Browned Butter-Earl Grey Cookies
User Reviews
5
Browned Butter-Earl Grey Cookies
Description
This recipe starts by finely grinding loose leaf Earl Grey tea to integrate its flavors evenly into the dough. Butter is browned until golden and nutty, then combined with vanilla, cardamom, and the Earl Grey tea. The mixture is chilled until spreadable before creaming with additional butter, powdered sugar, egg yolk, and salt. Flour and cornstarch are gently folded in to keep the dough tender. The cookies are baked until just set and then cooled completely before dipping in a glaze flavored with confectioners’ sugar, orange zest, milk, melted butter, and a pinch of cardamom. This layering of flavors delivers a subtle citrus and tea-infused sweetness balanced by the richness of browned butter.
The crumbly texture and nuanced flavor profile suit these cookies well as an accompaniment to afternoon tea or a light dessert. The infusion of Earl Grey and cardamom sets them apart from ordinary shortbread.
Use parchment paper when baking to prevent spreading. Chilling the dough before baking helps maintain shape and texture. Light-colored pans are recommended for browning butter evenly without burning. The cookies must cool completely before glazing to ensure the glaze adheres properly.
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Cookies:
- 1 tablespoon earl grey tea loose leaf
- 1 cup butter softened and divided (227g, unsalted
- ½ vanilla bean seeds scraped or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ cup powdered sugar (60g)
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour (210g)
- ¼ cup cornstarch (40g)
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- orange zest of 1
- 1 tablespoon milk warm
- 1 tablespoon butter melted, unsalted
- 1 pinch ground cardamom
Instructions
For the Shortbread Cookies:
- In a small spice grinder, blitz the tea leaves until finely chopped. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, melt ½ cup of butter over medium-high heat. Continue cooking until the butter foams and the milk solids turn deep golden brown in color, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. Stir in the vanilla, cardamom, and tea leaves.
- Place the butter mixture in the fridge, stirring every 15 minutes, until smooth and spreadable, about 45 minutes. (You can also do this ahead of time and leave it covered at room temperature overnight.)
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cooled browned butter mixture, remaining ½ cup softened butter, sugar, egg yolk, and salt. Beat on medium speed just until creamy and combined, about 1 minute. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the flour and cornstarch, mixing just until combined. Stop and scrape down the bowl occasionally during mixing. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- Lightly flour the chilled dough and roll between two sheets of parchment paper to ¼-thickness. Chill for another hour or until firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut into desired 2-inch shape and place on the baking sheet 1-inch apart.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the bottoms start to brown. Let the cookies cool completely on the pan.
For the Glaze:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, orange zest, milk, butter, and cardamom until smooth. Dip half of each cookie in the glaze place on parchment paper or drizzle the glaze over the cookies and set aside to dry. Let the glaze fully dry before serving. Cookies can be stored in single layers with parchment between them in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
- Accurately measure flour using a kitchen scale or fluff and level if using cups to avoid dense cookies.
- Finely blitz loose leaf Earl Grey tea for even flavor distribution; tea bags can be used if loose leaf is unavailable.
- Chill cookie dough to prevent spreading during baking.
- Bake on parchment paper to maintain shape.
- Avoid overmixing dough to keep cookies tender.
- Use a light-colored pan to brown butter for better color control.
- Cool cookies completely before glazing to prevent melting.
- If no orange is available, lemon zest can substitute in the glaze.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 24cookies
Amount Per Serving
Calories 143 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 143kcal | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 16g | 5% |
| Protein | 1g | 2% |
| Fat | 8g | 12% |
| Saturated Fat | 5g | 25% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.4g | 2% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 2g | 10% |
| Trans Fat | 0.3g | 15% |
| Cholesterol | 30mg | 10% |
| Sodium | 51mg | 2% |
| Potassium | 16mg | 0% |
| Fiber | 0.3g | 1% |
| Sugar | 7g | 14% |
| Vitamin A | 265IU | 5% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 7mg | 1% |
| Iron | 0.5mg | 3% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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