Earl Grey Tea Cookies

Earl grey tea isn't something I'm normally too fond of.  Citrus + bitter tastes don't complement each other well in my experience (reminds me of eating straight orange rinds...yuck).  I had about 4 earl grey teabags laying around because like the drunken klepto I was freshman year, I stuffed my cute little tory burch clutch full of tazo teabags from the frat's breakfast buffet setup.  The funniest part was that I was caught redhanded by one of the fraternity brothers, but he just laughed...probably at how pathetic I looked.  I REGRET NOTHING.

Since then, I drank all the good herbal and black teas and left the earl greys lying around.  I believe what prompted me to utilize the tea into my baking was a recipe I found for earl grey panna cotta.  After doing some research, the only simple recipe I could find was for earl grey shortbread cookies.  Meh.  Shortbread...something else I am not quite enthusiastic about.  Might as well give a whirl.  Worst case scenario, I let my roommates eat all the cookies.  After trying failing miserably at shaping a log out of incredibly dry dough, I gave up on the shortbread and added an egg to the mixture.  The result... ?

Beautifully delicate cookies!  The earl grey bergamot flavor is subtle, giving the cookies a delightfully grown-up taste.  I dusted them with sugar to sweeten it up a little more, but that is totally optional.  

Earl Grey Tea Cookies 

Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients: 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1/2 cup powdered sugar [optional: 1/4 cup to dust cookies]

2 tablespoons Earl Grey tea leaves (about 6 teabags) 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon room temperature water

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1 cup softened butter

2 eggs 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 
2. Pulse together dry ingredients in a food processor, until tea leaves are pulverized.  (I used a blender, which worked fine) 
3. Pour dry ingredients into a large bowl.  Add vanilla, water, butter, and eggs.  
4. Beat until smooth dough is formed.  
5. Shape dough into balls (about 1 tablespoon per ball) and place onto baking sheet (I covered my baking sheet with aluminum for easy cleanup) 
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden. 
7. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to serving platter/wire racks to cool completely.  
8. optional: dust with powdered sugar and serve warm!

recipe adapted from here, thanks food network!