MATCHA SHORTBREAD MEN

Matcha and I go way back. All the way back to when I was just 15 and I was drawn to its beautiful green hue and earthy, sweet flavor.  In recent years, my relationship with matcha has grown and now we are fully committed – we start everyday together. A hot matcha latte sweetened with local honey gently lifts me into the beginning of each day. The unique flavor of matcha has become one of my favorite things in life. With cookie season in full swing, I knew I had to invite matcha to the cookie party – so matcha’s first cookie incarnation would have to be as matcha shortbread men with each little man’s personality piped on with melted white chocolate.

I have never been a big fan of gingerbread cookies, as cute as gingerbread men are – I have nothing against them, there are just so many other cookies this time of year that I enjoy more. I was excited to create a cookie that would have the flavor of matcha that I love so much, in the shape and with the design that makes gingerbread cookies so much fun to make, admire and of course, to eat. Melted white chocolate became the perfect ‘icing’ to decorate these matcha shortbread men with, not just for its simplicity, but matcha and white chocolate make an incredible combination, in my humble opinion, they are flavor soul mates.

The cookies themselves have everything that makes shortbread a classic, buttery and gently sweet, but with the added flavor and color that only matcha can bring. Shortbread dough is really simple to make and can even be easily made vegan by or gluten free. Commercially made white chocolate is not vegan however, but you can try your hand at making some homemade white chocolate if you really want to keep the recipe dairy free.

Here’s how:

In bowl of a stand mixer or by hand, cream softened butter (or vegan margarine) with powdered sugar until light and fluffy – approx. 5 minutes. Add vanilla and beat for another minute or so until well incorporated.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, matcha and salt until well incorporated. Sift flour mixture over the creamed butter mixture and mix until all flour is combined with the butter and the dough has come together nicely.

Preheat oven to 325f degrees. Gently knead the dough and shape into a flattened disc. Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll into a rectangle (give or take) until it is uniformly about 1/4″ – 3/8″ thick. Cut out gingerbread men shapes (or any other shape) and place each cookie on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. After you’ve cut as many shapes as you can, gather the dough scraps together, gently knead them into a ball, shape into a flattened disc and re-roll to 1/4″-3/8″ thick, cut out cookies and continue this until all of your dough is used up.

Bake for 15 minutes (15 minutes is perfect in our oven – use an oven thermometer to determine if your oven temperature is accurate). Let cookies completely cool on the cookie sheet.  Once cookies are cool, set up a double boiler over low heat and melt about 4 ounces of white chocolate (I used white chocoloate chips), stirring continuously over the heat until just melted. Remove white chocolate from double boiler, stir until perfectly smooth and then scoop white chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a #2 icing tip. If you are decorating little men, start by first outlining the edges of each cookie.  Decorate each cookie as desired.

Small dots, like the eyes and the buttons may have a slight point when you pull the icing tip away from the cookie – let the white chocolate set on the cookie for about 10 minutes and then with a barely wet finger tip, smooth away the slight points.

These little matcha shortbread men have become a new favorite in our home, I mean, just look at them! Gingerbread men have met their match-a! (pun intended ;) Give these little guys a try and you will see that matcha deserves to be more than just a drink.

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MATCHA SHORTBREAD MEN

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• Yield: 16 cookies (approximately) 1x

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 14 tbsp unsalted butter (or vegan substitute)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 250 g (2 cups) *all purpose gluten free flour (may sub all purpose wheat flour)
• 2 tbsp matcha
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 oz. white chocolate

AP GLUTEN FREE FLOUR (yields 250g):

• 185g superfine white rice flour
• 42g potato starch
• 18g tapioca starch
• 5g non fat dry milk powder (non dairy substitute almond flour)

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Instructions

1. In bowl of a stand mixer or by hand, cream softened butter (or vegan margarine) with powdered sugar until light and fluffy – approx. 5 minutes. Add vanilla and beat for another minute or so until well incorporated.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, matcha and salt until well incorporated. Sift flour mixture over the creamed butter mixture and mix until all flour is combined with the butter and the dough has come together nicely.
3. Preheat oven to 325f degrees. Gently knead the dough and shape into a flattened disc. Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll into a rectangle (give or take) until it is uniformly about 1/4″ – 3/8″ thick.
4. Cut out gingerbread men shapes (or any other shape) and place each cookie on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. After you’ve cut as many shapes as you can, gather the dough scraps together, gently knead them into a ball, shape into a flattened disc and re-roll to 1/4″-3/8″ thick, cut out cookies and continue this until all of your dough is used up.
5. Bake for 15 minutes and then let cookies completely cool on the cookie sheet. Once cookies are cool, set up a double boiler over low heat and melt about 4 ounces of white chocolate, stirring continuously over the heat until just melted.
6. Remove white chocolate from double boiler, stir until perfectly smooth and then scoop white chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a #2 icing tip.
7. If you are decorating little men, start by first outlining the edges of each cookie. Decorate each cookie as desired.

TIP:

1. Small dots, like the eyes and the buttons may have a slight point when you pull the icing tip away from the cookie – let the white chocolate set on the cookie for about 10 minutes and then with a barely wet finger tip, smooth away the slight points.