How to Have {& Give} a Time-Out for Mom with Bigelow Tea

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Bigelow Tea.

All opinions are mine alone.  #AmericasTea #CollectiveBias

Sometimes moms need a timeout, too. Now that school and crazy schedules are in full swing, that idea is pure gospel truth around here. Here's a fun idea on How to Have {& Give} a Time-Out for Mom. It includes a delicious recipe for these Constant Comment Shortbread Cookies, made with Bigelow Tea.

Once September hits, and that alarm clock gets set for a much earlier time, and the evenings are packed with piano lessons, homework, and football games...and, and, and...it sometimes gets hard to find a moment for ourselves. Right, moms? And I know that my friends are all in the exact same boat...so why not spread some time-outs all around? I have a simple idea to take your own time-out as well as share some time-outs with friends with Bigelow Tea. Read below for all the fun {and free printables to make your own time-out box}.

I really need a few minutes of the day carved out for me-time. From working at home, to caring for the peeps who reside here with me, schedules are a bit much sometimes. Personally, I enjoy a cup of Bigelow's Constant Comment Tea and a few shortbread cookies for my own time-out...along with a big decorating book to thumb through. If I can carve out a couple of moments like that each week, things are a-okay in my world.

My mom started making Constant Comment Tea when I was in high school. She made it into iced tea and it was always so yummy {we're Texans, so a lot of our tea takes on the iced form}. Coincidentally, my husband has often mentioned that it was one of his mom's faves, too! Bigelow's Constant Comment Tea was the company's first blend...and I love the hints of orange in it. I knew it would be perfect to use in a shortbread recipe {included below}.

Bigelow Tea is such a neat company, too! Bigelow Tea’s Charleston Tea Plantation is America’s largest working tea garden. Guests are invited to the Charleston Tea Plantation for weddings, tours and even a variety of music festivals. It’s a tea-riffic way to experience historic Southern culture and a living piece of American history!

Including Constant Comment, Bigelow has such a wide variety of tea {perfect for sipping...and baking!}. Bigelow Tea is All American: 100% American made by an American Family; an American Company for the American consumer. And, available at an American retailer, Walmart...which is where I always get mine! You can find it in the coffee/tea aisle.

I live in a city with the nation's largest army post...so the military is near and dear to my heart {my dad was career military, too}. I just love that Bigelow has sent over 4 million bags of tea to troops overseas with the Tea for Troops Program. Find additional information about Tea for Troops at >>> 

https://www.bigelowtea.com/Responsibility/Support-Our-Troops.

I thought it would be really fun to give another mom a time-out, too {we're all in this together, no?}. I grabbed a simple brown-paper box from the local craft store. I used the printables below to personalize it a bit more {feel free to download them for yourself...the tea-shaped tag is blank for you to fill in}.

I simply cut out the graphic and glued it to the top of my box. I used thread to tie a loop in the tea bag tag and then taped the other end of the thread to the inside of the box lid.

I used a piece of scrapbook paper {folded in half} as a divider inside the box. Then I loaded the box with the Constant Comment Tea and the Constant Comment Shortbread Cookies. I dropped this box off on my friend Bonnie's porch one morning. I texted her to look out there...I worried a squirrel might find it first! I know Bonnie is a busy mom, too...and I hope she's been enjoying her own time-out moments as well!

I have to say...I have a weakness for shortbread cookies. It's probably my love of butter...but gosh, they're so yummy! I knew that adding the Constant Comment Tea to my usual shortbread recipe would take it to all kinds of shortbread awesomeness. The Constant Comment tea has orange in it...so adding a bit of orange extract really brought that out. And I love the little tea flecks that you can see in the cookies, too!

Constant Comment Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

- 2-4 Bigelow Constant Comment Tea Bags {open the bags...you'll be using the loose tea inside of them}

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

- 3/4 cup powdered sugar

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1/4 teaspoon orange extract

- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Directions:

Combine tea {for a more intense flavor, use all 4 bags...for a more subtle taste, use 2-3}, flour, and salt into a food processor and pulse for 30 seconds until combined. Add the powdered sugar, extracts, and softened butter and continue pulsing until dough forms a ball. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and do a few more seconds of pulsing, to make sure everything is combined. 

Remove dough from food processor bowl and onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. With your hands, form into a log, about 3 inches thick. Cover with the plastic wrap and give it a few "rolls" to make sure your log is well-rounded. Secure each end of the plastic wrap on your log. Refrigerate for an hour.

Slice the log into 1/4 inch thick slices and place on a prepared baking sheet, about an inch apart from one another. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 11-14 minutes, until edges turn golden brown. Cool on sheets and transfer to wire racks.

Makes 2 dozen. 

These are just melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
Perfect for your own time-out!

So, how do you take a moment for yourself? Find out even more ideas on Bigelow's Facebook and Twitter pages. Or, check out this Bigelow Pinterest board for even more fun>>>

Neglect your chores like me and don't miss a thing:

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