Classic Matcha Green Tea Shortbread Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can I use matcha tea for baking? ›

Many folks bake with loose tea leaves (think earl grey chantilly cream, rooibos shortbread, etc!). But if you're looking for potent green tea flavor and aroma, baking with matcha is your best option. Matcha powder is concentrated and quite versatile, making it a superb ingredient to pair with a wide range of flavors.

Cornstarch provides the shortbread with structure, but its biggest job is keeping the cookies extra soft, tender, and light. I love adding a small amount to chocolate chip cookies too. Optional Coarse Sugar Topping: For an optional sparkly crunch on your shortbread wedges, add a sprinkle of coarse sugar before baking.

Meiji Matcha Green Tea Flavour Cookies (3 biscuits) contains 19g total carbs, 17.7g net carbs, 8.6g fat, 1.8g protein, and 162 calories.

There are two main grades of matcha: culinary and ceremonial. Culinary matcha is best for baking, while ceremonial matcha is best for drinking. The difference between ceremonial and culinary-grade matcha comes down to the time of harvest.

The real difference between matcha teabags and matcha powder is the actual matcha content. Matcha powder is 100% of pure matcha versus just 2% matcha tea powder content in matcah tea bags. What many people don't realise is that the tea bags are mostly a blend of green tea.

Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other shortbread styles will include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which makes them crisp instead of crumbly like traditional Scottish shortbread.

Why do you put shortbread cut-out cookies in the fridge before baking? This is to resolidify the butter. The butter is at room temperature when making the dough resulting in a soft dough. If baked straight away, the butter would melt away immediately when hitting the hot oven and the shortbread would spread.

Not quite — your favorite chain coffee shops like Starbucks and Dunkin' do use real green tea powder in their matcha drinks but with all the added sugars used in their powder blend, it's technically not traditional Japanese matcha green tea powder and therefore it lacks a lot of the health benefits that real ceremonial ...

*Normally I am a huge advocate for chilling longer, but the matcha will oxidize over time and turn brown if you chill this cookie dough for too long. It's still delicious but not as vibrantly green. **Baked cookies are also subject to browning by oxidation so these are best eaten within the first day or two.

Why does matcha turn brown when baked? ›

Matcha does not like heat. Prolonged baking time will cause Matcha turns brown. Do control the oven temperature, setting temperature too high will cause matcha turn brown too. Enzymatic browning that was occurring during the matcha's exposure to heat during baking.

Sweeteners: Starbucks' matcha blend contains added sugar, which contributes to the drink's overall calorie count.

One teaspoon of matcha contains approximately 10 calories, all of which one from the carbohydrate makeup of the drink. Note that calories, carbs, and fats may be added depending on how matcha is prepared—for instance, matcha lattes will often contain fat and carbohydrates from added milk and sugars.

Made from finely ground green tea leaves, matcha is known for its concentrated flavor and nutritional profile. In terms of caloric content, one teaspoon (approximately 2 grams) of matcha powder contains about 5 calories.

Due to being a powder made from the entire ground tea leaf, matcha retains all the nutrients, antioxidants, caffeine, and flavor of the leaf. Please stick to the culinary grade matcha and not the ceremonial matcha for baking purposes.

So, it is reasonable if you wonder, “Can I cook with Matcha?” The answer is yes, you can! To the contrary to the misunderstanding, EGCG, the most potent of the Green Tea antioxidants, is quite heat-resistant. It is easy to use Green Tea powder or Matcha in your cooking.

But both can work well for baking—whether you only have matcha on hand or simply prefer to use loose tea leaves, either can be incorporated into freshly baked bread. Just be aware of the potency in both aroma and flavor of the amount of tea you choose to bake with.

Matcha tastes quite earthy yet complex in that you get grassy notes with a hint of sweet nuttiness and savory overtones. Some describe the taste as 'umami,' which tastes similar to seaweed. The plants are shade-grown which contributes to the umami essence and increases the chlorophyll, caffeine and L-theanine.