Earl grey tea shortbread

OMG I am in love with this recipe. I got the idea while watching the Great British Bake off. Earl grey biscuits sounded so very British and Afternoon tea inspired that I simply had to give them a go. I couldn’t find any recipes online that I liked, so I decided to adapt my go-to shortbread recipe.

And because I always tend to go overboard, I thought ‘why not shape them into little teabags and add the word tea with my new alphabet stencil kit?’ Clearly I have too much times on my hands, so feel free just to make the biscuits without the crazy shape.

You’ll need

flour
butter
sugar
zest of half an orange and lemon each
1 bag of earl grey tea
a straw
alphabet stencil kit
kitchen string

Whip your butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (8-10 minutes). Switch the blade for your dough hook and slowly add the flour, tea and zests. Once the dough comes together into a ball, knead in the mixer for 15 minutes.

Roll out your dough onto a lightly floured surface until about 2cm thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into long rectangles and then divide into smaller ones. Cut off two corners to get a tea bag shape. Then use your straw to add a hole for the kitchen string.

If you’re using the alphabet stencil kit, add the word ‘tea’ or whatever you like – these would be great at a Kitchen Tea or baby shower with the person’s name – be careful not to press the letter in too deep or you’ll be left with a hole.

Place the biscuit on a baking paper lined tray and chill in the fridge for 2 hours. This stops the butter from melting too quickly when you put them in the oven and helps the biscuits keep their shape.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 10 minutes or until the biscuits are lightly golden.

The earl grey flavour really comes through in these biscuits. More than I thought it would actually and I was so impressed, I ate about 10 fresh from the oven. You can finish them with a bit of kitchen string or the string from a few leftover earl grey teabags like I did, and if you want a stronger flavour, add another tea bag’s worth of tea to the dough!