Earl Grey and lemon shortbreads, very very addictive and eggless
But the way how these shortbreads are made is just as easy as it can get as you will see later on..Oh and they get better the next day; It just seems that the tea leaves infuses better.
I added lemon zest because earl grey and lemon are one of those combinations which just seem to work.
So, mix, roll, freeze, cut, bake…how easy is that?
Makes + 24 shortbreads
- 240g of flour
- 20g of ground almonds (almond flour, optional)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 200 g of butter
- 100 g fine sugar (original recipe calls for 150g)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla beans
- 2 tbps of loose Earl Grey tea leaves
- Zest of 1/2 lemon (optional)
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 3 tbps of fine semolina (not the superfine one) for rolling
In a food processor, blend the flour with the tea leaves until you see black little spots looking like vanilla beans.
Add the other ingredients except the semolina and give a few pulses until they’re all combined or almost there.
Give the last mix with the palm of your hand against the worktop just to make sure that everything is really combined.
Divide the dough into 2 and place each part on a sheet of plastic wrap/cling film and roll into a log about 2 to 3 cm in diameter. Set them aside while you sprinkle the semolina over the plastic wrap. Roll them again over it.
Wrap and freeze for 30 min or until firm.
Preheat the oven between 170 and 180 C.
Slice the log into 4 mm to 6 mm thick discs. Place on baking sheets covered with baking paper, with a space between the disks.
Bake for 12 min approx until the edges are brown.
The biscuits keep well for 1 week. The dough freezes well for months.
The biscuits can also be dusted with icing sugar before serving them.
Note: using ground almond in the dough and then rolling it in semolina give an extra crunch..but it’s totally optional..
