earl grey cookies with caramelized white chocolate chunks
Ingredients
227 grams (1 cup) butter, room temperature [use European-style butter if you can!]
140 grams (2/3 cup) white sugar
80 grams (1/3 cup) brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
Zest of one large orange
1 Earl grey tea bag
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
270 grams (2 1/4 cup) all purpose flour
12 ounces caramelized white chocolate, room temperature & chopped into chunks
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Add egg and beat to combine.
Add vanilla, orange zest, and tea (tear open tea bag and dump in the tea; discard tea bag). Mix until combined.
Sprinkle baking soda, baking powder, and salt over batter. Mix thoroughly.
Add flour. Mix until flour is just incorporated into the batter.
Fold caramelized white chocolate into cookie dough.
Put cookie dough in fridge and chill for at least 20 minutes. (I know, chilling dough is annoying, but if you skip this step the cookies won't bake evenly.)
Scoop cookie dough into balls about 1.5 inches in diameter, and place on baking sheet.
Bake for 9 minutes, until the edges are well set and just starting to brown. The center of the cookies will still look slightly doughy. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes (the cookies will continue to cook on the hot pan).
Note: if you don't have any caramelized white chocolate and don't feel up for making it, I think this recipe would also work well with good quality white chocolate, butterscotch or caramel chips.
About this recipe
After making caramelized white chocolate ice cream (check out those recipe notes for more info on caramelized white chocolate), I really wanted to use my leftover caramelized white chocolate to make cookies. This recipe is a tweaked version of Gathered at My Table's citrus, Earl grey, and caramelized white chocolate cookies. The biggest change is that I swapped some of the white sugar for brown sugar because I wanted a more tender, chewy cookie. I also altered her recipe so that the cookie dough can be mixed in one bowl, which is always my preference.
I have trouble describing the flavors in these cookies other than to say they are complex but well balanced. The Earl grey and orange zest are subtle and complement the caramelized white chocolate beautifully. The cookies are soft and chewy, but also just slightly crispy because of the way the caramelized white chocolate further caramelizes on the baking sheet. Every time I take a bite I'm surprised and delighted by how well everything blends together. I'm sure these cookies will also bring a smile to your face.
