make life sweeter!

I don’t think I mentioned we were going to Washington... well we did and came back a week ago :) I wanted to post about it whilst there but somehow I couldn’t log on to my blog administration (and didn’t feel up to working out why). We where visiting friends of ours that recently moved there. We didn’t do too much site seeing because we were only there for 9 days and had to deal with a 6 hour time difference for ourselves and the boys. Saw downtown Washington the American way: from our car windows ;) Didn't go on a major shopping spree (doesn't work that well with my big pregnant belly ;) but I did enjoy going to a local supermarket (one of my favourite things to do while I’m abroad :) All in all we had a wonderful time with great weather.

The cookies you see here I made a few days before we were leaving. I wanted to flavour them with bergamot zest but unfortunately I was too late in the season to buy them at my local health food store :( So instead I used a bit from the little bottle of bergamot essential oil that I've had for quite a while now to bring out the Earl Grey taste (the wise internet had informed me that Earl Grey tea doesn’t create a very Earl Grey tea-y flavour).
The cookie dough is a simple no-egg and no-baking powder dough that I’ve used before and like a lot as far as refrigerator cookies go. You get a crunchy, buttery cookie with a distinct bergamot/Earl Grey flavour. And the addition of the tea makes it look a bit prettier.

Earl Grey cookies (adapted from The Ultimate Cookie Book by Catherine Atkinson)



175 g (6 oz / ¾ cup) butter, room temperature
90 g (3 ½ oz / ½ cup) golden caster sugar
⅛ ts bergamot essential oil
250 g (9 oz / 2 ¼ cups) flour
2 tbs black or Earl Grey tea
demerara sugar, for coating

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the bergamot essential oil and mix until blended. Add the flour and the tea and use your hands to combine until you get a smooth dough. Roll into a sausage shape, then pat the sides to form a square log. Sprinkle a thick layer of demerara sugar onto a piece of baking paper. Press all sides of the square log into the sugar to coat. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 160ºC (325ºF). Cut the dough into slices of about 7 mm (¼ in) thick. Place on a non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown. Cool on a wire rack.