Frollicking in Belgium with some Earl Grey cookies.. IMBB #17

Six days of frollicking around Belgium this past week has left me exhausted and lacking all energy to do anything but sit quietly and rest. The food was heavenly and the wine flowed freely. Very, very freely. It will take a few days for me to recover I'm sure. But when I first heard that the theme for this month's IMBB was tea, I knew that I wanted to participate. It remained in my head, and off and on throughout the week I kept thinking about what I would make when I returned. A Friday afternoon arrival back in Heidelberg certainly left me with time to whip something up, but my body said otherwise.
"Stay in bed." my instincts told me.
So I did.
And I must admit, I did see this coming. So on Thursday when I spotted some Earl Grey cookies in a bakery in Brussels, I couldn't resist. They would be my plan B, my "just in case".
And as you can see, I have, in fact, resorted to plan B. But I am now rather well rested as a result.



When I had first heard that Clement of A La Cuisine had chosen tea as the theme, I was very intrigued. Aside from a hot drink, which was the first thing to come to mind, what other ways could tea be used? It was not likely that I was going to invent something on my own without some help. And as each day passed it seemed less and less likely that I was even going to make the deadline. So how could I pass up the Earl Grey cookies, beckoning me from the bakery window. I wandered in and in the best French that I could muster I asked for a mixed bag of cookies with extra Earl Grey thrown in. I pointed, she bagged. I pointed again, she bagged some more. Seven euros later I was a happy girl. From Orangines to Perles au Chocolat to my Earl Grey cookies. Needless to say, they are now just a distant memory, the bag entirely consumed by yours truly.

A search on the internet revealed a few recipes for Earl Grey cookies, none of them quite looking like the ones I purchased. But I did find this recipe for Earl Grey Tea Cookies which seemed tempting nonetheless. The ones I purchased were subtle and light, with a lemon and butter base. The tea leaves added a nice touch of flavour. Once I've recovered, I'll give the other recipe a try and see how they compare. Until then, I'm going to spend a good deal of time with my head planted firmly on my pillow.