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Green Tea Spritz Cookies

This recipe came from the Nook and Pantry blog,  and if you have a cookie press, it's easy to make these pretty little cookies in whichever shape you like.

Green Tea Spritz Cookies
makes nearly 5 dozen cookies with a cookie press

1 Tbsp matcha (green tea) powder
1 Tbsp hot water
1 1/3 - 1 1/2 C all purpose
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter at room temperature (1 stick/4 oz.)
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Dissolve the matcha powder in hot water and set aside to cool.

In a bowl, whisk 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour with the baking powder and salt. Set aside the remaining flour to add as needed to the dough later.

Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add the sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract, almond extract, and dissolved matcha. Beat until evenly mixed and fluffy.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt mixture to the ingredients in the mixer bowl and mix until the flour is just incorporated. The dough should look shaggy and somewhat fluffy. If it is too wet, add a little more flour.

Load the dough into the cookie press barrel and press the dough onto a cold, ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 - 12 minutes or until the cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges. Rotate the cookie sheet 180 degrees halfway through baking. After removing the cookies from the oven, run a spatula under all of the cookies to separate them from the cookie sheet. Cool the cookies on the sheet.

Cool and rinse off the cookie sheet before each batch.

Green Tea Shortbread

Christmas is shortbread season it would seem. How about a twist on your shortbread recipe this season?

Green Tea Shortbread Cookies #1

2 cups all-purpose flour   2 tablespoons powdered green tea (matcha)   1/2 teaspoon salt   2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp   1/2 cup powdered sugar    Sift the flour, the tea, and the salt into a bowl. In another bowl, beat the butter until fluffy (I did this in my Kitchen Aid mixer), about 3-5 minutes. Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, another 2 minutes or so. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until the dough just comes together (in other words, don't over beat).    2. Place the dough onto a Silpat or piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle with flour and roll until it's 1/4" thick. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes (I rolled my dough out on a Silpat then slid the Silpat onto a cookie sheet before placing in the fridge).    3. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or Silpats. Cut the dough into various shapes--Martha used leaf cutters, and I used stars--and transfer to the baking sheets. Gather the leftover dough and reroll (and rechill if necessary) and cut. Bake each sheet about 15-20 minutes or until the cookies are firm and just starting to color. Rotate each sheet halfway through for more even baking. Remove cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 weeks.

 

Green Tea Shortbread Cookies #2

 

Ingredients
Yield: Approx 25

3/4 cup (2.25 oz) Confectioners sugar
5 oz Unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 3/4 cup (8.5 oz) All-purpose flour
3 Large egg yolks
1.5 TBS Matcha (powdered green tea)
1 cup Granulated sugar (for coating)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and green tea together in a bowl.
• Add the butter and green tea/sugar mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until smooth and light in color.
• Add the flour and mix until well combined.
• Add the egg yolks and mix just until the eggs are fully incorporated and a mass forms.
• Form the dough into a disk and chill in the refrigerator until firm (about 30 minutes).
• Roll the dough out to ½” thickness.
• Cut the dough with a leaf cookie cutter.
• Toss each cut cookie in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat.
• Place the sugar-coated cookie on a parchment lined pan. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges.

Why not bake up a batch of both and decide which is your favourite?

Feeling Pumpkin-ish?

As October draws to a close, Halloween just a night away, and perhaps you are feeling in the mood for something flavoured with pumpkin.

Have you given the Pumpkin Pie black tea a try. Smooth and creamy with a hint of those familiar pumpkin pie spices, it's a lovely warmer at this time of year.

Or for something completely different, why not try some matcha pumpkin seeds?

 Save the seeds when you are carving a pumpkin and then toast them - here's how.

Combine 1 tbsp coarse salt with 1/2 tsp matcha powder.

 Rinse the pulp off the seeds and drain them. Line a pan with parchment paper or foil. Toss pumpkin seeds with a healthy cooking oil, and a salt and matcha powder mixture, then put the seeds on the pan and place it in a 250F oven for about 1 hour, tossing every 15 - 20 minutes.

You could try it in your microwave or a skillet on the stovetop.

You could also do this with other types of seeds, like acorn or butternut squash.

If you have matcha-salt leftover, try it on other foods, like poached or fried eggs, or in a grated carrot salad.

New Tea Cocktail Made with New Spirit

Cachaca is the third most consumed spirit in the world, dubbed the “Next Tequila.”  Cachaca is the fastest growing spirit within the United States. Its popularity can be attributed to extraordinary flavor, great marketing and excellent use in cocktails. Cachaca may be created from sugar cane, but has a unique flavor that falls somewhere between sweet rum and the earthy bite of tequila. 

Cachaca’s signature cocktail, Caipirinha, closely mimics a classic Margarita recipe with base spirit, sweetener, and muddled lime.  The Caipirinha flavor is significantly different, yet is a classic in its own right. Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça, sugar and lime.

Now here's the Steeped Tea twist on this cocktail:

Mango Matcha Caipirinha

1 lime quarter or 2 key limes

1 teaspoon of super fine sugar

1/4-1/2 tsp Steeped Matcha

3 shots Mango juice

1 shot Cachaca , rum or tequila

crushed ice

 

Mix superfine sugar and Matcha in an old fashioned glass. Squeeze/ crush lime juice into sugar and matcha and mix. Add 3 shots of mango juice and 1 shot of Cachaca, rum or tequila. Add ice and mix well. Garnish with a lime wedge. Enjoy!