The Curious Green Tea Cookie
Posted by Tea Shepard on Sep 04, 2012
The Curious Green Tea Cookie
Many times at the end of the day at our tea shop, after talking about health benefits, organic teas and whatever else the latest "buzz" is about green tea, we're more than ready to take a seat and enjoy a cup of tea purely for the taste, the pleasing flavor nuances and a few calm, centering minutes to ourselves.
A cup of matcha green tea is high on our list of favorites for sipping and renewing. Matcha is an ancient version of Japanese green tea in which the leaves are ground into a fine powder and then whisked into hot water to create a cup (or bowl) of green tea. Famous for being the tea of the Japanese tea ceremony, the tea is cherished for the ritual surrounding the preparation and enjoyment of the tea. With the tea leaves ground into a powder the flavor is concentrated and the tea provides a higher level of antioxidants than any other type of tea; in fact, higher than most so-called "super foods".
A curious sideline of matcha tea is the role it plays in a lot of baking recipes. The concentrated flavor and convenient powdered form make it perfect to add as an ingredient when a bright green color and green tea taste are desired. While we're not ready to call a matcha cake of cookie a health food, they're still a dessert, the green tea does help relieve the conscience a little, so enjoy!
Green Tea Cookies
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
5 oz. unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 Tbsp. matcha (powdered green tea)
1 cup granulated sugar (for coating)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Whisk sugar and matcha together in a bowl. Add sugar mixture and butter to bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until smooth and light in color. Add flour and mix until well combined. Add egg yolks and mix just until eggs are fully incorporated and a mass forms. Form dough into a disk and refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes). Roll dough out to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a small leaf cookie cutter (or whatever you prefer). Toss each cut cookie in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat. Place cookies on a parchment-lined pan. Bake 12–15 minutes, or until slightly golden around edges. Makes about 25.
Baker’s Note: You can purchase matcha (powdered green tea) from Zen Tara Tea at the shop in Bethesda or online from our website. Our high-quality matcha produces a verdant green tea cookies will be. Please remember to store the cookies in a tin or a container that blocks sunlight to preserve the color.
(Recipe courtesy of Kelli Bernard)