Matcha Green Tea Shortbread Cookies
I love the flavor of green tea powder in baked european-style sweets. Lately, i've been searching for a few recipes and found this one on the internet. Typically, i use a really good quality green tea (from toraya), but even i find the green tea flavor to be too intense, so i use the lesser amount of green tea and increase the amount of powdered sugar. For less expensive grades of tea, i just use the greater amount of tea. You can purchase green tea powder at the japanese grocers, but it will come in a variety of grades. The lower grades will use dried spinach to boost the color, but the tea flavor will not be as intense. The cookies are bright green (like the color of spring grass); they smell lovely, but have a bitter edge to them because of the green tea. It's typically an
Steps
Sift the flour , powdered tea and salt into a bowl.
In a mixer bowl , beat butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.
Add flour mixture to mixer bowl and mix slowly until dough just comes together.
Pull dough together carefully in a log , approximately 2 inches in diameter.
Wrap dough log and place in freezer for 30 minutes or until dough has firmed to the touch.
Slice dough into 1 / 4 inch rounds and place on a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet , approximately 1 inch apart.
Bake in a preheated 325 degree f oven for 16 to 18 minutes , turning the pan halfway through the baking time.
Remove cookies immediately from the cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.
Store in an airtight container or wrap well and freeze.
The well-chilled cookie dough can also be rolled out and cut into desired shapes before baking.
Ingredients
bleached all purpose flour, green tea powder, salt, butter, powdered sugar