Earl Grey Tea Cookies

   This week feels like a blur...I finally finished that chicken coop I started a few weeks back. Yes, it did take me that long! It was a huge project that involved endless hole digging for posts for the fence, and we have a lot (A LOT!) of rocks around here, so it was a big task! Then there was the "deep litter" floor that needed to be dug out, walls to be put up, a window and door to hang, chicken wire to staple...what else? I dunno. 
   Oh, my horse finally came home this week too...and he promptly ran away and took off down our road! Yikes! We got him back, but it's been a little stressful convincing him that he is indeed here alone with no other horses! 
   Last night, before going out to vote, we played a true hillbilly game called, "catch them darned chickens to put 'em into the new coop". O.k, its not a real game, but it was sure hillbilly! Caleb's chore before and after school is to feed the hens, but he hadn't mastered the "here chick chick chick" call, and so they won't come when called, so we couldn't just pied piper them to the barn. We literally ran around like loonie-toons chasing the chickens every which way (and slipping and sliding in the wet grass because it was raining!). We only got 7 out of 8 hens...? Either way, I won 4-3. Hooray for hillbilly me.
   I actually don't like when blogs blab on about nothing before a recipe....but apparently I needed to get that out. I just sat down and it started coming...so, sorry! You're just lucky I didn't blab on about the actual Earl Grey! 
   The cookies today are from the one and only Martha Stewart, and are really simple with just few ingredients to get them together. And they really are the most perfect tea cookie with their lovely Earl Grey taste. I love Earl Grey (thanks to my friend Gracie!), and drink at least 2 cups a day. At least. 

Earl Grey Tea Cookies
-The dough needs chilling time-

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves (from about 4 bags). I use my coffee grinder to do this job.
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest (optional, but a really nice addition)

Method: 

1. Whisk flour, tea, and salt in a small bowl & set aside.
2. Put butter, sugar, and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture until just combined.Divide dough in half. Transfer each half to a piece of parchment paper, and one at a time, begin to work into a log. Roll in parchment to 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Tape shut, and place into freezer until firm, about 1 hour.
   
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut logs into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment.
4. Bake cookies, rotating cookie sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

The ingredients pictured were for a half-batch

   I feel ashamed, but I completely forgot to take some pretty pictures of these dear little cookies before packing them up and taking them to a tea party! :(  I plan to make them again soon though, and shall update the photos then! 
   Another thing, you could try to make these cookies with other tea flavours, I think. If you're into herbal/fruit teas, that could be interesting. Or a chocolate mint tea would be good too. 
   Anyway, I'm off today with a bunch more things to do! So, happy Friday, and have a good weekend! 

xo