Add the lavender to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Pass through a sieve to separate any large bits. Set aside half for later use in the frosting.
Mix the remaining lavender and sugar together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add the Earl Grey tea to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Pass through a sieve to separate any large bits.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground Earl Grey tea. Set aside.
Add the sugar and softened butter to a bowl. Cream together with an electric mixer on high speed for 1-2 minutes until very light and fluffy.
Add in the egg and vanilla and mix on medium speed until pale in color and very fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
Add in the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed just until combined.
Scoop the dough with a 2 tbsp cookie scoop, and roll them into balls. Then roll the dough balls in the lavender sugar.
Place the cookie dough balls at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Slightly flatten each ball and form into a circle as best as you can.(See photo in the blog post above.)Bake 6-8 cookies at a time.
Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, then let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.(When the cookies are straight out of the oven, scoot a large circular cookie cutter around them to give them a perfect circular shape.)
Transfer the baked cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Make the lavender frosting while the cookies bake and cool.Add the softened butter and cream cheese to a medium bowl. Mix together with an electric mixer until fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
Then mix in the powdered sugar, the reserved portion of finely ground lavender and vanilla bean paste. Mix until very fluffy. (Add purple food coloring if you want it to have a lavender color.)
When the cookies are completely cooled, top each with about 1 tbsp of frosting. Use a mini offset spatula to evenly spread the frosting. Then enjoy!
