Soft and chewy Earl Grey Cookies infused with tea and studded with white chocolate chunks. They’re a sweet treat perfect for afternoon tea and beyond.
The recipe for these earl grey cookies different from those other popular tea cookies you’ll find on the internet. Other recipes include the tea leaves in the cookie. This one doesn’t.
Certain teas, like matcha, are grown specifically for direct consumption. The same cannot be said for many supermarket teas. Generally, teas are meant for steeping in liquids.
Don’t eat tea leaves. Let’s steep tea in butter to extract flavor. It’s the same technique used in these boba tea cupcakes.
Contents:
Recipe Ingredient Notes
For best results, measure ingredients by weight using a kitchen scale. However, if you prefer to use volume measures (cups), use the stir and spoon method to measure dry ingredients.
- Infused Butter : Earl Grey tea leaves are infused into melted butter. More detailed information in the next section.
- Earl Grey Tea : There are dozens of Earl Grey tea variations. Choose your favorite version. More detailed information regarding tea in the next section.
- Brown Sugar : Use your choice of light or dark brown sugar. It will slightly affect the color of the dough. However, it has minimal effect on the flavor.
- White Chocolate : For the best experience, use high-quality white chocolate. Cocoa butter should be listed within the first three ingredients on the packaging. Stay far away from “white chocolate morsels” or “white chocolate chips” that are made from sugar, palm oil (or other hydrogenated oil) and milk powder. Find real white chocolate like these chunks or white chocolate feves.
What is Earl Grey Tea?
Earl Grey is a black tea infused with bergamot oil (an Italian citrus fruit). The popular tea was named after Earl Charles Grey II, the prime minister of Great Britain from 1830 through 1834.
There are many variations of this tea. Lavender Earl Grey is one of the more popular variations. Other frequent flavor inclusions are vanilla, rose, and orange. Use your favorite type of Earl Grey tea!
Tea Bag versus Loose Leaf Tea
On average, loose leaf tea tends to be more flavorful and aromatic than tea bags.
This isn’t always the case. Certainly there are plenty of high-quality tea bags. But, much of supermarket tea bags (Twinings, Celestial Seasonings, Trader Joe’s, Numi) have finely ground tea that resembles “dust.”
Study the image above. The tea bag tea leaves are ground to a fine “tea dust.” The actual tea leaves are unrecognizable. While the loose leaf tea in the second cup are much more recognizable. You can see the tea leaves formed into tightly rolled coils.
Use either tea bag or loose leaf tea for this recipe. They both work just fine. You may have to use double the amount of tea bags to get the same flavor as loose leaf.
How to Infuse Tea Flavor
How do you infuse Earl Grey flavor into cookie dough? Fat! Flavor is best transported through fat. In this case, butter is the fat.
- Add tea to hot melted butter. Steep tea in butter for 20 minutes. 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.
- Strain tea out of the butter. Once again, if the butter starts to harden and solidify, gently reheat it to melt.
- Squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the tea leaves!
- The tea infused butter will have a slight green color. The butter will not be clear. It will appear a bit cloudy.
Don’t try to taste the tea infused butter at this point. You will not taste 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.
Step by Step Mixing
- Cream butter and sugars until smooth. Add egg, yolk, and vanilla. Mix for about 3 minutes until mixture has the consistency of caramel sauce.
- Add dry flour ingredients in three additions.
- Mix on low speed until there are no longer any dry streaks of flour. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
- Fold in white chocolate. Cover and chill dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
How to Portion Cookie Dough
The secret to uniformed sized cookies is proper portioning! Reasons to portion out dough: 1) all the cookies bake at the same rate and 2) all the cookies are the same size.
These earl grey cookies are “drop cookies.” This means the dough does not need to be shaped before baking. Simply scoop the dough and drop onto the baking sheet.
This recipe uses a size 24 scoop (1.75 oz).
Scoop Sizes
Make Ahead Cookie Dough Option
Freeze now and bake later! These Earl Grey cookies can be made ahead of time. Store the raw dough in the fridge for up to two days, or keep in the freezer for up to three months.
How to prepare cookie dough for freezer:
- Mix together the dough.
- Chill in the fridge for two hours (ideally overnight).
- Scoop and portion into rounds.
- Place portioned cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for one to two hours until solid.
- Once solid, transfer cookie dough to an airtight container such as a ziptop bag or reusable silicone bag.
Recipe Troubleshooting and Tips
Yes, the infused butter will extract some of the caffeine from the black tea. Use decaffeinated Earl Grey if caffeine is an issue for you.
Can you freeze this cookie dough?
Yes! Scoop and portion out the cookie dough. Place on a parchment or wax lined cookie sheet. Pop in the freeze for about an hour until solid. Then, transfer to a freezer safe zip-top bag. The frozen cookie dough will stay good for up to three months frozen.
Add two minutes to baking time when baking directly from the freezer.
Can I omit the white chocolate?
Yes! Simply omit the white chocolate. Scroll down for other recommended variations you can make with this earl grey cookie dough.
How can I ensure chewy, soft cookies?
Err on the side of under-baked to achieve chewy cookies. The cookies will very fragile directly out of the oven. However, they will regain their structure as they cool.
How can I ensure crispy cookies?
Bake the cookies for three minutes longer or at a slightly higher temperature (15-25 degrees more than listed temperature) to achieve crispy cookies.
Cookie Storage Instructions
Cooling cookies to room temperature is vital step. Next, is having a good cookie jar or an airtight container.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. However, they are best enjoyed within three days after baking.
Cookie Variations
- Caramel Stuffed Earl Grey Cookies : Omit the white chocolate. Flatten the portioned cookie ball. Place a soft caramel candy in the center. Roll dough back to a ball to encase the caramel. Bake as usual.
- Earl Grey Sugar Cookies : Omit the white chocolate. Roll the portioned cookie balls in granulated sugar. Bake as usual.
- Earl Grey Cookies : These cookies are not mixed with white chocolate. The raw cookie balls were frozen and later baked. Frozen cookies will have a slightly richer, darker color.
- Freeze for Later Use : Follow the recipe post as instructed and freeze the raw cookie balls. Add 2 minutes to baking time. The resulting cookies will have a slightly richer, darker color than cookies that were not frozen.
More Tea Infused Dessert Recipes
White Chocolate Earl Grey Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (170 g)
- 3 teaspoons loose leaf Earl Grey black tea (or 2 tea bags)*
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 g)
- ¾ cup light brown sugar (150 g) packed
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 cup high-quality white chocolate chunks (170 g)
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.
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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.
This recipe was great! Per another reviewers’ guidance, I doubled the amount of tea bags I used.
I had some trouble with getting 3/4 cup of butter (my 6 oz of butter measured out to less than 1/2 cup melted after I steeped the tea). I ended up using the whole stick of butter, which measured out to 1/2 cup melted. Despite that confusion, they baked beautifully and I got lots of compliments on them! Thanks!