butter … eggs … all-purpose flour … the good blackberry jam …
Wait. The good blackberry jam? As opposed to what, Kaela – the bad blackberry jam?
I balance my elbows on the edges of my shopping cart as I slowly roll down the aisle of my lovely grocery store and allow my inner monologue to judge morning kaela’s shopping list.
I tell myself I am dawdling, because the Earl Grey shortbread cookies just won’t be the same unless I’ve compared every jar of blackberry jam to determine which is the “good” blackberry jam.
I am not dawdling in order to make it more likely that David will have already awoken and walked the dog by the time I get back.
I am not hiding from the laundry list of things I should be accomplishing on a holiday.
I am not soaking in the air conditioning, recovering from a hot night’s sleep laying next to my feverish husband.
I am definitely not avoiding my sick husband, just because I have a root canal tomorrow and will be relying on clear nasal passages to keep breathing.
I am not giving bedroom eyes to the freshly ground peanut butter and deciding what the weekly limit is on batches of peanut butter cookies.
I am not already considering my excuses for what I will not accomplish today.
Nope. Just intent on finding the best damn blackberry jam Colorado has to offer.
Earl grey tea – black, loose whole leaf, fresh.
I stand in front of eight different tins of Earl Grey tea, picking up each one and inhaling. I look up to see somebody’s dad grabbing his coffee, raising an eyebrow, and judging me like I am some kind of black tea junkie.
Whatever, dude. I saw you grab that Folgers dirt my grandma insisted on drinking. Who is judging who here?
Still. I place the most fragrant tea in my cart and mosey on.
Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies with Blackberry Jam
I once saw a shirt that said “If there isn’t tequila in heaven, I’m not going.” That’s how I feel about shortbread. Maybe it’s my Scottish blood. Or maybe it’s just because there is nothing better on earth than butter. Either way. Heaven better have stockpiles of the stuff, because I also feel that any type of calorie limit should be left outside the pearly gates.
And these Earl Grey shortbread cookies have all the good stuff going for them:
- Earl Grey-infused and scented butter
- browned buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture
- crisp, crumbly topping
- puddles of sweet blackberry jam
- on-the-go treat potential
Read the notes in the recipe card on choosing your tea for these earl grey shortbread cookies. And don’t forget to make it the “good” blackberry jam.
mikaela | wyldflour
22 Cookie Cups
These Earl Grey shortbread cookie cups are extra buttery, topped with a dollop of sweet blackberry jam, and sprinkled with a crumb topping!
1 hr, 30 Prep Time
22 minCook Time
1 hr, 52 Total Time
Save Recipe5 based on 3 review(s)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
- scant 1/2 cup earl grey tea (*see notes)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup Earl Grey-infused butter, soft
- 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup seedless blackberry jam
Instructions
- Infuse the butter! Melt 1 1/2 cups butter over low heat until just melted. Stir in Earl Grey tea and continue to warm over low heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let sit for five minutes. Pour butter and tea through a fine mesh sieve into a liquid measuring cup. Push a spatula against the tea leaves in the sieve to release as much of the butter as possible. (My tea was ground, so some tea escaped the sieve into the butter--this is fine.) Measure out the cup of butter you will need for the shortbread cups and pour into the mixing bowl you will make the shortbread in. Set aside in the refrigerator to chill.
- Make the crumb topping! In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugars, and salt. Add all of the butter in 1/4-inch slices and vanilla extract. Pulse until mixture forms small crumbs. Set in refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.
- Make the Earl Grey shortbread cookie cups! By now, the butter should be at least quite thick--almost solidifying. (And it's fine if it is solid.) . Beat the butter and 2/3 cup sugar together until well creamed. Beat in egg yolks. Beat in flour and salt. Grease a regular sized muffin tin. Use a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop and place a level scoop into each muffin cup. Use the greased bottom of a measuring cup to press the shortbread dough down into the cup, so it fills the bottom of the cup. (I had to re-grease the cup every two cookie cups or so.) Place the muffin tin into the refrigerator to chill at least 30 minutes.
- Assemble and Bake! Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the muffin tin from the refrigerator and place a 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon-sized dollop of blackberry jam in the center of each shortbread cup. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of crumb topping around the outside of the shortbread dough, leaving the blackberry jam exposed. Bake for 20-22 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the outer edges of the crumb are starting to brown. (Mine took 21 minutes.) Cool the shortbread cups in the muffin tin, set on a wire cooling rack, for at least 15 minutes. Slide a knife down the edge of a cookie cup and swirl around the edge. The shortbread cup should pop up and allow you to slide the knife below the cookie cup to lift it out.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.
Notes
Earl Grey tea can be sold as black or green tea. Make sure to choose a black tea--whole loose leaf is best if you can find it. I could not find whole leaf and just cut open many packets of ground tea. This worked just fine. The most important thing for infusing butter with tea is making sure you have fresh, aromatic tea. Put your nose up to the tea you're considering buying. I chose the one that smelled the strongest of Earl Grey.
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