Recipe

Earl Grey And Calvados Shortbread Recipe

	Thia / All my dishes 11 months, 1 week ago This is based on a recipe by Tish Boyle, but I've made several changes. I made this to give as a thank you gift. After the optional chocolate solidifies, it is sturdy enough for that, while still being respectably "short" in texture. Prep:120m Cook:35m Servings:16	Thia
	shortbread cookie chocolate tea calvados

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons Earl Grey tea leaves (I used Adagio Tea's Earl Grey, which has pieces of bergamot rind)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon Calvados (or brandy)

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cake flour

2 tablespoons rice flour

optional chocolate garnish:

2 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate (I use whichever is the darkest and least sweet)

1/2 teaspoon oil (almond or corn: something very mild)

Directions

Butter a 9-inch cake pan, and line the bottom with parchment. Set aside.

Put the butter and tea leaves in a small saucepan, and heat gently until the butter melts. Pour in the calvados or brandy, stir and heat a moment to warm the alcohol, and then take off the heat. Infuse the leaves for 10 minutes or so.

When cooled but still melted, strain the tea leaves out of the butter into a large bowl, pressing down hard to extract any liquid. Add the sugar, vanilla, salt, and flours to the bowl with the butter. Pour the dough into the prepared pan and press it out evenly with your fingers. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325F. Bake the shortbread (directly out of the fridge) for about 35 - 40 minutes. It will be a uniform rich golden brown when ready. Cool for about 5 minutes, then while it is still in the pan, cut it into 16 wedges: press straight down with the knife, do not drag. Cool about 15 minutes more, then invert the pan onto a board (I use a rimless cookie sheet) and then turn it onto another sheet so the cut lines are on top. Cut through these to separate the wedges, and leave them on a rack until they are entirely cool.

The last step for people who like chocolate: melt the dark chocolate and oil gently, however you prefer. The recipe I based this on has you dip the ends of the shortbreads, but really you can do anything you like: a precise dip, a Pollock-like overall blobby drizzle, or nothing at all (my preference). The chocolate may take a few hours to firm up: don't worry if it seems impossibly soft at first. I left mine overnight and was able to pack them up for gift giving in the morning.

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