Matcha Shortbread Cookies
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These Matcha Shortbread Cookies are the easiest cookies to make that yield to tender, crisp, buttery shortbread cookies with the unique flavor of matcha.
Shortbread cookies are seriously so easy to make. After you have gotten the perfect ratio, you can custom made them into any flavor you like. Do you remember my previous Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies? I use the same recipe, but I replace the earl grey with matcha powder. That is how these cookies have that nice green color with a delightfully earthy, slightly bitter taste.
Green Tea vs Matcha
Don’t confuse matcha with the same green tea that you drink at home or Japanese restaurants. The names are slightly deceptive, but they are actually slightly different. Matcha and green tea both come from the same plant, camellia sinensis, but they are grown and processed differently.
Matcha comes from whole green tea leaves that have been pulverized into a super fine powder. Because the whole leaf is powdered and ingested, instead of just water infused through the tea leaves, matcha has significantly greater substances and deeper flavor than green tea. You cannot grind the regular green tea to make matcha, considering matcha is made from shade-grown tea leaves. Processing regular green tea involves the leaves being left in the sun. Comparatively, matcha bushes are specifically kept undercover to increase the chlorophyll and amino acid level in the leaves. That is why matcha has a much richer flavor than green tea.
Please note that matcha comes in both ceremonial-grade and culinary-grade. The culinary grade matcha powder
is the one you use to make baking and cooking purposes, while the ceremonial stuff is for drinking. In addition, look for a deep and pure green color because any brownish color is a sign of oxidization and lack of freshness.
The Best Flour to Make Shortbread Cookies
You can use both all-purpose or cake flour for shortbread cookies. I personally like to use cake flour because it gives light, crisp, and tender textures to the cookies. If you use all-purpose flour, I find them softer and chewier than the ones made with cake flour.
If you still want don’t have cake flour but still want these lighter cookies, try converting from all-purpose flour to cake flour. Take one cup of all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled. Remove 2 tablespoons, and then add two tablespoons of cornstarch to the all-purpose flour.
Why You Should Chill Your Dough
Chilling the dough before and after shaping will help to retain the shape of the cookies. A short stay in the fridge will firm up the cookies and solidify the butter. This will help keep them from spreading too much and helps concentrate those flavors for your best shortbread. In addition, the cold dough will make the cutting neat with sharp edges.
Once I make the dough, I usually wrap it with plastic wrap and then chill it for 30 minutes. Then, roll the dough into an even 1/4-inch thickness with a rolling pin. Cut the dough with a cookie cutter or sharp knife. Pierce the middle of the cookies with a skewer to minimize the spreading and chill the cut dough again if your dough has warmed up for a little more before baking.
More Shortbread Cookies Recipes
While you are here, don’t forget to check out other shortbread recipes on my blog!
- Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies
- Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies
- Zebra-Striped Shortbread Cookies
- Zebra-Striped Matcha Shortbread Cookies
- Masala Chai Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (150 gr) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (60 gr) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (180 gr) cake flour/all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp matcha powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, matcha powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, confectioners sugar, and vanilla extract until incorporated.
- Scrape the bowl down and sift in the dry ingredients. Mix with a spatula until the dough starts to come together. It will look crumbly at first, but the dough will come together as you continue mixing.
- Wrap the dough with plastic wrap. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator or until it is firm enough to cut through.
- Preheat oven to 350F/180°C and line two baking pans with parchment papers.
- Take out the dough from the refrigerator and open the plastic wrap. Roll the dough into a 1/4-inch (5 mm) thick slab. Cut the dough with a 1.5-inch (4 cm) cookie cutter. Place the cut dough on baking sheets, spaced at least an inch apart. Re-roll the scraps and refrigerate a few minutes until firm again and repeat the process until all dough is used.
- Use a skewer to poke holes in the cookies (optional).
- Chill in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes if the dough has warmed up.
- Bake for 13-16 minutes or until the bottom edges of the cookies are golden brown in color.
- Transfer to a wire sheet to cool completely.
I like the recipe in general, but find the matcha flavor a little strong for my own tastebuds. So next time I’ll likely put half that amount and up the salt a tiny bit. Tasty!
I baked these cookies and they turned out amazing! Absolutely no spreading which is a first for me and shortbread.
Hello! I was wondering if the dough can cool overnight before baking
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, you can chill the dough for up to 3 days in the fridge. The dough will be hard right from the fridge, so let it soften a little bit at room temperature before rolling it.
Love this! The cookies are crisp, perfect amount of sweetness for me, with strong matcha flavor.