Matcha Cookies

Author: Nami

Enjoy your afternoon tea with these crisp and buttery Matcha Cookies. The unique flavor combination of matcha and white chocolate is surprisingly delightful!

Prep Time20 mins.     Cook Time15 mins.   Chilling Time2 hrs    Total Time2 hrs 35 mins

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) (I strongly encourage you to use a kitchen scale; if you use a measuring cup, follow this method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off; otherwise, 2 cups of flour will weigh more than 240 g)
• 2½ Tbsp matcha green tea powder (1 Tbsp matcha is 6 g)
• ¾ cup unsalted butter (softened; at room temperature; leave the butter out on the counter for 1 hour or microwave it in 5-second increments until it's softened)
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar/powdered sugar (1 cup + 2 tspto be precise)
• pinch Diamond Crystal kosher salt (use half as much for table salt and two-thirds for sea salt by volume)
• 2 large egg yolks (at room temperature)
• ¼ cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Gather all the ingredients. I strongly encourage you to use a kitchen scale for this recipe and click the "metric" button to get the weight of the ingredients.

To Make the Cookie Dough

1. Combine the all-purpose flour and the matcha green tea powder in a large bowl.
2. Sift the flour and the matcha powder.
3. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the unsalted butter until smooth and creamy. It’s important to soften the butter ahead of time.
4. Add a pinch of salt and blend.
5. Add the powdered sugar and beat well until soft and light. As you blend, stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl occasionally.
6. Add the egg yolks and mix well until combined.
7. Gradually add the flour and matcha mixture and mix until just combined. 
8. Add the white chocolate chips and mix until just incorporated.
9. Cut the dough in half (if you're making 24 cookies.) Shape into cylinders about 1½ inches (4 cm) in diameter and 7 inches (18 cm) long.
10. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours. Tip:You can place the logs on a bed of uncooked rice while chilling. It’ll keep the dough in a nice cylindrical shape so your cookie slices won’t be flat on one side. 

To Store: 

You can also freeze the unbaked logs of dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 months. To bake, let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before cutting and baking. Do not let the dough fully defrost.

To Bake

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking liner. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap the plastic wrap. Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into rounds about ⅓ inch (7 mm) thick. If the dough is too hard to slice, wait 5 minutes or so before slicing. Place the sliced dough on the baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of space between the rounds.
2. Bake the cookies at 350ºF (175ºC) for about 15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to get slightly golden brown.
3. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes; then carefully transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack and let them cool completely.

To Store

You can keep the cooled cookies in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for at least 4 days.

Notes

The recipe is slightly adapted from Okashi Treats by Keiko Ishida.