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Earl Grey cookies for the win! Soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookies with an explosion of Earl Grey flavor. They take a regular sugar cookie to the next level by adding a hint of floral aromatics. They are easy to make and only require a few ingredients. Try them for yourself and thank me later!
Are you ready for the best tea time cookies of your life? Yes I said it… These are the best thick Earl Grey cookies you will ever have. Have them with tea, have them with milk, set them next to a slice of my honey tea cake or eat them straight up on their own. You won’t regret it 🙂
Quick Look: Thick Earl Grey Cookies
- 🍪 What it is: Thick, soft sugar cookies flavored with ground Earl Grey tea and rolled in sugar.
- ⭐ Why it works: Creaming the tea right into the butter infuses every bite with floral bergamot flavor.
- 💛 Why you’ll love it: A small-batch, melt-in-your-mouth cookie made for afternoon tea.
- ⚠️ What to watch for: Pull them when they look slightly underdone; they finish baking on the sheet.
- ❄️ Make ahead: Baked cookies keep 4 days at room temperature or a month in the freezer.
Table of Contents
- Quick Look: Thick Earl Grey Cookies
- This is our favorite Earl Grey cookie recipe!
- Earl grey is the secret ingredient in these cookies
- Why This Recipe Works
- Key Ingredients
- What is Earl Grey tea?
- What do these Earl Grey sugar cookies taste like?
- How to Make Earl Grey Cookies
- Expert Tips
- Earl Grey Cookies FAQs
- More Tea Time Cookies
- Thick Earl Grey Cookies Recipe
This is our favorite Earl Grey cookie recipe!
Have I ever told you about my undeniable love for Earl Grey tea…?
It all started when I began working at Bouchon Bistro here in Las Vegas. After long days of work, my best friend, who worked downstairs at the bakery, would bring me a London Fog. I didn’t know what it was made out of, but I just knew it tasted like heaven.
After a couple of times of drinking that magical drink, I asked her… What the heck is this? How do you even make it!!
She said that it contained her favorite tea, Earl Grey, and a splash of milk, sometimes even a little vanilla to sweeten it. Oh my god! I had been obsessed with tea for some time, but I didn’t know about Earl Grey! These days my cozy cafe drink at home is usually a honey oat milk latte, but earl grey still has my heart.
Earl grey is the secret ingredient in these cookies
Sure, soft sugar cookies are cool. But have you ever had easy sugar cookies with a hint of delicious Earl Grey tea? If you have, good for you! You might need to try mine next. But if you haven’t, these are going to absolutely blow your mind if you’re a tea person.
So to all my tea lovers, make these easy cookies and enjoy them anytime. I would share some of mine, but they’ve been long gone!
Why This Recipe Works
- They pair so well with any afternoon tea
- These cookies are light, buttery, and will melt in your mouth
- They have a gentle floral note for a fancier cookie
- These cookies store very well so make them and enjoy them all throughout the week!
Key Ingredients
To make this small batch sugar cookie recipe with Earl Grey, you will need:
- Butter- A good sugar cookie always contains a good amount of butter!
- Granulated Sugar– You will need some sugar for rolling and some sugar for the actual cookie recipe
- Earl grey tea– I used two tea bags of earl grey to get the exact amount that I needed. Baking with tea is one of my favorite tricks, same idea as the matcha in my matcha chocolate chip cookies.
- An egg– Your egg will need to be at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract– Vanilla extract is so so good in sugar cookies.
- Flour– You will need regular all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Baking soda & baking powder– These leavening agents will make sure that your cookies are nice and thick.
- Salt– Always add salt if using unsalted butter to give your cookies an extra depth of flavor!
What is Earl Grey tea?
Earl Grey tea is a black tea that incorporates bergamot orange flavors. This specific type of orange has an extremely flavorful and fragrant peel but the actual fruit itself is not the best. This tea has about the same amount of caffeine as regular black tea.
So next time you think of Earl Grey tea, remember that it is a popular black tea that has floral notes from the bergamot orange oil.
What do these Earl Grey sugar cookies taste like?
HEAVEN! They taste like heaven…
Oh you weren’t looking for that answer? Ok.. ok.. These Earl Grey cookies taste like a very good sugar cookie with a slight hint of Earl Grey tea.
By adding the Earl Grey into the cookie dough instead of just on the sugar coating, you get a great depth of flavor that will transport you to those relaxing afternoons where everything good was going on in the world. The floral and aromatic flavors that the Earl Grey tea gives to these sugar cookies are just out of this world. If floral cookies are your thing, my chewy honey cookies are next.
As far as texture, these cookies have a very similar texture to a snickerdoodle cookie. They are soft and they gently melt in your mouth for the best textural experience!
How to Make Earl Grey Cookies
- Cream the butter, sugar and tea. Beat the butter, sugar, and ground Earl Grey tea in a stand mixer for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the room-temperature egg and vanilla and mix just until incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients and scoop. Add the sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and mix just until the flour disappears (don’t over-mix!). Scoop 16 equal dough balls with a small cookie scoop.
- Chill the dough balls. Place them on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet and pop it in the freezer for 20 minutes. While they chill, preheat the oven to 350F.
- Roll in sugar. Roll the chilled dough balls in the palm of your hands (optional), then in the granulated sugar, and place them back on the baking sheet.
- Bake and cool. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. They keep baking after they come out, so don’t worry if they look slightly underdone. Cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Grind the tea fine. Pulse loose tea or the contents of two tea bags until powdery so it blends evenly into the dough with no gritty bits.
- Cream the tea with the butter. Butter carries the bergamot flavor, so beating them together for 2 to 3 minutes gets the most Earl Grey into every bite.
- Use a room-temperature egg. It mixes in smoothly without seizing the creamed butter.
- Don’t over-mix the flour. Stop as soon as it disappears to keep the cookies soft and tender.
- Freeze the dough balls for 20 minutes. That quick chill is what keeps these cookies thick instead of spreading flat.
- Weigh your ingredients. Switch the recipe card to metric and use a kitchen scale for the most accurate, consistent cookies!!
Earl Grey Cookies FAQs
Store Earl Grey cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month. Since they keep so well, they’re perfect for a cookie box next to my brown butter chocolate chip cookies and 3-ingredient almond butter cookies. Grab more ideas from my easy cookie recipes.
Yes! Grind loose leaf Earl Grey tea until it’s fine and powdery, then measure out the 2 teaspoons the recipe calls for. Two tea bags give you about the same amount, which is what I used for these Earl Grey cookies.
Earl Grey cookies taste like a really good sugar cookie with a gentle floral, citrusy note from the bergamot in the tea. The texture is close to a snickerdoodle: soft, thick, and melt-in-your-mouth.
A little. Earl Grey is a black tea, so Earl Grey cookies contain a small amount of caffeine from the ground tea, but only a couple of teaspoons are spread across the whole batch.
Earl Grey cookies usually spread when the dough isn’t chilled long enough or the butter was too soft. Freeze the scooped dough balls for the full 20 minutes before rolling them in sugar and baking, and make sure your flour is measured accurately.
More Tea Time Cookies
If you baked these Earl Grey cookies, pour yourself a cup of tea and tell me all about it! Leave a ⭐ star rating and a comment below, and let me know if you dunked them in tea or milk. Happy baking!!
Thick Earl Grey Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter
- 7 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp earl grey tea ground
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Start by mixing the butter, sugar, and Earl Grey tea in the stand mixer for about 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add in the room-temperature egg and vanilla and mix just until incorporated.1 stick butter, 7 tbsp granulated sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp earl grey tea
- Now add in the sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the wet mixture and mix just until the flour disappears. You don't want to overmix your cookie dough.1 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt
- Using a small cookie scooper, scoop 16 equally sized cookie dough balls and place them on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 20 minutes. While the cookies are chilling, turn on the oven to 350 F.
- Once the cookies have chilled in the freeze you can either roll them in the granulated sugar right away or roll them in the palm of your hands first and then roll them in the sugar then place them back on the baking sheet.3 tbsp sugar
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. The cookies will continue baking as you remove them from the oven so don't worry if they look slightly underdone. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Should the butter be cold or room temperature?
Room temperature so that it’s able to spread and mix more easily
I wanted a strong earl grey flavor after eating some disappointing London fog milanos. So I added three tea bags of earl grey and they tasted great. They came out so fluffy and tasty! An added plus is that they are very easy to make!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Can this recipe be rolled into 8mm thick into cut-out sugar cookies?
Sure I don’t see why not 🙂
Just about to start this recipe! Google says 1 stick of butter means 1/2 a cup. Hope that’s right! When I first thought “stick” I thought one of those blocks of butter (2 cups haha).. that would have been a LOT of butter for one recipe glad I googled it! Here goes!
HAHA that would have been a HUGE amount of butter LOL hope it turned out well!
easy recipe!!! I started making these at 830 at night and was done by 930 with prep work and clean up!! my partner and my kid LOVED them. they are so soft and not overly sugary. I doubt led the ingredients and added an extra egg. everyone loved it!!
So glad to hear they loved these Tee! Thank you!
I made these cookies and they are amazing! They are so soft and delicious. The hint of Earl Grey aroma really elevates the cookie. I look forward to making these again. Thank you! 🙂
Thank you so much for trying them! I’m glad to hear that they came out amazing :)!
Enjoy,
Chahinez
making these for the second time!
Thank you so much for letting me know how much you’re enjoying them! They’re definitely extra special with a cup of tea 🙂
Enjoy,
Chahinez
I’m curious, how many cookies does this make?
Thank you :0)
It makes 16 cookies!
Chahinez
Yummmmmmy 😋