Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe) (2024)

Earl Grey cookiesare buttery shortbread cookies flavoured with Earl Grey tea leaves and a sweet lemon glaze on top. The lemon glazed cookies are perfect for an afternoon tea or dessert.

Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe) (1)

Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe) (2)

I’m excited to be participating in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap this year! I received delicious holiday cookies from Korena ofKorena in the Kitchen, Elaine ofFlavour and Savour, and Kim ofThe Finer Cookie that we enjoyed very much. I was able to send batches of Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze to 3 different bloggers, too!

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The Best Shortbread Recipe

The best shortbread recipe ever created is my grandma’s. Shortbread was always a staple at my grandma’s house. We’d celebrate our family’s Scottish heritage by using my grandma’s shortbread press to make the most delicious buttery cookies. We made shortbread together often, but it was at Christmastime when I most remember making it (and eating it!), and so I knew I had to make shortbread for this cookie swap! Shortbread recipes call for uncomplicated ingredients like butter, sugar and flour, but there are many different methods to create that tender, buttery cookie with just the right amount of sweetness and the perfect texture.

Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe) (3)

The Earl Grey Cookies are so simple to make and so incredibly delicious, that I just know you’re going to love this shortbread cookies recipe!

Looking for more cookie recipes? Try my Ginger Molasses Cookies or my Monster Cookies!

Ingredients Needed to Make Earl Grey Cookies

You only need a few basic ingredients to make this shortbread recipe:

  • unsalted butter
  • sugar
  • sea salt
  • lemon zest
  • one Earl Grey tea bag
  • all purpose flour

and for the lemon glaze:

  • milk
  • powdered sugar
  • lemon zest
  • turbinado sugar for garnish (optional)

You’ll also need one or two non-stick cookie sheets or baking pans. These cookies are as delicious as they are gorgeous! The recipe is perfect for the holidays because the Earl Grey cookies are bite-sized, so they fit nicely onto a holiday cookie platter. The cookies are warm and fresh-tasting with the deep flavour of the Earl Grey tea and the light lemon glaze. And the consistency of the shortbread is perfectly soft and it practically melts in your mouth.

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Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe) (5)

Looking for more easy holiday dessert recipes? Make thisClassic No Bake Cheesecake or theseWhipped Shortbread Holiday Cookies

Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe) (6)

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These cookies are perfect with a cup of tea, and because they’re only 5 Weight Watchers SmartPoints each, they’re a great little treat for the holidays (4 SmartPoints without the glaze!).

Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe) (7)

LOOKING FOR MORE EASY STRESS-FREE HOLIDAY MEAL IDEAS AND RECIPES?

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I hope you enjoy this recipe! It was fun to participate in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap!

How to Make Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze

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Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Earl Grey cookiesare buttery shortbread cookies flavoured with Earl Grey tea leaves and a sweet lemon glaze on top. The lemon glazed cookies are perfect for an afternoon tea or dessert.

Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe) (9)

5 from 1 vote

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By Chrissie (thebusybaker.ca)

Yield 18 cookies

Prep 15 minutes mins

chilling time 2 hours hrs

Cook 20 minutes mins

Total 2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

Recipe: Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter slightly cooler than room temperature
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1/2 Earl Grey tea bag
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp lemon zest
  • turbinao sugar for garnish optional

Recipe: Instructions

  • Add the butter and the sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar together on medium high speed until the mixture is pale in colour and becomes slightly fluffy.

  • Add the lemon zest, the salt, and the earl grey tea leaves and mix on medium speed until they're all incorporated (scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to be sure).

  • Add the flour and mix on low speed just until it's incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.

  • Dump the contents of the bowl onto a clean work surface and shape the dough into a log about 3 to 3.5 inches in diameter. Once the dough is starting to form a log shape, wrap the log of dough in a piece of plastic wrap and roll the log gently in the plastic wrap to create a smooth cylinder. Smooth the ends as best you can and with the dough firmly wrapped in plastic wrap, place it in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

  • Once 1-2 hours have passed, preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and remove the dough from the fridge. Prepare two baking pans by lining them with parchment paper.

  • Remove the log of dough from its plastic wrap and slice a tiny bit off both ends so they're clean and smooth. Slice the log into 18 slices, cutting as evenly as possible. It's a good idea to rotate the log each time you make a slice because this helps it keep its round shape.

  • Shape the cookies a little bit with your fingers, just to make sure there's no flat side left from the slicing and they're completely circular. Place them on your prepared baking trays and bake them for about 22-24 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit or until you see the edges turning the slightest bit of golden brown. Cool them on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

  • Once the cookies have cooled completely, whisk together the milk, powdered sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and drizzle it over the cookies using your whisk. Sprinkle a little bit of turbinado sugar over each of the cookies for a little bit of sparkle, and serve!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Keywords: best shortbread recipe, earl gray cookies, easy Christmas cookies, holiday desserts

Recipe: Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 105Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Cholesterol 14mg5%

Sodium 67mg3%

Potassium 11mg0%

Carbohydrates 14g5%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 9g10%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 163IU3%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 6mg1%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe) (10)

Earl Grey Cookies with Lemon Glaze (Shortbread Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good shortbread cookies? ›

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies
  1. Choose High Quality Butter. No matter what brand of butter you buy, if it's real butter, you can rest assured that it's the best. ...
  2. Keep Ingredients Simple. ...
  3. Add Flavor. ...
  4. Don't Overwork. ...
  5. Shape Dough. ...
  6. Chill Before Baking. ...
  7. Bake Until Golden. ...
  8. Add Finishing Touches.

What is the mistake in making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour.

Should shortbread cookies be soft or hard? ›

Shortbread should always have a tender, melting texture, but be slightly crisp when you bite into it. It should not generally be damp or wet underneath. A classic shortbread recipe will also only have flour, butter and sugar as the ingredients (in a 3:2:1 ratio) and not egg, which could lead to excess moisture.

What happens if you add too much butter to shortbread cookies? ›

According to food science site Food Crumbles, with so few ingredients, the ratios are what matter most. Too much butter — which binds everything together — and you end up with a cookie spread entirely too thin.

What not to do when making shortbread? ›

The key with shortbread is not to overhandle it. Make the dough exactly as instructed, but don't mess around making shapes or over rolling the dough - you will end up with delicious but tough biscuits. Stretching and pulling the dough activates the gluten in the flour, making chewy cookies and not crisp ones.

Should you refrigerate shortbread dough before baking? ›

After shaping the cookies, don't rush to the oven! Instead, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so (overnight is OK, too). A short stay in the fridge will firm up the cookies and solidify the butter. This will help keep them from spreading too much.

What happens if you don't chill shortbread dough? ›

My recipe doesn't require chilling but I can tell you that it will make a difference in the texture of the cookie. The cookies bake up softer and lighter in color if the dough has been refrigerated for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking. There are details in the notes of the recipe down below.

Why do you put fork holes in shortbread? ›

The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.

What happens if you don't poke holes in shortbread? ›

Piercing the shortbread with a fork is not only for decoration, but it's meant for more even baking. Poking holes in the shortbread allows the heat to penetrate the cookie, hence more even baking. Notice I'm using powdered sugar here. You'll see lots of shortbread recipes using granulated sugar.

How to tell when shortbread is done in the oven? ›

Since you will be cooking your shortbread in the lower third of the oven, you will get some top browning as the cookie bakes. The surface of the shortbread should be a toasty light brown when it is cooked. It should never appear raw or slightly opaque in the middle.

Should butter be cold for shortbread? ›

Should butter be cold or room temperature for making shortbread? Always start with cold butter straight from the refrigerator. This will keep the dough from warming up, making it greasy and difficult to roll out.

How do I know if my shortbread is ready? ›

A good way to check to see if the shortbread is baked is to see if they are set - they will be slightly firm around the outside, and may be just beginning to turn golden around the edges. You want to keep them nice and pale so make sure your oven is running at the temperature it says that it is.

What happens if you use melted butter in shortbread? ›

Evenly coating the flour particles with fat in the form of melted butter makes it harder for gluten chains to form, resulting in buttery shortbread that melts in your mouth.

What happens if you forgot to cream the butter and sugar? ›

Under-creamed butter and sugar looks darker in color, with a visible heavy and gritty texture from the unincorporated sugar. It doesn't allow enough air to become incorporated into your batter or dough. This can lead to a heavy cake that doesn't properly rise or dense cookies.

Why use unsalted butter in shortbread? ›

Unsalted butter for best results

Use unsalted butter for balanced flavour. Unsalted butter was traditionally used in baking because it was a superior product to salted - salt is used as a preservative so unsalted butter was thought to be fresher.

Why put egg in shortbread? ›

This unexpected addition will make buttery confections like shortbreads and shortcakes even more tender and flaky. “Biscuits should be crumbly, buttery and sweet,” reads a headnote for a cinnamon sugar-spiced shortbread recipe in the Ritz London Cookbook.

What is the difference between Scottish shortbread and regular shortbread? ›

Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other shortbread styles will include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which makes them crisp instead of crumbly like traditional Scottish shortbread.

What's the difference between Irish shortbread and Scottish shortbread? ›

Irish Shortbread Is Distinct From Scottish Shortbread

Irish shortbread not only sometimes changes up the butter-to-sugar ratio (possibly going with 2/3 a cup of sugar to 1 cup of butter), but also adds cornstarch in place of some of the flour present in the traditional recipe.

References

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