Matcha Cookies

with White Chocolate & Cranberry

by LEON BOUTEILLER

Who doesn’t like a cookie?! Mostly a rhetorical question I’m sure. Cookies come in all shapes and sizes with all manner of ingredients. Crispy, chewy, chunky, delicate are just a few descriptives. It’s hard to make a bad cookie if sticking with simple procedure and proper method.

Drop cookies are the easiest and most forgiving to make and are probably one of the first attempts at baking that most fledgling bakers make.

While having a matcha latte on Cape Cod recently, I thought how well the flavor of matcha might go in a cookie, so looking for some ideas I found some recipes for cakes baked with matcha. I wanted to feature the flavor of matcha and marry it with less overwhelming ingredients that may enhance its prominence but not disguise it.

A little background about matcha seems in order. Matcha, drunk for hundreds of years in Japan by tea aficionados, here is mostly in beverages featuring matcha, ice cream and other treats with its color and distinctive yet subtle flavor.

To make matcha powder, the tea bushes are shaded for a few weeks, leaves picked and dried; this is called tencha. The leaves then go through a process to remove the stems and veins. The result is then ground slowly with a granite wheel until it becomes the powder used to make the traditional Japanese beverage.

Because of its high demand, modern techniques of processing are used to satisfy the market. There are several grades available. For cooking, the authentic ceremonial grade from Japan should be saved for matcha tea. Other sources from China and Argentina are less expensive alternatives.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons matcha tea powder

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon fine salt

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

  • 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

  • 2 extra large eggs, room temperature

  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

  • 1 tablespoon almond milk

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 2 cups white chocolate chips

  • 1 1/2 cups dried, sweetened cranberries

  • 1 1/2 cups toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Procedure:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  • Line baking sheets with parchment paper

  • Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and matcha powder and set aside

  • In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar on medium speed about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl

  • Add the corn syrup, almond milk and vanilla and mix until incorporated

  • Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs one at a time and blend until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl half way through

  • Add the flour mixture and mix just until thoroughly blended

  • Add the chocolate, cranberries and pepitas and mix again for 20 seconds

  • Scoop the dough in well rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto the prepared pans and bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pans half way through

  • I am baking in a convection oven, so if using a conventional oven, bake the cookies for 2 or 3 minutes longer

  • Bake the cookies until they start to brown around the edges and the center is puffed

  • Remove the cookies from the pans to a wire cooling rack

  • Alternatively, refrigerate the scooped dough for at least 30 minutes and then bake as described for about 12 minutes. This results in a cookie that has a crispy edge and softer, chewier center.

I find these cookies to be delectable with the subtle flavor of tea with additions to give some texture and crunch. Enjoy!

Leon G. Bouteiller was born and raised in Northwest Connecticut. He has held several jobs as chef in the community and is presently the Executive Working Pastry Chef at The Fife ‘n Drum in Kent. He is married to Patrice and lives in Cornwall with a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog named Banjo and two rescue cats named Ricky and Lucy.

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