Earl Grey Cookies with Marshmallow

If you’ve never put marshmallows in your tea, you’re missing out. These earl grey cookies with marshmallow have a light sugar cookie base with some chew. The exterior is rolled in earl grey sugar for a bit of crunch and a gooey marshmallow center that gets ever so slightly toasted.

What is earl grey tea?

Black tea blended with bergamot oil creates earl grey tea, infusing it with a distinctive citrus flavor. Italy produces bergamot, a citrus variety prized for the fragrant oils present in its rind. The aroma is intensely citrusy and floral, imparting a sophisticated twist to a traditional cookie recipe.

I used an Earl Grey from Harney & Sons, also available on Amazon.

Blooming the earl grey in butter allows its flavor to permeate the entire cookie without compromising texture by adding water. Additionally, infusing the tea with fat reduces its astringency and tannins compared to infusing it in water. Just be careful not to add the tea to the butter until you remove it from heat and pour it a mixing bowl. We’re not trying to fry it at high temp in the pan.

Are these cookies chewy or crispy?

I prefer chewy and light sugar cookies over crisp ones. I sought a bit of texture to contrast the gooey marshmallows, which is why I rolled them in sugar. The earl grey sugar adds another layer of tea flavor and bakes into a thin, crispy layer.

I soften brown butter and cream it with sugar to create the base of these earl grey cookies. Here’s how butter temperature affects the texture of cookies:

• Melted butter results in a denser, fudgier cookie given its higher ratio of dissolved sugar.
• Creamed room-temperature butter adds mechanical leavening because beating in sugar creates pockets of air.

Tips for forming the cookies

The key to getting that satisfying marshmallow pull is in how you shape the cookies. Make sure there are no thin areas or holes on the bottom and sides of the cookies to prevent the marshmallow from leaking out.

For example, I haphazardly formed cookies in my first batch, consequently, the marshmallows oozed out and became a thin burnt mess on the parchment paper. Interestingly the orientation of the marshmallow (flat side or rounded side up) didn’t impact the final result.

Tips for mixing earl grey cookie dough

We’re all lazy sometimes and I admittedly include shortcuts in some recipes. But in this case, sift your dry ingredients!

In my second test batch, I skipped this step and my earl grey cookies didn’t spread as evenly and ended up tougher. I hypothesize I ended up mixing the dough for longer and handling it more during shaping, ultimately developing more gluten. Learn from my mistakes, I wrote the directions that way for a reason.

Variations (Choose your own tea flavor!)

I chose earl grey tea, for its citrus and floral scent to balance the assertively sweet marshmallow. That being said, please make this recipe your own with an equal quantity of your favorite type of tea.

Jasmine would be a fantastic choice for a more intensely floral flavor. Also consider hojicha, a roasted green tea, as a great way to emphasize the toasty qualities of marshmallows.

Earl Grey Cookies with Marshmallow

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time:40 minutes mins

Cook Time:15 minutes mins

Total Time:55 minutes mins

Servings: 12 cookies

Ingredients

• 170 g butter
• 210 g granulated sugar split into 40g and 170g
• 1 large egg
• 200 g all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 g earl grey tea or about 2 tea bags (see note 1)
• 12 large marshmallows

Instructions

• Place oven rack in middle position and heat the oven to 350℉.
• In a small bowl combine 1g earl grey tea with 40g sugar, set aside for rolling.
• In small saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and cook until it begins to foam and the solids become a golden color, like graham cracker crumbs. Stir frequently during this process so the milk solids do not stick to the pan.
• Pour the browned butter mixture into a mixing bowl and stir in 3g earl grey tea. Allow the butter to cool until it becomes solid but spreadable (place in the fridge or over an ice bath to speed up this process).
• Add the remaining 170g sugar to the butter, beat with a hand mixer on medium speed or with a spoon and lots of elbow grease for 2 minutes.
• Add the egg. Beat for an additional minute to combine.
• Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold it in with a spatula until no streaks remain.
• Use a scoop to make 40g (2 Tbsp) portions of dough. Flatten each piece of dough and place a marshmallow in the center. Wrap the dough around the marshmallow into a ball, leaving just the top of the marshmallow exposed.

  Patch up any holes on the sides or bottom of each cookie dough ball so the marshmallow doesn't leak out and burn.
• Roll each ball of dough in the earl grey sugar mixture. Place cookies 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350℉.

  Pull the cookies when they just start to brown on the edges. The marshmallows will puff up in the oven then fall and set as they cool. If you overbake the cookies the marshmallows will become hard and crackled instead of soft and stretchy, so keep an eye on them!
• Remove from oven and cool cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

  The cookies are best consumed the day they are made while the marshmallows are soft and stretchy.

Notes

1. If using loose leaves, use a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle to break down earl grey tea leaves until they become fine. I used tea straight from tea bags since they’re already quite small pieces.