My friend Beth Cato has dropped by again with another amazing recipe. And another amazing steampunk book to tell you about.
I’m steampunk fantasy author Beth Cato. My new series starts off with Breath of Earth, out on August 23rd. Unlike my Clockwork Dagger books, this novel is set on Earth—1906 San Francisco, to be exact. Yes, my book involves earthquakes. My heroine, Ingrid Carmichael, is a geomancer, and a profoundly gifted one at that… but women aren’t supposed to be endowed with such powerful magic. Nor is a woman of color supposed to be, well, anything of note. But Ingrid is not content with being a demure secretary, pouring coffee and tea for stuffy white men engaged in never-ending meetings. She wants recognition, meaning, in her complex world.
In tribute to Ingrid, let’s make our own darn tea and shortbread. In this case, I’m being literal: I’m sharing a recipe for Earl Grey Tea Shortbread! These are buttery, soft cookies with a small kick of heat from the tea.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened, 2 sticks
- 1 tablespoon Earl Grey tea leaves from about 3 bags
- 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Open up the tea bags and measure the contents to get a heaping tablespoon. Blend butter and tea together until fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, which takes about 3 minutes. Gradually add in flour mixture until just combined.
- Divide the dough in half. Form into logs about an inch in diameter (to slice) or into flat rounds (to roll out and cut with a cookie cutter). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 1 hour. (Or keep frozen for days or weeks, then allow to thaw in fridge for a day before proceeding with the baking.)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the cookies into discs or with a cutter; be aware that the dough will spread when baking. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment or silicon mats.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just turning color. Makes 30-35 cookies.
More about Breath of Earth:
After the Earth’s power is suddenly left unprotected, a young geomancer must rely on her unique magical powers to survive in this fresh fantasy standalone from the author of acclaimed The Clockwork Dagger.
In an alternate 1906, the United States and Japan have forged a powerful confederation—the Unified Pacific—in an attempt to dominate the world. Their first target is a vulnerable China. In San Francisco, headstrong Ingrid Carmichael is assisting a group of powerful geomancer wardens who have no idea of the depth of her power—or that she is the only woman to possess such skills.
When assassins kill the wardens, Ingrid and her mentor are protected by her incredible magic. But the pair is far from safe. Without its full force of guardian geomancers, the city is on the brink of a cataclysmic earthquake that will expose Earth’s powers to masterminds determined to control the energy for their own dark ends. The danger escalates when Chinese refugees, preparing to fight the encroaching American and Japanese, fracture the uneasy alliance between the Pacific allies, transforming the city into a veritable powder keg. And the slightest tremor will set it off. . . .
Forced on the run, Ingrid makes some shocking discoveries about herself. Her powerful magic has grown even more fearsome . . . and she may be the fulcrum on which the balance of world power rests.
Beth Cato is the author of the Clockwork Dagger series from Harper Voyager, which includes her Nebula-nominated novella WINGS OF SORROW AND BONE. Her newest novel is BREATH OF EARTH. She’s a Hanford, California native transplanted to the Arizona desert, where she lives with her husband, son, and requisite cat. Follow her at BethCato.com and on Twitter at @BethCato.
