Earl Grey Sugar Cookies (2024)

Published: November 30, 2023 | Last Modified: November 30, 2023 by Gail Ng | 5 Comments

These earl grey sugar cookies are crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle. They're full of earl grey tea flavour and topped with a lemon glaze! They're so simple and easy to make but so delicious.

These earl grey sugar cookies combine one of my all-time favourite flavours - earl grey tea - with chewy sugar cookies. They're lovely, elevated holiday cookies that will be a hit with tea lovers.

Why you'll love this recipe

• Soft and chewy cookies. My favourite part of a cookie is the chewy middle part and these earl grey sugar cookies have exactly that. So satisfying!
• Crisp edges. The best of both worlds!
• Earl grey flavour. These cookies are fragrant with earl grey flavour and aroma and it's as easy as adding tea leaves to the cookie dough.
• Lemon glaze. The cookies are completed with drizzles of optional lemon icing for a pretty appearance and amazing flavour.

• Electric hand mixer - You'll need a hand mixer or a stand mixer to mix the cookie dough. If you bake often, a hand mixer is an essential tool for mixing batters and whipping cream. I highly recommend picking one up! If you don't have one, you can still make these cookies with a spatula. Make sure your butter is soft enough to mix it by hand.
• Cookie scooper - I like large cookies that spread in the oven. I almost always use a 4-tablespoon cookie scooper and wouldn't recommend using anything smaller than a 3-tablespoon scooper.
• Baking sheet - You can use any baking sheet or baking tray with a rim around the sides. Always line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Piping bag (optional) - A piping bag makes it easy to pipe neat drizzles of icing on the cookies. You could just use a spoon though!

Ingredients

• Unsalted butter -Your butter should be softened to room temperature. This allows you to cream it together with the sugars. Creaming cold butter is not fun, if not impossible!
• Granulated sugar - You'll need this for the cookie dough and for rolling the cookie dough balls in for the crunchy and sparkly finish on your baked cookies.
• Brown sugar
• Egg -This should also be at room temperature so that it incorporates seamlessly into the cookie dough and prevents the mixture from curdling.
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Earl grey tea bag - Cut the tea bag open and add the contents to the cookie dough. If you're using loose-leaf earl grey tea leaves, use 1 tablespoon of finely ground tea leaves.
• Powdered sugar - This is used to make the lemon glaze that's drizzled on top of the cookies. These cookies taste just as good without the glaze so this is an optional step.
• Lemon juice - The flavour of lemon pairs really well with earl grey tea but you can also use milk or just water for the glaze.

How to make earl grey sugar cookies

For the cookies

Mix dry ingredients:In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the tea leaves from an earl grey tea bag. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugars:In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat softened butter until it's very creamy and pale in colour. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and cream together on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Mix wet ingredients:Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat again until combined.

Add dry to wet mixture:Add in the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. If there are any flour patches left, use a spatula to finish folding the cookie dough together to prevent overmixing.

Scoop cookie dough:Line a small cutting board with parchment paper. Use a 4-tablespoon cookie scooper to scoop out balls of cookie dough. Release them onto your lined board.

Chill:Chill the whole board of cookie dough balls in the fridge for about 15 minutes just until they're firm to the touch and not too sticky.

Prep:Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll in sugar:Once chilled, roll each cookie dough ball in between your hands to shape them into balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar, coating all sides. Place each coated cookie dough ball on your lined baking sheet, leaving about 2" in between each cookie to allow for spreading.

Bake:Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown but the middle is still very soft. The middle might look underdone but they set into a chewy center as they cool.

Swirl cookies:Immediately after you take them out of the oven, use a large cookie cutter or a bowl turned upside down to swirl the cookies around and push any irregular sides in to make perfectly round cookies.

Cool:Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the icing

Mix icingIn a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice until it becomes a thick but pourable consistency.

Drizzle:Transfer the glaze to a piping bag or use a spoon to drizzle it across each cookie.

Storage

These earl grey sugar cookies can be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Freezing

These cookies can be frozen by placing them in an airtight container, freezer bag, or wrapped well in plastic wrap for up to 1 month.

Thaw at room temperature for several hours before eating. You can also reheat the cookies in a toaster oven or microwave for a warm cookie!

Tips for success

• Use room temperature ingredients. I say this for almost every recipe that involves creaming butter and sugar together because it makes a big difference in the consistency of your dough or batter and the texture of the finished baked goods. Room-temperature butter is easy to cream with sugar and aerate and room-temperature eggs prevent the butter from curdling.
• Don't overbake cookies. These cookies will look quite soft and wet in the middle when you first take them out of the oven. They'll continue to bake on the baking sheet outside of the oven and once they cool and set, they'll be the perfect soft and chewy texture. Trust me! Overbaking these cookies will make them dry and hard.

Frequently asked questions

More cookie recipes to try

• Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
• Hojicha Cookies
• Miso Caramel Stuffed Cookies
• Matcha Mochi Cookies
• Easy Gingerbread Cookies

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