Slice-and-Bake Matcha Cookies

To celebrate Let’sLuncher Grace Hwang Lynch’s (HapaMama.com) soon-to-be-completed house remodel, this month’s #LetsLunch theme is “housewarming.” And I’m baking Grace some matcha (green tea) cookies to help her settle in!

Slice-and-Bake Matcha Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Matcha powder is available at specialty tea shops and Asian markets. Buy a good-quality Japanese matcha powder, and not green tea leaves.

Time: 30 minutes
Makes: About 4 dozen cookies

2 tablespoons matcha powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup organic cane sugar
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
¾ cup white chocolate chips

1. Sift the matcha and flour into a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Put the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl and use a hand mixer (or a stand mixer, you lucky thing!) to beat at medium speed until well blended. Beat in the egg yolks, followed by the salt and vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour/matcha mix in batches, beating until just incorporated. At this point, it’s better to underbeat than overbeat. Fold in the white chocolate chips with a rubber spatula. If the dough is still crumbly and/or there’s still errant bits of flour/matcha at the bottom of your bowl, just work everything into a smooth dough with the spatula, or your hands!
3. Have two 15-inch pieces of plastic wrap ready. Divide the dough into half and shape/roll into logs about 8 to 10 inches long and 1 to 1-1/4-inch in diameter. Wrap each log tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. To prevent it from flattening at the bottom, I’ve seen suggestions from rolling it out every so often to laying it in a bed of rice. I didn’t have a problem with flattening though.
4. Position your racks to divide your oven into thirds and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
5. Roll the logs on a counter a couple of times to smooth it out. You may have to let it sit for a few minutes until it becomes more malleable to reshape it. Cut into discs 1/3-inch-thick with a small sharp knife.
6. Arrange the cookies on the parchment-lined cookie sheets with about a 1/2-inch between them.
7. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, swapping their positions halfway, until they are set but not browned. Leave them to cool on the cookie sheets for about 10 minutes (or they’ll be too soft and break apart) before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For more recipes check out Twitter using the hashtag #LetsLunch or pin with us on our Pinterest boards. A recipe round up of the other “Let’s Lunch” food writers with links to their blogs will be posted here shortly.