earl grey tea and jam cookies

the sounds {grass cutters, birds chirping) and sights {green trees, sunny blue skies} outside right now tell me it's summer. and summer does not equal christmas.
however, the calendar says it's december 8th. what's up with that?

a few years ago i introduced my closest friend, jen, to the wonder that is cheese stars. i make them every christmas. they are delicious. make them and then grab a few and enjoy with a large glass of red wine while they're still hot. you're welcome.

anyway, in return, she introduced me to these beauties; earl grey tea and jam cookies. as i recall, we made a triple batch and had dozens of these cookies sitting on every surface in her kitchen. {i miss you, jen!}
so yesterday i made them. i didn't make them last year, but this year i wanted to. they're so delicious. almost like a shortbread cookie, but not quite. and not too sweet either. if you like tea and cookies {who doesn't?} these are the perfect cookie for you.

do see the flecks of tea? amazing.

here's the recipe:

earl grey tea and jam cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp earl grey tea leaves {approximately 2 tea bags}
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup jam {any flavour will do. i chose strawberry and apricot}

beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. beat in the egg and the vanilla.
in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, tea and salt. then stir it into the butter mixture until just combined. the mixture will be a bit crumbly so feel free to get in there with your hands and shape into a ball. {if they're just way too crumbly, add some water, a tablespoon at a time until the dough is a bit more manageable. this dough is not a sticky dough, so don't add too much.}
refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
using a tablespoon, roll about 1 inch balls place on a cookie sheet.
using the tip of a wooden spoon handle, make indentation into the centre of each ball, almost to the bottom.
bake in the top and bottom thirds of a 350F oven, rotating and switching halfway through until light golden {15-18 minutes}.
transfer to racks and then spoon 1/4 tsp of jam into the centre of each cookie. let cool.

alternately, if you want to make these ahead of time, let them cool and then freeze in an airtight container and then add the jam before you want to serve them.

i froze just over half of them {mine made just over 3 dozen} and we enjoyed the rest of them last night.

and while we're on the subject of keeping things real {see previous post}, here's today's attempt at making cocoa roasted almonds. epic fail. i really need a temperature gauge in my oven. and to pay more attention when i'm baking things. and to set a timer. especially when i have guests over. jamie says they're okay and not to throw them out. but they're pretty burnt. oh well.