Matcha (Green Tea) Shortbread

Green That Makes Me Grin
 
Tea is a work of art and needs a master hand to bring out its noblest qualities. We have good and bad teas, as we have good and bad paintings -- generally the latter.  (KAKUZO OKAKURA, Book of Tea)

  

I can't remember when was the first time I had Matcha (Green Tea), but one thing for sure it was the beginning of my love to it and  it only keeps growing ever since. I've tried every green tea flavour food that I've came across, from green tea chocolate to green tea cakes. I'm never a good baker, but I've been seeing this matcha shortbread recipe online, so I decided to give it a go (Just because the recipe sounds easy).

Lucky, it was a successful attempt! The texture was right with the perfect green that made me grin. This unpretentious cookies are buttery, melty and rich with the taste of green tea. I was very generous with the matcha powder and less with the sugar, as I like the bitterness of the green tea. So if you prefer your cookies a little sweeter you can add more sugar and less green tea powder to the recipe below.

Matcha (Green Tea) Shortbread

Ingredients:

- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose-flour

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 225 Gm unsalted butter at room temperature (cut into pieces)

- 3 tbsp matcha (green tea) powder (Add less if you don't like your cookies too bitter)

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar ( Add more if you prefer)

Method:

1) Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl, set a side.

2) Beat butter on medium-high speed until creamy (approximately 3 minutes). Sift matcha powder in gradually. Beat until butter and the matcha powder mixture very creamy. Add sugar gradually and continue beating on high speed until mixture is light and fluffy. 

3) Add about one-third  of the flour, then mix. Gradually add remaining flour, mixing until well blended. The mixture will look crumbly, if you squeeze it between your fingers, it will come together. Gather it together into a ball with your hands.

4) Roll out dough on a baking sheet. Cut out as many cookies as possible using the cookies cutter. Re-roll remaining dough  and repeat until the dough is used up. Refrigerate at least one hour if possible.

5) Preheat oven to 160 celcius. Bake for about 15 minutes or until cookies are dry and firm to touch. Make sure the edges don't turn brown.  Cool the cookies for a couple of minutes, then carefully transfer cookies to and store at room temperature in air tight container.