Maybe you’re skeptical of tea in shortbread, but I promise: you won’t be after trying this recipe.
It’s the perfect balance of sweet and savory shortbread goodness, not to mention the caffeine kick from the black tea. I’m willing to bet you already have all of the ingredients (even if you live in a dorm), and it’s doable in under an hour!
This recipe can easily be made dairy and/or gluten-free for anyone who prefers that, and I’ve included notes on the substitutions you can use (fair warning, though: a lot of shortbread’s flavor comes from dairy butter, so I can’t guarantee that the vegetable-based options will taste quite as good).
Bonus tip: if you don’t want to bake the full recipe when you first make it, just prepare it all, make the cubes, bake what you want, and freeze the rest (in an airtight container, of course)!
Now, on to the recipe!
Earl Grey Shortbread
Overview:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Serves: 6 dozen
Ingredients:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 1/2 tbsp Earl Grey tea from tea bags
1 vanilla bean (or substitute vanilla extract to taste)
2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour of choice (Check if your gf flour has xanthan gum in it—if not, you might want to add ~3/4 tsp to keep the shortbread from spreading)
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter or margarine/vegetable shortening
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Pulse sugar and tea in a food processor if you have it, otherwise just crumble tea leaves as much as you can with your hands (no big chunks of tea leaf).
Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds into food processor, or add extract. Add flour and pulse until combined. No food processor? Combine with fork or whisk.
Cut butter or non-dairy shortening into chunks and add to food processor. Pulse mixture until dough just forms. If you’re working without a food processor, make the chunks extra small and combine by hand. Don’t melt the shortening! We need it to be solid and cold to get the delicious, crumbly texture of the shortbread when it’s baked.
Transfer dough to lightly floured parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently pat into 1/2-inch-thick rectangle. Freeze 15 minutes. (See? Cold butter. Is. Key.)
Cut rectangles into 1/2-inch cubes. Arrange cubes 1 inch apart on 2 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper or greased. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until golden on bottoms. Let cool on wire rack, make yourself a cup of tea to drink with your shortbread, and enjoy!
Images via here, here, and here
Recipe via Giant Food Stores
