This Earl Grey Shortbread is High Tea Luxe

First things first, I LOVE SWEET THINGS... but I also love healthy herbs and wellness. Daily, my sweet tooth nags me almost incessantly, and sometimes the best I can do is swap a little this-for-that and give it some health-giving herbs. Since we live in a world where everyone is constantly searching for the next best diet trend, it can be challenging to find the right balance.  One of my favorite recipes for a blustery autumn day when Ms. Sweet Tooth is showing all her fangs is my Wild Earl Grey Shortbread. I swapped out traditional Earl Grey tea for Wooden Spoon Herbs' Wild Earl Grey. (Did you know that traditional Earl Grey, though delicious, is often flavored with harsh additives or bergamot essential oil that can kill the good bacteria in our guts and irritate gut linings, ultimately causing an upset stomach?) In our rendition, we swap those nasty additives out for a native plant called Monarda Didyma, known for its similarity to Earl Grey's trademark citrus notes.  This shortbread showcases a delicious way to incorporate wild bergamot into your diet without having to sacrifice cookies. In addition to flavor, this beautiful plant provides protection against coughs, colds, and the flu, provides support for your digestion, and relieves stress. We also use coconut and monk fruit sugar to really sweeten the deal.

WILD EARL GREY SHORTBREAD COOKIES INGREDIENTS

3 sticks Butter (room temperature) 1 cup Monk Fruit Confectioners’ Sugar 3 cups Organic Flour, sifted6 tablespoons Wooden Spoon Herbs’ Wild Earl Grey Tea (loose tea leaves)½ teaspoon Salt ½ teaspoon Vanilla ¼ cup Coconut Sugar

WILD EARL GREY SHORTBREAD COOKIES ASSEMBLY

1 | Cream room temperature butter and monk fruit confectioners’ sugar until light in a large bowl. 2 | In a separate bowl, sift flour and salt together and fold in the tea. 3 | Combine, adding in vanilla and blending. 4 | Gather dough into a ball, wrap in wax paper, and chill for 4 hours. 5 | Roll out dough to ⅝th an inch. 6 | Cut out cookies with your favorite shaped cookie cutter and sprinkle with coconut sugar. 7 | Refrigerate for an hour. 8 | Preheat oven to 325 and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden. 9 | Cool and serve with a cup of Wooden Spoon Herbs Wild Earl Grey Tea.*Makes about two dozen cookies.For the month of October use Wooden Spoon Herbs’ special discount code FULLEST15 for 15% off teas, tinctures, powders, and their new skincare line.Herbalist, writer, forager, and gardener, Lauren Haynes founded Wooden Spoon Herbs with a desire to create formulas that are effective, potent, and proven. A modern-day apothecary that specializes in herbal remedies made with farm-fresh and foraged botanicals, both wild and cultivated, Wooden Spoon offers everything from medicinal mushroom powder to passionflower body oil to bugs-be-gone spray. Check it out at woodenspoonherbs.com.