This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SweetWarmUp #CollectiveBias
Have you tried baking with the natural sweetener Truvia? I enjoy Truvia as a sweetener in my morning Bigelow tea but had not tried baking with it until recently. Truvia Baking Blend bakes like sugar but with 75% fewer calories than sugar alone. Replace the sugar in your favorite recipes with one-half the amount of Truvia Baking Blend for a natural sweet taste with fewer calories.
Baking for my friends and family is one of the great pleasures of my life. There is nothing I enjoy more than a free afternoon puttering around my kitchen, especially on these cold days. So, it’s nice to know that Truvia Baking Blend allows me to bake treats even for those people who watch their sugar intake or are trying to lose weight. If you are not sure about how Truvia tastes, you do not have to take my word for it: request a free sample of Truvía Natural Sweetener and see for yourself how well it works in baked goods.
With the return of my favorite television show, Downton Abbey, this month, I have been inspired to recreate a traditional English tea time. Don’t you love it when the Crawley family gathers in the library every afternoon for tea and biscuits? What a civilized ritual! If only we took some time every day to enjoy a warm mug of tea and a sweet indulgence with those we love? Wouldn’t that make our lives just a little bit sweeter?
My readers know that I am a faithful tea drinker. Indeed, I do not care for coffee at all, but with the cold and snow of the Chicago winter, I still need a warm mug of something to curl my hands around. For me, the hot beverage of choice is tea. I love how tea comes in so many different varieties and how herbal and green teas do not have caffeine so I can enjoy them in the afternoon without worrying about being up all night.
When buying tea, I have sought out Bigelow Tea ever since I heard Cindi Bigelow speak at IFBC, a food blogger conference. I love how Bigelow Tea is a family company and how passionate everyone at Bigelow Tea is about flavor and freshness, as well as the health benefits of tea. (Find a coupon for $0.55 off any Bigelow tea.)
For this recipe, I was inspired to create a teatime favorite, shortbread, using Truvia Baking Blend to reduce the calories. For a unique twist on this classic, I added a hint of Bigelow Tea Earl Grey to the dough. This is a shortbread flavored with tea that you could drink with tea! I easily found both Truvia Baking Blend and Bigelow Earl Grey tea in the baking aisle at Target. Indeed, you can download a coupon for 10% off Truvia Baking Blend with Target Cartwheel. If you are not signed up, visit cartwheel.target.com or download the Cartwheel mobile app to join.
I know lots of people host watching parties for Downton Abbey; in fact, my mother went to one last week. What a fun way to make watching your favorite show a little bit sweeter! These Earl Grey shortbread cookies would be the perfect thing to serve while keeping up with the Earl of Grantham and his family. Will Mary end up with Lord Gillingham? Will Thomas learn Bates’s secret? Will anything good ever happen to Edith? Let’s watch and find out!
So, why not make your January a little sweeter with friends, a proper English tea time and my Bigelow Earl Grey shortbread cookies sweetened with Truvia Baking Blend for a indulgent treat with fewer calories?
- 8 oz unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup Truvia Baking Blend
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup rice flour
- 3 bags Bigelow Earl Grey Tea
- 1 egg white
- ½ cup Turbinado sugar
- Cream butter and sugars in the bowl of a standing mixer just until combined, 1-2 minutes. Add salt and vanilla.
- Gradually add flours in batches and mix just until combined. The dough will be stiff and crumbly.
- Gather the dough into a ball and roll into a log approximately 6 inches long and 2 inches high. Wrap log in wax paper. Refrigerate dough overnight or for at least two hours.
- To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat baking liner.
- Spread the Turbinado sugar on a piece of wax paper. Paint outside of each log of dough with egg white and roll in the Turbinado sugar, pressing down so that the crystals will adhere, until well coated on all sides.
- Slice the log into cookies one-quarter inch thick and place on baking sheet, leaving ample room between the cookies for they will spread. (You should get eight to a sheet.)
- Bake cookies for 18-20 minutes until the center is firm to the touch and the outside is browned. Cool on a wire rack.
- Store in an airtight container.
These shortbread cookies look amazing and sound delicious. I love having tea time, especially with my grandmother who is from England. #client