April 18, 2015

Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies with Whipped Lavender Honey

Spring has sprung! Well at least it has for states that consider opening day at the Masters the first day of spring – did someone say pimento cheese sandwich? Here down South, we’ve been enjoying 80+ degree weather, finger-licking-good crawfish boils, and bright white Dogwood trees on every corner.

It’s a fine thing in the South when you can match your perky pastel linen pants to your bloomingly bright front yard shrubs… but this pollen issue we’ve been handling for the past few weeks is just a hot mess! Literally. Cats, dogs, and even children run inside houses covered in this lime green soot. And when the pollen isn’t holding us back from roasting oysters, sipping sweet tea, and playing corn hole – it’s those dang April showers that swoop in and kill what good we’ve got going on down here!

So, if you’re like me and you’re trying to enjoy the magnificent beauty of the spring, from behind windowpanes, bring some of springtime's best characteristics inside with you! These Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies, by www.livingbettertogether.com, combine the light, buttery, sweet, and floral aromas that this special season symbolizes. Pair these deliciously delicate cookies with a cup of tea and a spread of Cloister Honey’s Whipped Lavender Honey – perfect for spring afternoons spent indoors, or on your screened-in porch.

This wonderful recipe and images come from Rebecca at www.livingbettertogether.com. We have appropriated this recipe by adding Cloister Honey's Whipped Honey as a spread to this deliciously delicate treat!

Prep time - 5 mins, Cook time - 22 mins, Total time - 27 mins
Serves: 2 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
½ cup Confectioners Sugar
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
½ tsp Salt
1 bag Earl Grey Tea Leaves

Spread

6 tbsp (divided) of Whipped Lavender Honey by Cloister Honey

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cream butter and confectioners sugar in a large bowl or stand mixer.
Add in flour, salt, and tea leaves. continue to mix until a soft dough forms, mix will be dry and crumbly at first but will come together.
Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface until it’s ¼ inch thick.
Cut out cookies using a 2 in round cookie cutter.
Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20-22 minutes or until edges are a golden brown.
Let cookies cool, about 1 hour, or until cookies reach room temperature.
Spread honey on top of each cookie and enjoy!