I love green tea sweets and these shortbread are a perfect mix of the green, sharp taste of the matcha with the buttery shortbread. During the holidays I chill the dough overnight and roll out to cut into tree shapes.
The Stuff
- 2 Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (this is 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1-3 Tablespoons *Matcha (see note)
The Making
Heat oven to 325 degrees (F).
Sift the flour, salt and matcha together into a bowl.
In a mixing bowl beat together the Earth Balance and powdered sugar until fluffy. Add in sifted mixture and mix slowly until the dough just comes together.
If you are planning to roll out dough for cutting ships, put dough in bowl, cover and refrigerate until chilled and firm to touch, at least 30 minutes. Overnight is even better.
If you’re planning to slice rounds, roll the dough into a log, wrap in plastic, waxed paper or parchment paper. Refrigerate until chilled and firm to the touch. Again, at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Slice dough into 1/4 inch rounds or roll to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with your preferred cookie shape. Place cookies on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, approximately 1 inch apart.
Bake cookies for 16-18 minutes until they are just beginning to brown around the edges. Turn your pan around halfway through the cooking time.
Remove baked cookies from cookie sheet immediately and cool on wire rack
Makes 3-4 dozen, depending upon if you make cut cookies or sliced
*A comment about your matcha – don’t skimp on your tea. Use quality matcha, not any kind of drink mix. Green tea cannot be substituted for matcha. We use a matcha called Liquid Jade from Tao of Tea and it provides a marvelous flavor.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Fantastic idea combining the buttery shortbread flavor with Matcha.
One question, though–that’s quite a range of 1 to 3 teaspoons of Matcha for this recipe. What’s your preference? What’s the difference in taste for this recipe if I use the least amount of Matcha vs. the highest amount?
Thanks so much, the flavor is great. Thank you for such a good question too!
I personally like the green, sharp taste of matcha a lot, so using 3 tablespoons makes for a intensely flavored cookie that is reminiscent of some Japanese sweets I liked so much (but usually cannot find vegan versions of). This much tea also gives the cookies a very deep green hue, making them a perfect color to make little evergreens.
That said, the tea flavor might be rather too much for some people and some kids don’t like them so I give the option of a single tablespoon. This makes for a pale green, slightly sweet and mildly tea-flavored cookie. We’ve made them with 1, 2 and 3 tablespoons and have personally settled on 3 just out of preference for the stronger tea flavor.
What a cracking idea. Matcha rocks, shortbread rocks – together they rock extra!
That pretty much sums up my feeling about these cookies. I especially love matcha sweets and these have become a particular favorite.