Crisp and buttery shortbread cookies with a hint of Earl Grey, with just 5-ingredients, they’re perfect for parties, tea time, or scarfing down all by yourself! <—- Like I did!
Earl Grey Cookies
Alright, I must admit, like Mad Men, I’ve only watched the first episode of Downton Abbey. I just wasn’t that intrigued, but everyone tells me I need to watch the whole first season before I pass judgment. With so many other things to watch on tv, it’s going to have to wait until some downtime in the summer months.
However, I love posting pop culture inspired recipes, so I decided to bring you this fun Downton Abbey inspired recipe and link party in anticipation of tonight’s premiere!
Okay, so a may not be a die-hard fan of Downton, but I do love me some tea and cookies. I post a lot of cookie recipes on here but have yet to post a recipe for shortbread cookies and they’re my favorite!
I know, I know… I say every cookie is my favorite… but I REALLY love cookies!
Matt and I will literally kill an entire box of Lorna Doone’s in one sitting, they’re just so addictive.
I always thought they’d be difficult to make, but when I stumbled across this three-ingredient recipe from Dine & Dish, I was floored!
No Way! Just three ingredients and a half hour? That’s easier than a trip to the store and about $3.00 cheaper too!
With three ingredients, you’d think maybe they were lacking. Nope, not at all. These simple shortbread cookies are everything I dreamed they would be!
I decided to adapt the recipe a bit by adding Earl Grey Tea leaves and using unsalted butter and adding my own salt for more control over the flavor. My version is just 5 ingredients and can still be made in 30 minutes, no chill time required!
The end result is perfectly crisp shortbread cookies that are so buttery they almost melt in your mouth. The essence of Earl Grey tea takes them to a whole new level of flavor and fun!
They’re so good, I’m not even willing to share, you’ll all just have to make them yourselves! They’re just the thing if you’re looking for a slightly sweet cookie fix or preparing for a Downton Abbey party!
More Delicious Cookie Recipes:
- Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies
- Classic Sugar Cookies
- Irish Cream No Bake Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
Downton Abbey Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 bag Earl Grey Tea Leaves 2 bags can be used for a stronger flavor
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cream butter and confectioners sugar in a large bowl or stand mixer.
- Add in flour, salt, and tea leaves. continue to mix until a soft dough forms. The mix will be dry and crumbly at first but will come together.
- Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut out cookies using a 2 in round cookie cutter.
- Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20-22 minutes or until edges are a golden brown.
Notes
Slightly Adapted from Dine & Dish.
1 cookie is 3 WW PointsPlus.
Nutrition
Sheri says
Hi!
I LOVE the flavor of these cookies, they made my apartment smell amazing!
My only comment is that I had the crumbly problem that everyone else did. My momma always told me to never overwork something, so instead of mixing until it somehow came together I added just a smidge of water, and that brought the dough together without stiffening the cookie, they were still very “melt in your mouth” by the end.
Rebecca says
Hi Sheri, I’m glad the water trick worked for you and you enjoyed the cookies. The dough does need to be beaten rather well and long for it to come together, and because there’s no egg or leavening agent in the mix, there’s no need to worry about overworking as long as once it comes together you don’t work it much beyond that point.
Margaret says
These didn’t work so well for me… dough was WAY too sticky to roll, so I added flour. Ended up with a mess of cookies, way too browned on the edges and some were blackened messes. This was 10 minutes in. Any advice? Could they have been too thin? Is this normal? Could it be my stove?
Rebecca says
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you, Margaret. Did you use margarine instead of butter? The baking could be your oven, they shouldn’t be blackened after 10 minutes, it’s possible they were too thin.
Elaine says
Could you please clarify how much 1 cup 2 sticks of butter is? Is it 1 cups plus 2 sticks? I’m from Canada and they are available by cups or mL for butter measurements . Thank you.
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Elaine, sorry the 2 sticks was supposed to be in parenthesis, but my new recipe card must have removed them. Anyway, to answer your question, it is 1 cup. Here in the states each stick is a 1/2 cup 🙂
Elaine says
Thanks for the clarification, Rebecca. I made the cookies and they turned out great!
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad you loved them!
Danica says
Made these today and they are delish! I loove earl grey and I LOOVE shortbread, so this was a no brainer. I added the contents of 2 tea bags and I kicked them up a notch by making an earl grey glaze! Inspired me to try other flavours, too!
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Elisabeth says
I didn’t have time to search all the comments, so please forgive me if this was already asked, but have you tried adding any lemon zest to these cookies?
Anyhow, I made them as written and I am both sorry for my husband and secretly relieved that he doesn’t like Earl Grey! My house smells amazing and the cookies are delicious!!
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Elisabeth, Myself and others have made them with lemon glaze. add powdered sugar, water, and lemon zest together and dip half of the cookies in and then let them set on wax paper to dry.
Evy says
I am so confused. If I left the cookies in the oven for 20 minutes they’d be toast. Right around 9-10 minutes seems good for mine – I left one batch in for ~13 minutes and they’re too done (but I’ll eat them anyways) – but I did everything else the same!
Nevertheless, these are so tasty! I can’t wait to take them to work for an afternoon pick-me-up with tea at that 2 p.m. drag…
As I sat down to type this, I saw the hubs saunter by and pick one up and put the whole thing in his mouth. He caught me watching him and had that mouth-full-of-guilt look. I’m mostly just sad this means I’ll have to share.
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Evy, I’m so sorry that you had trouble with the timing, every oven is different, but I’m glad you found a timing that works well for you and I hope you enjoy the cookies!
Amanda says
is it 1 cup OR 2 sticks butter? not 1 cup + 2 sticks?
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Amanda, it’s just 1 cup. 2 sticks of butter equals 1 cup.
Patricia says
Thanks so much for this gorgeous recipe. I’m not a lover of Earl Grey tea but it’s so perfect in this recipe. I have made it a number of times and passed the recipe on as well
So so easy.
I have also replaced 1/2 cup of flour with rice flour that gave it a nice crunch.
They are lovely with a cup of tea and part of a high tea that I held for a friend.
Also I served one of these each beside a dessert that was served in a glass of layered whipped cream with yogurt, lemon curd and raspberries. Very decadent and the biscuit on the side provided a welcoming crunch.
Very versatile.
Rebecca Hubbell says
I’m so glad you have been enjoying this recipe and finding so many uses for it! Thank you for your sweet comment!
JansinGA says
I love these cookies! I made them twice this past weekend, once for an event at church and once for home, and here are my experiences: First batch, I mixed with a hand-held electric mixer. The dough was super soft and stuck to my rolling pin like crazy, but still turned out well. Second batch, I used my stand mixer and refrigerated the dough for about 30 minutes before rolling. MUCH better! I used a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste and two tea bags in each batch. I’ll probably omit the vanilla next time to see if I can tell any difference. I’ve already shared your site and the recipe with a few friends who requested the recipe. Love this cookie (or 5!) with a nice cuppa Earl Grey tea while watching, yes, my favorite BBC shows! Thank you for the recipe!
Rebecca Hubbell says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! A stand mixer is definitely the easiest way to mix these cookies!
Rian says
Just made these to quench my current obsession with Earl Grey. I was suprised. This is the first cookie recipe that i didnt have to tweak flour wise. Baked well and tasted amazingly delicious. A new favorite cookie recipe.
Rebecca Hubbell says
I’m so glad you loved them and the best part is they only get better with time as the flavor develops!
Tani Lee says
Do you use chilled butter or room temperature butter to cream?
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Tani, room temp, I just updated it, thanks for asking!
Alex says
Did not stay together when when bakening just turns to crumbles when trying to separate from the cook sheet
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Alex, did you line your baking sheet with parchment paper as directed?
Erika says
I want to infuse the butter with the tea leaves for a stronger flavour. But your recipe calls for creaming butter with sugar. So does that mean after infusing butter with tea leaves, I have to somehow remove the leaves or I can leave them with the butter and mix them with the sugar?
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Erika, the tea leaves are meant to stay in the cookies, you’re simply just mixing the tea leaves and butter together a few hours before you mix the butter and sugar so that the flavor infuses a bit more.