These Earl Grey sugar cookies are incredibly soft, melt-in-your-mouth, and slightly chewy. The cookie dough comes together in less than 10 minutes and is the perfect treat year-round!
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🍪 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s perfect for Earl Grey lovers! The cookie dough uses 2 tablespoon of Earl Grey tea leaves, or about 3 tea bags worth.
- The cookies melt in your mouth. The cookies are SUPER soft and buttery, kind of like those iconic grocery store sugar cookies… but better.
- You won’t need any special equipment. Simply mix everything in one bowl with a silicone spatula, then bake.
Looking for more easy cookie recipes? Try out my basic sugar cookies, cute lemon sugar cookies, and mini chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients
To make Earl Grey Cookies from scratch, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- They key ingredient here is Earl Grey. I used loose leaf tea from a local tea shop, although any brand of Earl Grey tea will work. I prefer the texture of the leaves, but you can use finer tea or grind it for a smoother result.
- Melted unsalted butter makes the cookie dough really easy to mix by hand.
- I like to use a mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar to create the perfect balance of flavor and chew.
- Adding in both baking powder and baking soda gives us the exact texture and rise we’re aiming for!
- You can use either vanilla extract or vanilla paste (1:1) in this recipe.
Looking for a basic sugar cookie recipe? Try out my cute bunny sugar cookies!
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
💡 Baking Tips
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- For rounder cookies, place a large circular cutter or mug on top of a freshly baked, warm cookie. Move it around in a circular motion until your cookie is perfectly round! This step is totally optional and purely for plating purposes! 🙂
How to Make Soft Earl Grey Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Combine butter and tea leaves. Fully melt in a pan or in the microwave at 15-second intervals. Transfer to mixing bowl and let tea-infused butter cool to room temperature.
Step 2: Stir in egg and vanilla until smooth.
Step 3: Use a cookie scoop (2-3 tablespoon capacity) to gather dough, then roll into granulated sugar. Place cookie dough balls on lined baking sheet about 3 inches apart.
Step 4: Bake at 325°F/162°C for 10-13 minutes or until the edges are set and lightly golden. Remove from the oven let cookies sit on baking tray for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to fully cool.
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
“Insanely delish—I LOVE them!” – cookie taste tester 🍪
Earl Grey Sugar Cookie FAQs
Earl Grey is a black tea infused with bergamot orange. It is often described to be a bold tasting tea with hints of lemon, spice, and malt.
Yes, although it wouldn’t be a sugar cookie anymore!
You can add around ½-1 cup of mix-ins, like white or dark chocolate chips. If you’d like to flavor the dough and enhance the citrusy flavor, you can massage the zest of one small lemon with the sugars until fragrant, then mix it with your tea-infused butter.
They can last at room temperature in an airtight container for up 5 days. See my storage instructions on how to freeze Earl Grey cookies.
As of right now, this is my first recipe using Earl Grey tea! I have more ideas in mind, but let me know in the comments what you’d like to see.
Otherwise, I do have a LOT of delicious matcha recipes! Some classics include my easy matcha latte, vegan matcha sugar cookies, and matcha cream buns.
Storage
- Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- Reheating instructions: Allow frozen cookies to thaw at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Or, reheat in the microwave at 10-second intervals.
❤️ More Recipes You’ll Love
Did you try this recipe?
Please leave a review & share it with me on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, or Pinterest!
Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
📖 Recipe & Video
Soft Earl Grey Sugar Cookies
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Equipment
- 1 small bowl or plate for rolling dough in sugar
- 1 medium mixing bowl for dry ingredients
- 1 large mixing bowl for mixing dough
- 1 Medium cookie scoop 2-3 tablespoon capacity
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) table salt or fine sea salt
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons (10 g) earl grey tea leaves about 3 tea bags
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) light or dark brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon (4 g) vanilla extract or paste
- 1 (1) egg room temperature
For rolling:
- 4 tablespoons (48 g) granulated sugar
Instructions
For the cookie dough:
- Add ½ cup unsalted butter and 2 tablespoons earl grey tea leaves into a saucepan and heat until melted. Alternatively, melt in a microwave-safe bowl in 15-second intervals. Let fully cool.
- In a large bowl, use silicone spatula to mix melted earl grey-infused butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, and ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar until combined.
- Mix in 1 egg and 1 tablespoon vanilla until smooth.
- Add in all of the dry ingredients: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon table salt. Mix until no dry spots remain.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
Scoop & bake cookies:
- Preheat oven to 325°F/163°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl or plate, add 4 tablespoons granulated sugar for rolling the dough.
- Use cookie dough scoop to gather dough (2-3 tablespoons). Roll into granulated sugar and place on lined baking tray, spacing cookies about 3-4 inches apart.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden brown and set. Cool cookies on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!TIP: For rounder cookies, place a large circular cutter or mug on top of a freshly baked, warm cookie. Move it around in a circular motion until your cookie is perfectly round! This step is totally optional and purely for plating purposes! 🙂
Notes
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- Reheating instructions: Allow frozen cookies to thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Or, reheat in the microwave at 10-second intervals.
These cookies taste great! A lot of tea cookies are so dry, but these are moist and flavorful! The tea is sweet and aromatic without any bitterness. The earl grey I used has lavender in it, which gave these cookies a nice extra layer of flavor that I’m in love with.
I was a little skeptical when scooping them because my dough became slightly crumbly in the fridge and didn’t want to hold together well, but after rolling them in the sugar they shaped right up and held together perfectly in the oven. These were incredibly easy to make and I absolutely will be remaking these whenever I’m in need of a sweet treat!
Hi Georgia! Thank you SO much for your comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. The lavender-infused tea sounds amaaazing. <3
A perfect combination of two of my favorite things. I used Earl Grey tea from Adagio Teas and the flavor was just right. Will definitely keep these on hand in my freezer.
Hi Cathy!:) Thanks so much for commenting, so happy you enjoyed!
I’m a huge fan of earl grey tea and this recipe was by far the best earl grey cookies I have made! They were a huge hit with family and friends during the holidays (even non-tea drinkers, which was huge)—definitely looking forward to trying more of your recipes. Thank you, Bianca!!
Hi Sydney!!! That makes me sooo happy to hear!:) Thank you so much for your comment, happy holidays.
I LOVE these cookies. It has the perfect amount of earl grey and it’s so soft and chewy! It’s really my kind of cookie.
Aww Isabelle yay!! Thank you so much for your comment! <3 <3
I have never commented on a recipe before but with how these turned out I just had to. I’ve tried Early Grey cookies before from bakeries and was never really a fan. I wanted to make cookies for my friends birthday and she loves Earl Grey so I found this recipe, and let’s just say…… can I give more than 5stars? I make cookies and bring them to work frequently and these are the ones that have gotten me the most compliments. My new favourite cookie. I’m also now using this recipe but using coconut oil, gluten free flour, and coconut sugar for my GF/DF family members and had a fight break out over who got the last one.
Hi Jackie! Omg, what a nice comment!! Thank you soooo so much.
I love these cookies too. I recently made them for a cookie exchange and they were a hit!
I’m so, so glad you and other people love them. And such a great note on using coconut oil, gf flour, and coconut sugar. So happy everyone can try them!
Bianca! I think these cookies are amazing. My partner and I have made them many times 🙂 have you used different kinds of tea (matcha, chai, etc) in place of the earl gray? Any recs?
Hi Devin!
Omg, amazing!!! Thank you for such a kind comment, that makes me sooo happy to hear. For this specific recipe + ingredient ratios, I do not have other blog posts for them… yet!
But for now, you can definitely play around with the recipe. Here are some ideas:
1.Swap out the Earl Grey tea leaves for other tea leaves, 1:1.
2. If using matcha powder, I recommend using culinary matcha powder and adding 1 tablespoon to the wet ingredients.
3. Remove the Earl Grey entirely for plain sugar cookies.
Let me know if you have any questions! Enjoy! 🙂
<3 Bianca
Such an awesome twist on a sugar cookie! Love love love the tea leaves in these cookies they’re so beautiful! Will definitely add this recipe to my arsenal of cookies for the holidays.
Hi Laurel!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed them. Thank you for your kind comment! <3 Happy holiday baking~
Just made these cookies bc I loove earl grey so much! Especially the Russian earl grey. And they were perfect tysm for this recipe! I usually make my cheesecakes with black tea leaves so I was sure it would be a good idea for cookies too!
Hi Cassie! Yayyy, so glad you tried the recipe. Thank you for sharing! (: Your cheesecake sounds AMAZING!
Amazing recipe! I’m a tea lover and this has the perfect amount of Earl grey taste. I also did use grams. Super soft and a little chewy too. One of the best cookies I’ve ever made! Can’t wait to make again.
Hi Kris! YAY, so so happy to hear!! Thank you so much for your comment! <3
(I am the author of this recipe)
I made these cookies 4x after developing the recipe! I’ve shared my cookies with friends, acquaintances, family, and even shipped some across the country for another friend to try. (: They’re SO delicious and easy to make!!
What do u mean by after developing the recipe? What did u do different?
Hi hi! (: I didn’t do anything differently—I just meant that after I created this recipe, I already made it a bunch of times to eat/share because it’s that good! Thanks for asking!