Each day, I try to brew a cup of tea in the afternoon and have a little “me” time.  Life has been quite hectic these days, and in the midst of moving and finishing up a lot of work, I’m trying to take some time to just….breathe.

Enter in my Earl Grey tea cookies!  I made a test batch of these last week, just fiddling around in the kitchen, but felt that I wanted more Earl Grey flavor.  So this week, I added in more tea, really upping the bergamot flavor.  I also added in 1 Tbsp of brewed Earl Grey tea.  Just brew a cup of tea for yourself and reserve a tablespoon of the liquid for the cookies.  If you have white whole-wheat flour, substitute that for the all-purpose flour to add a little bit of fiber.

I love these, and I hope you do too.  They’re like shortbread cookies, but not too sweet nor greasy from excessive butter.  I think you’ll be happy with my results – just check out the nutrition facts per cookie (40 calories each!).  Now go and help yourself to a steaming cup of tea, a cookie or two, and a break, because you deserve it!

Earl Grey Tea Cookies

makes 3 dozen

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp Earl Grey tea, loose leaf

7 Tbsp unsalted butter, cooled slightly until softened, diced

1 Tbsp brewed Earl Grey tea, cooled

Preparation:

1.  In a small bowl, mix together the flour and salt.  Set aside.  In a spice grinder or food processor (spice grinder works best), process the loose leaf tea until coarsely ground.

2.  In a food processor, add the powdered sugar, tea, and butter.  Pulse the mixture until the sugar and butter are combined.  Add the flour mixture, and process the dough until it starts to comes together.  Then drizzle in the tablespoon of brewed tea, and process until all ingredients are combined.

3.  Split the dough in half.  Form each half into a log, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  Wrap each log in a piece of plastic and place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours until cold (I left mine in overnight).

4.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Slice the cookies so that they’re approximately 1/2 inch in width.  Arrange the cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, or until slightly browned on the edges.  Then have some tea time!

Nutrition information, per cookie: 41 kcal, 2.3 grams fat, 4.6 g CHO, 0.5 grams protein