London Fog Shortbread
1 cup butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 vanilla bean split and scraped (1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste)
2 tbsp. Earl Grey Tea (about 3 tea bags)
Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the vanilla, vanilla bean, and the tea. Add the flour and mix until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 mins. Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Roll out the dough to a little less then 1/4″ on a well floured surface. Cut out desired shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Chill the cut cookies for at least 20 mins. before baking. Bake the cookies for about 12 mins. or until the edges are just barely brown. Cool on wire racks.
These cookies freeze well in an air tight container.
Hummm….yours look better than mine, think I made them thinner than you did but they taste good! Thanks for the recipe….Love, Linda
I am going to make these for my mom! Maybe package them with her favorite tea too! Julia
@julia great gift idea!
how much does the recipe make??
Good question – it really depends on the size of cookie cutter you use, but I think my batch made 2 dozen (but they were pretty big cookies).
My dough even after chilling was real sticky and was very difficult to roll out. I tried rolling it out on the floured surface and it still stuck. I ended up using my hands and crafted them into circles. Any thoughts as to what I could've done wrong…
I haven't made these yet, but I know that different altitudes, humidities, and flour types can make a difference in recipes, among other things. You could try adding a little more flour, or cutting back on some of the wet ingredients to help reduce stickiness. Also make sure you're using the tea leaves, not brewed tea!
These are SO GOOD. I'm so glad I finally tried them, they hold their form super well too so perfect for cutting out different cute shapes! Had to give them away so I didn't eat them all 🙂 made a lovely gift!
Do you use the tea leaves then? I'm a bit confused. I guess I was expacting to brew tea and then it says about 3 bags worth
Yes, use the tea leaves!
Is there a substitute that can be used for the vanilla bean/vanilla bean paste? Like more vanilla?
more vanilla would be great!
Can't wait to make these!!
should I use softened butter?! 🙂
Yes, just use room temp butter. Happy baking!
I will make these for grand daughter
Absolutely delicious and perfect alongside a good cuppa on a rainy day! Mine were very sticky and difficult to roll out, but overall a fantastic recipe 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Do you put both the vanilla bean that's been split and scraped and the vanilla bean paste into the dough? Or just the paste?
I'm sorry that is unclear. No it's an either/or. I use vanilla bean paste for it's convenience, it's a good replacement to an actual vanilla bean scraped. I hope that helps.
My batch made about a dozen cookies approximately 2" in diameter. The reason your dough is sticky is that it is kind of that way naturally. If it is unmanageable, chill then dough longer first. Make sure you put down a dusting of flour before you flatten out the dough. You might want to consider flouring your hands and patting the dough flat, then rolling very little to finish it off.
Also, I felt mine were a little under-flavored. (I used loose tea leaves, and real vanilla bean.) I put a smear of marmalade on them, and voila! Awesomeness. Next time I will add more vanilla, perhaps grind the tea-leaves up a bit more, and add a teaspoon of lemon or orange zest to perk it up.
Those are great ideas. I used really great earl grey tea that I bought in Ireland, so the flavor was bright and bold. But, definitely customize the recipe to your taste. Thanks for commenting.
by "1 tsp. vanilla" i assume you mean vanilla extract?
and can the electric mixer be used while adding the vanilla, vanilla bean, tea, and flour? or should these steps be done by hand?
thanks 🙂 🙂
Made these tonight! They are light and tasty! Perfect with a cup of tea! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
I actually used Tetley Earl Grey Vanilla tea in mine for a little extra vanilla flavour!
I have made these for several events and they are always the first to go! SOOO good!
I made these cookies the other day and they were absolutely delicious! The dough was a bit sticky but I figured out that if you put plastic wrap on top and then roll it out it's much easier. I made a blog post where I linked back to you. I hope that's okay. Great melt-in-you-mouth recipe!
Stupid question: You do brew the bags first don't you? You don"t use dry tea leaves, right?
Not a stupid question, but no, you just cut open the tea bags and put the tea leaves in. Good luck.
I made this (and six other kinds of shortbread) for a cookie party this past weekend. It was by far the most liked cookie of the night! Thank you so much for the recipe; it's definitely a keeper.
Lavender instead of tea is also yummy
Yes …..same recipe except use lavender instead of tea is….it was in the back of Hello canada magazine so googling that might work too i have gotten amazing recipes from the back of Hello canada magazine every week……the lavender look so pretty too …..
Does this recipe call for salted or unsalted butter?
same question, does this recipe call for salted or unsalted butter? I assume the butter should be soften at room temperature and cut into small cube before use it.