Following directions has never been my strong suit. And cooking is no exception to this rule. A lot of eyeballing, estimating, experimenting, and finger taste testing goes on in my little apartment kitchen.  As a result, I am the first to admit that I’ve had my fair share of complete and utter food fails—most of them baking-related. (Go figure)

So when I happen upon an easy, delicious recipe that I like, I find myself using it over and over again. I recently tried this recipe for Earl Grey Shortbread. It’s simple, foolproof, and makes you look like a star in the kitchen even if you aren’t.

I’ve experimented with a few different tea flavors. Matcha tastes amazing and gives the cookie a vibrant green color. If you aren’t familiar with matcha, it’s basically just green tea that has been finely milled into powder form. Since it’s pretty potent stuff, use between 1-2 tablespoons if you are making a full batch. (The amount you use will largely depend on the quality of your matcha and your tastes) You can basically use any loose-leaf tea in this recipe–so go crazy! I’ve tried chai shortbread which turned out fabulous as well.

If you’re feeling fancy, roll the edges of each sliced cookie in demerara sugar before you put them on the baking sheet. This adds a nice crunch. I found my demerara at Whole Foods for a couple of bucks—it’s just  coarse-textured raw sugar.

I can’t tell you how much I love this base recipe. Enjoy!