Soft and chewy, high altitude earl grey tea cookies with pecans, dipped in lemon icing. These easy cookies come together quickly with no mixer needed.
You might also love these mini earl grey honey scones, earl grey ice cream and earl grey tea cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Soft Chewy Texture. The dough for these cookies is the exact same dough I make for my popular best high altitude chocolate chip cookies. So if you love the thick, chewy texture of those cookies, but are in the mood for a chocolate chipless cookie, you’ll love these earl grey cookies with nutty pecans and tart lemon icing.
Quick and Easy. From start to finish, these earl grey lemon cookies will be ready in about an hour.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter. Adds richness, moisture and flavor to the cookies. You’ll also be browning a small amount of butter for the icing, which adds a wonderful depth of flavor.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar and light brown sugar adds sweetness and moisture, as well as subtle hints of caramel and molasses from the brown sugar. The sugar also helps the cookies to spread, and caramelizes around the edges for crisp edges with soft, chewy centers. You’ll also need powdered sugar for the icing.
- Vanilla Extract + Salt. Flavor.
- Egg. Gives the cookies structure and leavens the dough a little.
- All-Purpose Flour. Adds structure and stability so the cookie doesn’t spread too much.
- Earl Grey Tea. You’ll need two tea bags, either regular or decaf. Rather than brewing the tea in liquid, you’ll simply be mixing the tea leaves into the cookie dough.
- Corn Starch. A small amount of corn starch tenderizes cookie dough for soft, chewy cookies.
- Baking Soda. Leavens the dough.
- Pecans. The pecans add a lovely nutty crunch that’s so good with the flavor of the tea and lemon.
- Meringue Powder. A necessary ingredient in the icing, to help the icing dry and set.
- Lemon Juice. Adds a tart flavor to the icing.
Instructions
Cookies
- In a bowl, measure the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and egg. Cut open the tea bags and pour in the tea leaves. Whisk everything together until smooth.
- Add the flour, corn starch, salt, baking soda, and pecans. Stir everything with a spatula until the dough comes together.
- Use a large cookie scoop or cupcake scoop (about 2 1/2 – 3 tbsp capacity) to scoop 13 portions of dough. Don’t roll the dough balls smooth with your hands – you want the surface to be a little rough and craggy. Just slightly flatten the tops of the dough balls with your fingers.
- Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap, and chill for 25 minutes while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Space the chilled cookies several inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake the cookies for about 11-12 minutes, until the edges are set and light golden brown.
- Cool for several minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
Icing
- In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter for several minutes until nutty, golden brown solids form at the bottom of the pan. Immediately remove from the heat.
- Add the browned butter, vanilla and lemon juice to the powdered sugar mixture, and whisk until smooth and drizzly.
- To dip the cookies, turn a cookie over so that the top is facing down. Holding the cookie by the edges, lightly dip it in the icing, shake off the excess, and set on a baking sheet. Repeat with all the cookies.Note: You don’t want to fully submerge the top of the cookies in the icing. Just lightly dip them so that the rough bumps and ridges on top of the cookies catch the icing, with plenty of gaps in between.
- If you like, sprinkle the icing with a little more chopped walnuts and poppy seeds before it dries.
- The icing will set and dry to the touch within a few minutes, and will stay a little soft underneath. Let dry for several hours before storing the cookies in an airtight container. Separate each layer of cookies with wax paper, so that the top cookies don’t stick to the icing underneath.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
You can try leaving out the nuts, but the cookies may spread a little differently as they bake, and you’ll end up with fewer cookies, as well.
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High Altitude Lemon Iced Earl Grey Cookies
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Large Cookie Scoop with Release Lever
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 earl grey tea bags (regular or decaf)
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp corn starch
- ¾ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp meringue powder
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ – 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Cookies
- In a bowl, measure the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and egg. Cut open the tea bags and pour in the tea leaves. Whisk everything together until smooth.
- Add the flour, corn starch, salt, baking soda, and pecans. Stir everything with a spatula until the dough comes together.
- Use a large cookie scoop or cupcake scoop (about 2 1/2 – 3 tbsp capacity) to scoop 13 portions of dough. Don't roll the dough balls smooth with your hands – you want the surface to be a little rough and craggy. Just slightly flatten the tops of the dough balls with your fingers.
- Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap, and chill for 25 minutes while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Space the chilled cookies several inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake the cookies for about 11-12 minutes, until the edges are set and light golden brown.
- Cool for several minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
Icing
- In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter for several minutes until nutty, golden brown solids form at the bottom of the pan. Immediately remove from the heat.
- Add the browned butter, vanilla and lemon juice to the powdered sugar mixture, and whisk until smooth and drizzly.
- To dip the cookies, turn a cookie over so that the top is facing down. Holding the cookie by the edges, lightly dip it in the icing, shake off the excess, and set on a baking sheet. Repeat with all the cookies.Note: You don't want to fully submerge the top of the cookies in the icing. Just lightly dip them so that the rough bumps and ridges on top of the cookies catch the icing, with plenty of gaps in between.
- If you like, sprinkle the icing with a little more chopped walnuts and poppy seeds before it dries.
- The icing will set and dry to the touch within a few minutes, and will stay a little soft underneath. Let dry for several hours before storing the cookies in an airtight container. Separate each layer of cookies with wax paper, so that the top cookies don't stick to the icing underneath.
Video
Notes
https://curlygirlkitchen.com/
I love Earl Grey tea, but am allergic to tree nuts. What can I substitute for the nuts in the recipe?
I based this on my chocolate chip cookie recipe, which doesn’t contain any nuts, so you can just leave the nuts out: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/best-high-altitude-chocolate-chip-cookies/
You’ll get a few less cookies though, and you may need to bake them for 1-2 minutes less also. If you still want the texture and crunch of something that’s not a tree nut, you might try adding a small handful of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or maybe unsweetened coconut flakes.