COOKIE RECIPE STUDY NO. 5: It's the end of the week, which has felt longer than usual. All of my days seemed off – Tuesday felt like Thursday, and on Wednesday, I thought it was Friday. Today was especially muggy outside, but with the rain showers falling in the evening, I felt the need to reset and unwind with a cup of warm tea. My favorite is always green tea. I also enjoy French Verveine (verbena), but tonight I craved the smooth texture of Matcha. For those unfamiliar, Wikipedia describes Matcha, also spelled maccha, as finely milled or fine powder green tea. The Japanese tea ceremony centers on the preparation, serving and drinking of matcha. Matcha is a fine ground, powdered, high quality green tea and not the same as tea powder or green tea powder.
I thought this added flavor would compliment our lemon cookie recipe well. The combination turned out to be a "match-a" (ha ha) made in heaven. The smoothness I was referring to was ever present in these cookies with just the right amount of sweetness and texture. These delicious tea cookies hit the spot, and were whipped together just as quickly as this recipe always goes. Go ahead, curl up with that cup of tea, and fill your belly with these tasty treats!
This recipe marks the end of our first recipe study, based on our Glazed Lemon Cookie Recipe. Because this recipe rocks, we may add bonus studies as we continue to experiment with it. If you have suggestions or ingredients you would like us to try, please let us know!
YIELD: 40-46 COOKIES
DIFFICULTY: BEGINNER
TOTAL PREP & BAKE TIME: APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons matcha green tea
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Glaze
- 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon matcha green tea
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Directions for Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add matcha, egg, vanilla, and lemon juice and beat until combined. With mixer on low, fold in flour mixture.
- Drop dough by 1-inch scoops, onto two baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool 2 minutes on sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Spread cookies with Glaze and let set, about 1 hour.
Directions for Glaze
- To make the glaze, whisk together confectioners' sugar, matcha green tea and lemon juice until smooth.