Earl Grey Tea Cookies

My mom likes to tell me to "go have tea with someone."

That's her way of telling me to go out on a date. She's (secretly) afraid I'm going to die never having gone out on a single date. She's (secretly) afraid I don't have it in me to be attracted to someone.

That certainly couldn't be farther from the truth. I talked about boys before. My mother just has selective hearing and selective memory. It's like she needs to see it happen in order for all my talking to have been legit. So she tells me to go have tea with someone, because that's her way of saying "I need you out of this house and eating dinner with a nice young man."

I have to remind her that people don't go out for tea. We go to Starbucks and order lattes. She tells me her point still stands, but she won't care where I go, as long as I go out on dates like a normal person.

I'm 22. I'm not weird. I'm not an uber-conservative. I don't suffer from extreme social anxiety. It's not a religious thing. I also know I'm not the only one.

I've had crushes. I have a crush. I'm not pushing it. I'm fine with that.

I also don't know a single guy who drinks tea. But it'd be so awesome if my future guy did. I love, love tea. Green tea, black tea, white tea, herbal tea, caffeinated or non-caffeinated, I love them all.

These cookies have crushed Earl Grey tea leaves in them. I can imagine peppermint, lavender, and rose tea crushed into shortbread, as well. It'll happen. The tea date thing will happen. My mom not freaking out thing- that's going to happen, too. Eventually.


Earl Grey Tea Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves (from about 4 bags)
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

Directions:

1. Whisk flour, tea, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Put butter, sugar, and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture until just combined.
3. Divide dough in half. Transfer each half to a piece of parchment paper; shape into logs. Roll in parchment to 1 1/4 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow the log and force out air. Transfer in parchment to paper towel tubes; freeze until firm, 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment.
5. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

From Martha Stewart