Sugar Cookies Perfect for Teatime

Sugar cookies are perfect all year round and I have created a fun teatime twist on my favorite sugar cookie recipe that includes orange and chocolate. My sugar cookies perfect for teatime also include a fun ribbon and tag, just like a teabag.

If you follow along with me here on my blog you will quickly learn that I love chocolate. I, also, love sugar cookies, but prefer cookies without icing. Chocolate, however, is a whole different ball game.

The sugar cookie recipe shared here comes from my husband, Bill, and is called Bill’s Maytown Sugar Cookies. Maytown is in Illinois where he grew up. The original recipe that inspired these cookies was written by Laverne Klein, mother of 10, and was shared in the St. Patrick’s Church of Maytown cookbook.

When I was growing up, we didn’t make sugar cookies from scratch. My dad made them from a roll of sugar cookie dough that we picked up at the local grocery store and they were perfect. But, if you have the time, give Bill’s recipe a try. It is amazing.

Getting Started

To begin, let’s get organized. Below you will find an overview of what is needed to bake my Perfect for Teatime Sugar Cookies: Ingredients, Kitchen Tools and Basic Steps. There are additional ingredients and tools needed to create my Teatime twist on these sugar cookies. Take a peek and see if you’re ready to begin.

Ingredients for Teatime Sugar Cookies

• 1 Cup Butter
• 1 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
• 3 1/2 Cups Flour
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt

Additional Ingredients to Create Teatime Sugar Cookies

• 1 bag Ghirardelli Chocolate Melting Wafers (10 oz)
• 1 orange for zesting

Kitchen Tools You May Need

• Mixing Bowl
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• A hand mixer or stand mixer
• Cookie cutters
• Pastry scraper
• Rolling pin
• Parchment paper baking sheet(s)
• Cooking/Baking sheet(s)
• Cooling rack(s)

Additional Tools to Create Teatime Sugar Cookies

• A pattern for teabag shapes
• A skewer to punch holes in cookies
• A double boiler or a pot and Pyrex bowl
• Zester
• Ribbon
• 1 sheet of Decorative Paper
• Hole Punch

Basic Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Next, line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. Cream the sugar and softened butter in a mixer.
4. Add room temperature eggs to the sugar/butter mixture. Combine.
5. Add the vanilla and almond extracts to the mixture. Combine.
6. Mix all dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, flour, baking powder and salt.
7. Slowly add dry ingredients mixture to the wet ingredients mixture.
8. Combine to create a dough.
9. Refrigerate dough overnight or a minimum of two hours.
10. Remove dough from refrigerator.
11. Flour your surface and roll out cookie dough.
12. Cut into desired shapes.
13. Bake 8-10 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown.
14. Decorate as desired, cool and serve.

Ok, now that you have gathered your ingredients and kitchen tools. Let’s get started.

The Recipe Card

Let’s Make Teatime Sugar Cookies

To get started, pull out all of your ingredients and kitchen tools. There is nothing worse for a baker than getting started on a recipe and realizing you are missing an ingredient. It also gives the eggs a chance to get to room temperature and the butter a chance to soften.

Time to Make the Sugar Cookie Dough

Next up, preheat the oven to 350 degrees (this is a reminder for myself, as well). Don’t forget this step. It is important and helps you get an even bake. Also, this is the best time to prep your baking sheet. Add a parchment liner or silicone baking mat and set aside.

Finally, it’s time to begin measuring and mixing.

First up, we’re going to cream the butter and sugar. I use a stand mixer for this, it’s very convenient to have my hands free. Next up, crack open your room temperature eggs and add them one at a time to your creamed butter and sugar mixture. Combine. (Our eggs are courtesy of the Meghens, our New Hampshire chickens.)

Add both the almond and vanilla extracts, combine, and the wet ingredient mixture is ready.

It’s time to move on to the dry ingredients. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.

Add the combined dry ingredients to your wet mixture. I do this in three different parts so I don’t get flour everywhere. Combine to form a dough. (Don’t get me wrong, I still manage to make a mess, but it could be so much worse.)

Place the sugar cookie dough in the refrigerator overnight or for a minimum of two hours.

Time to Bake Sugar Cookies

Add flour to your counter. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and cut your shapes. To create teabag shapes, I used a wood craft tag that I found at Hobby Lobby as a pattern. You can also free hand the tags.

To cut the tags, I used my pastry cutter. It worked great! I also used a wood skewer to create a hole for the tag. Make the hole a bit bigger than needed for your ribbon. It will close up some during baking.

Place cut-outs on your prepared baking sheet.

Bake in your preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. Don’t let your cookies brown. I look for some of the edges to be golden brown and then remove the cookies from the oven. This will give you a soft sugar cookie but not too soft, so it’s perfect for decorating.

After removing the cookies from the oven, use your wood skewer again to open up the holes if needed.

Place your cookies on a cooling rack. Cool completely before decorating.

Creating Teatime Sugar Cookies

Now that you’re cookies are ready, it’s time to add the finishing touches. First up, let’s create the chocolate and orange mixture for our dipped sugar cookies.

Since I don’t have a double boiler, I created my own double boiler to melt my chocolate by placing a Pyrex bowl over a pot of simmering water. I do not recommend using the microwave to melt your chocolate.

Add your chocolate melting wafers to the bowl, stir the chocolate until melted. Remove from heat.

Zest your orange. Add the orange zest to your chocolate and stir.

Now the real fun begins. Dip the bottom half of your cookies into the chocolate. Place on parchment paper to cool. (Do not place on a backing rack, the chocolate will stick to the rack and potentially break your cookies.)

While the chocolate is setting, create a paper tag with your decorative paper and hole punch.

Finally, add the decorative tag to your cookie with a piece of ribbon. Serve in your favorite teacups.

Note: I created cookies a bit oversized (larger than a real teabag) so that they would be large enough to see when sitting in one of my vintage teacups.

Tips and Other Ideas

So you’ve decided to make Teatime Sugar Cookies…great idea! Here are a few tips and ideas.

1. Don’t skip out on the almond extract. Leaving this ingredient out or substituting another ingredient will completely change the taste of these amazing sugar cookies.
2. Use pre-cut parchment baking sheets. So convenient and just the right size.
3. Use an oven thermometer to test that your oven temperature is correct.
4. Buy your favorite baking chocolate for this recipe, the better the chocolate, the better your cookies will taste. My favorite is Ghirardelli melting chocolate.
5. Plan a tea party to serve your Teatime Sugar Cookies. Place a cookie in each teacup when you set the table.
6. Get creative with your tags, add a little note to each or your guests’ initials.
7. Or, add them to your next picnic menu!

Fun Facts

Have you ever tried melting chocolate for a recipe? Maybe for a quick dessert like chocolate dipped strawberries or pretzel rods? Have you ever had chocolate seize up on you. Basically, it all of a sudden goes from a beautiful chocolate liquid to a big chocolate glob?

There are two primary reasons this happens. One, if the chocolate gets too hot, then it will seize up. That’s why I recommend creating a double boiler to melt the chocolate rather than using a microwave. It’s much easier to control the temperature.

And, two, chocolate doesn’t like moisture. So, don’t try to substitute orange juice for orange zest in this recipe. The chocolate will seize up almost immediately (trust me, I know this from first hand experience as I shared in my Instagram stories).

Time for Tea! Enjoy your Teatime Sugar Cookies!

Drop me a comment below and let me know if you make my Sugar Cookies Perfect for Teatime. I love the combination of orange and chocolate. It paired perfectly with my favorite sugar cookie.

Now, let’s have tea!