Ingredients:

Earl Grey Sugar Cookies

• 1 1/3 cup Western Family unsalted butter, room temperature
• 100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
• 2 large Western Family large eggs, room temperature, yolks separated from whites (reserve egg whites for royal icing)
• 2 tsp Western Family vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cup Western Family all-purpose flour
• 2 earl grey tea bags
• 1/2 tsp salt

Royal Icing

• 3 Western Family egg whites
• 480g (4 cups) Icing sugar, or more
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Food colouring of choice

Directions:

Cookies

1. In a bowl of a standing mixer, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds.
2. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Add vanilla and beat until well-incorporated.
3. With the mixer on slow, add the flour, contents of earl grey tea bags, and salt. Mix until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
4. If the dough is too soft as this point, chill the dough in the refrigerator until dough is not sticky to the touch, about 30 – 60 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Once the dough has been chilled, roll out the dough in between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/4 inch in thickness.
7. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes.
8. Chill the cut outs in the freezer for 15 minutes to prevent spreading.
9. Bake for 12-14 minutes, just until the edges are lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool completely before decorating with royal icing.

Royal Icing

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a whisk attachment on medium-low speed until frothy, about 1 minute.
2. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.
3. Once fully incorporated, increase speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks shiny peaks form. The consistency of the icing should be similar to buttercream and holds it shape. If the icing is not stiff enough, add more icing sugar, one tablespoon at a time.
4. Divide icing among small bowls, and dye with gel food coloring if desired. Transfer to piping bags and decorate cookies.
5. Pipe out desired design. Let the designs fully dry before stacking the cookies.

Notes

• Add a few drops of water to the icing and stir with a spatula for a flooding consistency (if you would like to decorate the base of the cookie before piping out the designs). Continue adding water until you achieve the desired consistency.
• Recommended piping tips for creating flower designs and patterns are open star tips, petal tips, and leaf tips.