Monday, February 11, 2013

Lady Grey tea cookies

Lady Grey tea cookies / Biscoitinhos de chá Lady Grey

I guess that when it comes to cooking and baking we all have our favorites - I certainly do, and the list includes Nigella, Jamie Oliver, Donna Hay and, of course, Martha: her baking recipes are always a hit and these cookies are no exception, delicious and dead easy to make. I got two logs of dough from this recipe and thought of keeping one in the freezer for another day, but after trying one of the cookies I knew I should bake as many as possible. :)

Lady Grey tea cookies
from one of my favorite cookbooks

2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons finely ground Lady Grey tea leaves (from about 4 bags)*
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (70g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
finely grated zest of 1 large orange
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk flour, tea, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
Put butter, sugar, orange zest and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture until just combined – at this point I tasted the dough and thought it wasn’t sweet enough, so I added 1 ½ tablespoons icing sugar.
Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment. Chill in freezer until very firm.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Cut into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, about 15 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets over a wire rack.

* I used this grinder to grind the tea leaves

Makes about 50 cookies

3 comments:

  1. Oh how I wish I had a few of these lovely cookies with my tea! :)

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  2. I love Earl Grey tea, so I think I will give these a try with that (love the full-on bergamot flavor). Thanks for another great recipe!

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  3. oh these looks just beautiful! i'll be trying these out for sure. and then having a tea party! :)

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