Earl Grey Tea Cookies

Aaand, we're back to more savory, weirder kinds of cookies. Which is fine by me. I like the more 'interesting' cookies, and apparently Martha does, too.



You've got to respect a cookie recipe that begins with making a sweetened orange-zest filled compound butter. I thought about stopping the recipe at this point and just eating the sugar-zest-butter mixture on some toast. But I didn't, deciding that I should actually pretend to make a food item, and not just apply butter directly to my thighs.



Also, I had spent money on Earl Grey Tea, so I felt like I was obliged to use it. I have a confession. I love tea, and drink at least two cups of it every day. But, I'm super picky about my tea. I almost exclusively drink PG Tips with milk and a little sugar. Sometimes, if I'm feeling festive, I'll break out some chai, or if I'm a little under the weather, I'll brew up a pot of Sleepytime with honey. But, really, that's it. And I never drink Earl Grey. It's too floral for me, and too orange-y. Ick.



So why would I make Earl Grey Tea Cookies? Because I said I would make all the cookies. Also, I like the idea of putting tea in baked goods. My mom made chai tea cookies years ago that were all kinds of awesome, and I think they had tea in them.



So, these cookies turned out surprisingly well. Giving my dislike of Earl Grey, I didn't expect much. But, these are yummy. The cookies are a simple shortbread, doctored up with lots of orange zest and tea. The dough was wrapped up in parchment and chilled in the freezer until firm, then sliced and baked. The result is tender, slightly crunchy cookies with a very nice orange-y flavor, with little of the floral-ness that I dislike in Earl Grey. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, they go really well with a cup of tea.



Next week: Hazelnut Cookies, p. 37