It’s hard to pair up certain teas with foods, simply because their flavours are so delicate. You don’t want to overwhelm the brew, which is often more of an aroma than a flavour, per se – the bouquet or nose of the tea is 75% of the sipping experience, just like we all learned with the apple-potato experiment in grade school.

So what, then, do you do if you want a nice, civilized afternoon tea break with a blend as subtle and unique as Ultraviolet violet-scented oolong?

Well, you go with a classic, delicate cookie, of course!

There’s not a whole lot of cookies out there more classic than shortbread. Crumbly, rich with butter, and occasionally spiked with a bit of almond, they’re a perfect teatime treat, and the rich-yet-subtle flavour matches very nicely with Ultraviolet. Give it a try!

(Also, it’s really fun to prick the shortbread dough. Just sayin’.)

Classic Shortbread
from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at cool room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional, or the flavor of your choice; eggnog flavor makes a delicious holiday shortbread
2 cups All-Purpose Flour

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease two round 9″ cake pans. If you worry about the shortbread possibly sticking in your particular pans, line them with parchment, and grease the parchment.
   
2. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, then beat in the flour. The mixture may seem a little dry at first; keep beating till it comes together. If it absolutely won’t come together, dribble in up to 1 tablespoon of water, until it does. This is a stiff dough.
3. Divide the dough in half, and press each half into one of the prepared pans, smoothing the surface with your fingers, or with a mini rolling pin.
4. Use a fork to prick the dough all over; this allows any steam to escape, and prevents the shortbread from bubbling as it bakes. Prick the dough in a random pattern, but it looks nicer pricked with some kind of symmetry.
5.  Bake the shortbread until it’s a light golden brown across the top surface, and a deeper golden brown around the edges, about 35 minutes.
6. Remove it from the oven, and immediately turn each shortbread round out onto a clean work surface.
7. Using a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut each round into 12 wedges. (Do this while the shortbread is still warm; if you wait until it’s cool, it won’t cut easily.) Transfer the shortbread wedges to a rack to cool.
8. Serve as is, or decorate. Here are a few suggestions:
   Drizzle with melted caramel;
   Spread with melted chocolate, and sprinkle with nuts;
   Set aside two shortbread cookies, and spread the remainder of the cookies with a thick layer of jam or preserves. Crumble the reserved cookies, and sprinkle the crumbs lightly over the jam.