency of cookie dough is very crucial for butter cookies since you need it to be creamy enough to pipe. I find the recipe ratio is perfect for me, but if your dough is too hard to pipe, try adding a teaspoon of milk to the dough. Don’t add too much, though, because the cookies will spread a lot if you do so.
- Make small cookies rather than large cookies. If you make your swirls smaller or larger, the cookies will need to bake for less or more time.
- Use a cookie press to shape the cookies. If you are not confident about your piping skills, you can alternatively use a cookie press to shape these cookies.
- Chill the cookies before baking. I highly recommend chilling the piped dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. This will help them retain their shape with less spreading.
Best Piping Tips to Use
The best piping tips for butter cookies are large, open star tips (such as Ateco #828 and Wilton 1M, 6B, 8B). These, with a roughly 1/2-inch opening, allow thick dough to pass through easily while creating defined, ridged shapes. Closed star tips can be used, but require more force.
If you are not confident about your piping skills, you can alternatively use a cookie press to shape these cookies.
How to Store Butter Cookies
Once the cookies have been baked and cooled completely, they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They will last up to a week.
More Cookies Recipes
- Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
- Pistachio Snowball Cookies
- Crunchy Pistachio Cookies
- Chocolate Butter Cookies
- Cashew Cookies
- Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp (100 gr) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (65 gr) confectioners' sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125 gr) cake flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp (10 gr) cornstarch
- 1 tbsp (4 gr) loose-leaf earl grey tea, or 2 tea bags
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 340℉/170℃ and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small spice grinder, blitz the tea leaves until finely ground. If you use tea bags, you can use them directly. Just cut the bags and add.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and confectioners' sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy.
- Add egg yolk and vanilla. Beat the mixture until well combined.
- Sift in cake flour, cornstarch, ground tea, and salt. Mix with a spatula until well incorporated. Don't overmix.
- Add your star piping tip to the piping bag. Transfer the dough into the piping bag and try piping on the prepared baking sheet. If the dough is too thick to pipe, transfer the dough back to the mixing bowl and add 1 tsp of milk. If the dough is creamy enough to pipe, continue piping the dough into swirls, leaving 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let the dough firm up so that they kep their shape better during baking. This step is optional.
- Bake cookies for 15-18 minutes or until the edges are light brown. Bake for 15 minutes for softer cookies, bake for 18 minutes for crisper cookies.
- Remove from the oven and immediately transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
