In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons brewed tea; beat until well combined.
Meanwhile, sift together flour and salt together in a medium bowl, . With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture until it just comes together. Do not overmix.
Scoop dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a disc. (You may want to make 2 discs to make it more manageable.)
Fold plastic wrap over the dough and, using a rolling pin, flatten to about ¼ inch thickness. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until chilled and a bit more firm.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator. Using cookie cutters of your choice, cut out cookie shapes and place on a sheet pan, leaving at least 1 to 1 ½ inches between cookies. {For tea bag shaped cookies, use a tag-shaped cutter. You can also use a small, rectangular cutter and clip off 2 of the corners on an angle to create the tea bag shape. Use a straw to create a small hold for the string.}
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the bottom edges just start to turn golden. (Don’t let them get too brown!)
MAKE ICING + DECORATE COOKIES
Mix together powdered sugar and tea until completely smooth, adding the liquid just a little bit a time until you reach a thick "dipping" consistency.
Dip the end of each cooled cookie into the icing, scraping off the excess that drips off.
Place on a parchment-lined baking pan and sprinkle with sparkling sugar or crushed peppermint candy while the icing is still wet so that the sugar adheres to the icing. Allow to set and dry completely before removing.
