Butter Cookies with Earl Grey and Orange

A few weeks ago we had a baby shower for my friend Ariel (which I catered!). Among other things, I made these star-shaped cookies loosely based on Martha Stewart’s Earl Grey Tea Cookie which is more like a shortbread than a cookie. I wanted to change it up, add some zest, and I wanted the recipe to yield more. The end result was ‘Butter Cookies with Earl Grey and Orange’ and they were a huge hit. Light, but full of flavor. Perfect with tea (and champagne!). There were a few leftover, and I left them with my friends. Three days after the shower I got a text from Dad-to-be, “The star cookies are amazing!”

Pretty nice that he took the time to let me know he liked the cookies. I think he’s gonna be a very good Dad!

Butter Cookies with Earl Grey and Orange

 

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by: Three Many Cooks

Serves: Makes 6 to 7 dozen 2½ inch cookies rolled to ⅛-inch thick

Ingredients

• ½ pound butter, at a cool room temperature (2 sticks)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup Earl Grey tea leaves
• 1 generous teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 whole egg plus 1 yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2½ cups bleached, all-purpose flour
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 5 to 6 teaspoons orange juice

Instructions

1. Cream butter, sugar, tea, zest, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add yolk, beat well then add whole egg and vanilla; continue beating until well incorporated. Add flour; beat over low speed until flour is just mixed. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. (Can be refrigerated up to two days or double wrapped and frozen for one month.)
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator and cut in half. Return unused portion of dough to the refrigerator. Lightly flour work surface; roll dough to ⅛-inch thick (for a thicker cookie, roll to ¼-inch), using an off-set spatula to loosen dough and lightly sprinkling surface with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Using a cookie cutter, cut dough into desired shape. Place dough shapes ½-inch apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
3. Bake until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Use a thin bladed spatula to immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack. Cool to room temperature. Repeat rolling, cutting, and baking remaining dough.
4. Meanwhile mix confectioner’s sugar and orange juice in a small bowl, adding just enough liquid to make a spreadable or pourable glaze. Spread glaze on each cookie with a knife or drizzle it onto cookies from the tines of a fork. (If not using glaze immediately, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface to keep it from hardening.)
5. Let cookies dry completely; transfer them to an airtight container where they can be stored up to 3 weeks.

Notes

We used Earl Grey tea removed from the bags for our ¼ cup of tea leaves. For us that was about 14 tea bags.

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