I know, I know. It’s ridiculous, but I’m pretty sure I was switched at birth with some fabulous princess, and poor me, I’m destined never to recover my crown. There’s something about those folks – that hush hush society, the dinners and parties, the accents, the castles, and oooh, the jewelry. Yep, I’m a lost little royal.
When all the hubbub got going with Kate and William, my yearning for all things regal was again ignited. And, to be clear, I not only think that I was meant to be titled, I’m pretty sure I should also be English.
I don’t have a bit of Brit in my body, I’m full blooded Scandinavian. No dispute on that. But I am a wistful anglophile, to be sure. As a kid, I always hoped my parents would send me off to a drafty, porridge-peddling ancient stone boarding school in the English countryside where I would have great adventures with girls with braids. I dreamed of riding horses through the mist on the heath (they have heaths in England, right?), and to this day, my favorite drink is a spot of tea.
Did you know that the bag of tea was actually invented by an American? That’s right – In 1904, tea merchant Thomas Sullivan from New York sent out tea samples in little fabric bags. Customers realized that these could be popped right into a teapot, and thus, the tea bag was born.
So in the theme of the Brits, I’ve got a few subjects in my pocket that feed my fascination of the regal people. This one’s a bit English, a bit crafty, and a bit yummy. Mine, tied with Divine Twine.
My cookies with their Divine Twine ties.
Brown Sugar Shortbread Tea bag Shaped Cookies
1 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2-1/4 cup all purpose flour
Super fine sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 325°.
Cream butter and brown sugar, add 1-3/4 to 2 cups of flour and mix well. Sprinkle board with remaining flour and knead the dough until soft and holds together – about 5 minutes. Add up to a 1/4 cup flour if needed.
Roll to about 1/4” thickness. Cut out with customized cookie cutter or cut in rectangles, approximately 2” wide by 3” tall, and then trim off top corners, to make bag-shapes. Use a straw to cut hole in the top of cookie. Sprinkle cookies with superfine sugar.
Bake on un-greased cookie sheet for 12 to 18 minutes (depending on thickness), until just barely brown. Cool completely on a rack.
Chocolate Dip
In a microwave safe bowl combine 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 1 Tbs. vegetable shortening. Microwave in 20 to 30 second intervals, mixing in between, until smooth.
Dip cooled cookies 1/2” in chocolate, and leave to cool on waxed paper.
Tie twine through hole in top and serve or wrap as gifts. Makes approximately 40 cookies.
June 30, 2011 at 8:38 am
They are adorable, I can hardly wait to try them!
June 30, 2011 at 6:35 pm
Oh, Tam, those look awesome!! I’ll definitely be trying them
July 1, 2011 at 1:29 pm
[...] seen. Brown Sugar Shortbread Teabag Cookies, dipped in chocolate no less! Nom, nom, nom. Click HERE for the recipe. Thanks Tamara! photo credit: [...]
July 1, 2011 at 1:30 pm
These are so stinkin’ clever and cute! Sweet to look at and eat! Well done. Well done. + I blogged about you/them.
July 1, 2011 at 9:12 pm
Well from your chum with more than a little Brit in her, these are wonderful and Maximilian and I can’t wait to make them. Baking is so good for refining those math skills for a 6 year old. Carry on love. The Burgess/Shannon Clan.
January 27, 2012 at 2:22 am
They look absolutley gorgeous. Unfortunately, as a Brit born, bred and educated, I have no idea what size “cup” to use. I believe this is an americanism in respect to cooking as the only “cup” sizes the Brits use relate to breasts!
Any chance of a conversion to pounds and ounzes please, although many of us have also been educated into metric weights as well??
January 27, 2012 at 9:01 am
Hi Jaqui! I certainly don’t recommend using bras for cooking measurements!
Here’s a site that converts dry and wet ingredients. Take a look: http://allrecipes.com/howto/cup-to-gram-conversions/
January 27, 2012 at 2:56 am
I really want to make some of these but I am not all that big a fan of shortbread, can anyone suggest what else I could use?
January 27, 2012 at 9:04 am
Thanks Nicolle — how about a rolled sugar cookie recipe? Or if it’s the flavor that you don’t like, add lemon or almond extract to the shortbread dough. Have fun!