These soft and chewy Earl Grey Cookies are infused with tea and studded with white chocolate chunks. They’re a sweet treat for Earl Grey fans!
I’m normally a coffee drinker. However, during my vacation in Norway, I drank tea every morning. Now that I’m back home, I’ve suddenly been craving tea. Let’s kill two birds with one stone.
Let’s eat and drink tea!
Sure, you can enjoy biscotti or shortbread with your tea- but I prefer cookies! In honor of my favorite tea, I present you with White Chocolate Earl Grey Cookies!
How do you infuse Earl Grey flavor into cookie dough?
Fat! Flavor is best transported through fat.
In the case of these cookies, butter equals fat! I steeped Earl Grey in hot melted butter. Don’t expect the color of the butter to change. It won’t.
Don’t try to taste the tea infused butter, either. You won’t notice the Earl Grey flavor until you mix the dough together. The addition of sugar and salt will enhance the aroma and flavor of the tea.
A few notes on tea:
- You can use Earl Grey tea bags or loose leaf tea.
- When straining out the tea, squeeze out all the liquids. You’ll want as much flavor as possible.
- Make sure the melted butter is hot. It will slightly cool as the tea steeps. If the melted butter starts to harden during steeping, simply warm up butter over the stove.
White chocolates are not made equally.
Much of the “white chocolate” sold in supermarkets taste like chalk. Stay away from “white chocolate” that is made from sugar, palm oil (or other hydrogenated oil) and milk powder.
Look for the real white chocolate! “Cocoa butter” should be listed within the first three ingredients.
I highly recommend these white chocolate chunks from Nuts.com. Those are the ones I’ve used in this Earl Grey Cookies recipe.
White Chocolate Earl Grey Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (6 oz) unsalted butter
- 3 teaspoons loose leaf Earl Grey black tea (or 2 tea bags)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (6 oz) high-quality white chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Melt butter in a heavy bottomed saucepot. Remove from heat and add tea leaves. Allow to steep for 20 minutes. Strain out tea leaves, squeezing out as much liquid from leaves.
- Pour tea infused butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until smooth.
- Add egg and yolk. Beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes until mixture has the consistency of caramel.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer running on slow, add flour mixture in three additions. Mix until there are no longer any dry streaks of flour. Scrape down bowl as needed. Fold in white chocolate until thoroughly distributed.
- Transfer cookie dough to an airtight container and allow to chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, overnight is best.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Allow cookie dough to soften at room temperature, about 5 minutes.
- Use a size 24 cookie scoop to portion out 17 mounds of dough. Place cookie mounds on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2-inch apart. Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking, until edges of cookies are set.
- Allow cookies to cool in baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool to room temperature.
Notes
- Use high-quality white chocolate that lists "cocoa butter" as the first or second ingredient.
- Err on the side of under-baked for chewy, soft cookies. Cookies will be very fragile while hot, but will regain their structure as it cools.
- If you allow cookies to brown in the oven, they will be crispier.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
I love the mix of these two flavors – white chocolate and earl grey. Any preference on the brand of earl grey tea?
I’m currently loving the loose leaf Earl Grey de la Creme tea from Trader Joe’s. It includes dried sunflower, dried cornflower, and vanilla bean!
I made these cookies twice recently and love the taste and flavor. The second time I made them, I doubled up on the tea steeped and it gave it exactly the tea flavor I wanted. One question, any advice on how to make the cookies more flat when they cook? After I put them in the fridge over night, they get really stiff. And I’ll warm it up with my hands (even after putting it out for a little bit) and roll them into balls. But, they basically stay in that circular, golf ball-ish shape..and don’t flatten out like the cookies.
To prevent the dough from drying out, make sure it is in an airtight container or well sealed in plastic wrap. Allow the cookie to soften to room temperature before scooping and baking. Based on the ratio of fat to flour in this recipe, the cookies should flatten out like the ones in the photo.
Perhaps too much moisture is evaporating when you steep the tea in the melted butter. Try covering the pot as it steeps. When straining out the tea leaves, measure how much melted butter you have left over. It should be close to 3/4 cup (6oz). If not, add more melted butter.
Umm.. I think you mean cocoa butter and not cocoa powder on the ingredients list of white chocolate. White chocolate does not contain cocoa solids. Other than that, these cookies looks great! Will definitely give it a shot!
HI! really excited to try out this recipe but how exactly do i go about straining out the tea leaves ? thank you
If you are using loose tea leaves, use a tea strainer or a fine mesh stainless steel strainer.
hi; retired chef, and I wish I lived in your generation. you are a star. you should do your own cable shows or PBS is a wonderful family to join. ps. if you get your own tv show, can I have a job? I am so bored not working! anyways , you shine babe.
Can cacao butter be used as substitute for chocolate chunks?
No, it cannot be used in place of white chocolate chunks. Cocoa butter (or cacao butter) has a very low melting point temp. It will just melt into a puddle. However, you can melt the cacao butter and cream it with the butter to create a richer cookie base.