Earl Grey Cardamom Cookies

I made these cookies a couple weeks ago. We had a chilly weekend after a strangely hot week — damn you global warming. It was what I assume will be one of the last rainy Bay Area weekends and it felt right to savor the end of the cozy weather with some comforting tea and cookies.

So, before we dive into any more complex recipes, let’s make sure we have a basic tea cookie for reference. This is essentially a shortbread cookie (aka butter), but dressed up with fancy things like cardamom, vanilla bean and of course, tea.

I’m calling this an Earl Grey Cardamom Cookie but I definitely used Smith Teamaker’s Lord Bergamot tea — aka my fav. But, since you may not have this lovely tea on hand, feel free to use whatever Earl Grey tea you have.

I really like these cookies because they’re small. I don’t have to be committed to dessert to eat one and I also don’t feel the slightest twinge of regret if I choose to eat 5. They also keep for quite a while. I kept them in a metal tin and they stayed fresh for more than two weeks #win

This recipe was originally Martha’s, but the rainy weather made me ditch the orange zest and add something more comforting — BOOM! Cardamom. I have to say, I am on a cardamom kick. I don’t know how the spice escaped my knowledge for so long, but it recently jumped into my life single and ready to mingle. I’ve been adding it to green smoothies, granola, vegan ice cream… it is getting the royal treatment. I think it must have missed Fall but decided it still wanted to make an appearance before Summer shows up.

Anyway, back to cookies. I’ve halved the original recipe because there are only so many cookies I can eat. If you want to double the recipe though, just make sure you divide the dough in two to form two separate log rolls before freezing.

I’ve also taken the liberty of adding vanilla bean to these cookies. I personally love using vanilla bean because it adds more flavor than regular vanilla and gives the dough the teeny tiny vanilla flecks that feel fancy. I know, really adult reason. I also just love the act of cutting open a vanilla bean and having that amazing fragrance come out. If you don’t have them on hand though and need to make this recipe NOW, just substitute with 1 tsp vanilla.

Fair warning! I will probably be using a lot of vanilla beans in these recipes so before you get upset that vanilla beans are absurdly expensive at your average grocery store (seriously! they’re like $8 each!), check out Beanilla. I get their pack of 25 vanilla beans and they end up being less than a dollar each.

Last note on the recipe before we get to the details! Keep in mind that it’s important to ground the tea finely. I got lazy and stopped breaking up the chunky pieces a little too early. It ended in me spitting out awkward tea chunks. Please. Take my advice. Don’t half-ass your grinding. If you have a mortar and pestle, I suggest using that. If you don’t, you could try a small electric grinder or the back of a spoon. 

Ok! Go forth and eat cookies!

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Earl Grey Cardamom Cookies

Makes 25-30 small cookies.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup flour

1 tbs Lord Bergamot (or any Earl Grey tea, finely ground)

1 tsp cardamom

½ tsp salt

½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)

¼ cup confectioners' sugar

1 vanilla bean (cut in half lengthwise and scrape seeds from inside)

DIRECTIONS

1. Ground tea with a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, use the back of a spoon in a small bowl. Ground until large pieces of tea are broken up.

2. Mix flour, ground tea, cardamom and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. In a medium size bowl, combine butter, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla bean seeds. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Gradually add in the flour mixture on low until fully incorporated.

4. Transfer dough to a piece of parchment paper and spread out into a log shape. Roll the parchment around the log of dough and use a straight edge like a ruler or thin plastic cutting board to push excess air out and form a round log about 1½ inch diameter.

5. Carefully transfer log of dough to the freezer for 1 hour.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut log into ¼ inch cookies and spread on cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.

7. Bake for 12-14 minutes until cookies just begin to appear golden.

NOTE: These cookies keep for about 2 weeks in a metal tin.

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Lovely little things

• Love these Franco Sarto wedges I just got. I hate heels so these are bold but still comfortable.
• P.F. Candle Co’s Amber and Moss candle is completely delightful. Also very gender neutral.
• Change your behavior by adding some fun.

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Currently reading

• Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal