countdown to new years: matcha shortbread cookies;

matcha shortbread cookies;

Small green tea flavored shortbread cookies

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So today was a flurry of shopping, baking, and cooking!  I’m exhausted but excited.  It was lucky that I took the day off from work so I had enough time to do everything that needed to be done for our kick-ass New Year’s Eve Party!  We pulled out all the stops.  I’ve got a whole trivia game about 2015 ready, set with prizes;  I made some props for us to use in a makeshift “photobooth” (more like a golden photo corner);  and of course, the drinks — a mimosa bar!  I’m super excited about it all but especially the mimosa bar.  I bought blue martini glasses (dollar store steal!) to pile fruit in, plus the token mason jars for juices!  Pictures to come, for sure!

But to get back to the cooking part of my day, here’s the menu we’re planning for New Year’s!  We’re doing an appetizer-dessert thing, so:

• Mediterranean Pinwheels
• Pigs in Blankets
• Avocado Ranch Dip w/Veggies
• Sweet & Spicy Cranberry Meatballs
• Caramelized Onion Bacon Dip (click for recipe!)
• Hummus, Salsa, Chips

• Matcha shortbread cookies
• Chocolate tart
• Jell-o cookies

I’m extremely excited about this Matcha Shortbread recipe.  I adapted it from Jennifer Yu’s matcha green tea shortbread cookies recipe, which is so great because it has only six ingredients!  Of course, the hardest one to find is the matcha green tea, but I love matcha so I’m guaranteed to use it again in the future!  But you can find green tea powder at Asian grocery stores fairly easily.  It usually comes in packets or small tins, but if you’re not sure or just want the convenience, you can also order green tea powder on amazon.  I recommend Jade Leaf.

This is a pretty standard shortbread cookie recipe but with that extra-scrumptious green tea flavor.  Yum!  So let me clarify in case you’re not familiar.  In America, you’ve likely had green tea brewed from a tea bag.  While that is green tea, it’s not what I’m talking about.  Matcha is the opaque green tea that’s used in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies.  Typically made from dissolving green tea powder in hot water, it’s very intense in color and relatively bitter.  I love matcha but it definitely can be an acquired taste.   Matcha is one of my favorite flavors for desserts because its bitterness usually helps to pare down the sweetness.  In Japan, the traditional tea ceremony often involves serving little balls of extreme yummy sweetness with the matcha.  Since I don’t even know how to begin to describe the Japanese goodies, I won’t even try.  

Keep in mind that since this particular cookie is a shortbread and not particularly sweet, the finishing sugar is important because it adds a kick of sweet.  But as I mentioned earlier, these cookies are easy to make, and I like them as an offset to really sweet desserts (read: chocolate tart).  I used raw sugarcane sugar to top these cookies because I think it has a touch of Japanese aesthetic with the interplay of empty space and focal points.  But you can go the route of the original poster’s recipe, and dust with granulated sugar which will make them cute and more uniform.  If you’re looking for a slightly different kick of sweetness, I suggest trying a white chocolate drizzle on top of these bad boys.

matcha shortbread cookies;

Small green tea flavored shortbread cookies

Oven Temp: 350°

Servings: 4

Author: bestwithchocolate.com

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Ingredients

• ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1½ Tbsp matcha powder
• 10 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1¾ cup flour
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup raw sugar or white sugar

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Instructions

• Whisk together the matcha powder and the confectioner’s sugar.
• Beat together the butter and sugar mixture until smooth and light.
• Add flour and stir until just combined.
• Add egg yolks and mix until incorporated and dough just comes together.
• Gather dough and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate for 20-30 mins.
• Roll out cookies to desired thickness (Suggest ¼" thickness for 2" cookies or ½" thickness for 1" cookies), then cut out with cookie cutter.
• Press top of cookies into the raw sugar (or coat cookies in white sugar), then bake 12-15 mins.

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