Buttery and crumbly shortbread cookies scented with green tea and toasted sesame seeds are perfect to accompany that cup of coffee or tea. They are easy to put together.
Snowy day is always good to stay indoor and be warm (to me anyway). With that said, the kids need things to do something though. Baking some cookies is always a big hit 😉 I was able to get some good quality matcha powder from Japan. I’ve always love the scent of matcha/green tea. I’m not a big tea drinker, but I like cooking or baking with tea however 🙂 Plan to make matcha ice cream soon. It’s long overdue.
Matcha Sesame Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 120 gr all-purpose flour + a bit for dusting
- 5 gr matcha powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 113 gr unsalted butter 1 stick, softened and cut into small cubes
- 57 gr powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For dipping: (optional)
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar or more as needed
- 1 Tbsp mixture of white and black sesame seeds
Instructions
Prepare the cookie dough:
- Mix the flour, matcha powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cream the softened butter, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla extract until the butter is creamy. Very gradually add in the flour mixture while still beating with mixer. They will still appear dry and won't come together. Stop the mixer and continue with your clean hand. The dough will come together, trust me! Lightly dust a work surface with a bit of flour and roll the dough into a 2-inch cylinder. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours to prevent spreading
- Preheat your oven to 340 F (170 C) for conventional oven. For a convection oven, lower the temperature by 15 C or 20 F. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. When the dough is ready, slice them into 1/3-inch and dip one side of the cookie into the granulated sugar and sesame seeds mixture. Place on the baking sheet about 1 1/2-inch apart. Pop them back into the refrigerator and let them chill for another 20 minutes. This will help your shortbreads to maintain their shapes.
Baking:
- Bake them for about 11-13 minutes or until the edges are firm and just started to brown. They may still appear soft. Leave them on the baking sheet to cool down
Storing:
- Once they have cooled down completely, store them in an air-tight container for up to 4 weeks
Nutrition
Serving: 1shortbread | Calories: 132kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 51mg | Potassium: 17mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 256IU | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
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2 comments
This recipe checked a lot of boxes- I was in the mood for making a sweet treat, but was out of eggs, and I also really like dessert recipes that have small/reasonable yields (I just want a few cookies, darn it, and I don’t want to have to freeze them). I was out of matcha powder though, so I made them with the sesame topping and they were alright. I waffled a bit on what else I could use, but I went plain just to see what I was working with- next time I could try cocoa powder or even just a tablespoon of crushed sesame seeds or other nuts.
I was a little confused by the granulated sugar amounts… a whole quarter cup (plus one?) seemed like waaay too much sugar just for sprinkling. I used like.. a tablespoon? I ended up with a bunch of extra sesame-sugar and had to figure out what else to do with it because it couldn’t go back in the bag. Maybe some of it was supposed to go in the dough? Or maybe my cookies weren’t “sticky” enough? And I felt like the cookies were plenty sweet enough, maybe just rolling in seeds is enough?
So, I had a little wonkiness with the recipe, but I feel like it was such a good base for making a small batch with limited ingredients. I’d definitely make it again and see what else I can get away with until I get my hands on some decent matcha.
I like making shortbread cookies as it requires very minimal ingredients. You can definitely substitute with cocoa powder and add some chopped nuts or dried fruits like cranberries to it, I’ve tried that and it’s tasty.
As for the dipping sugar, It’s a bit confusing I know. I’ve fixed the recipe accordingly. If you don’t want it to be too sweet, you can skip the sugar and just sprinkle with some black sesame seeds. This is definitely a good base for shortbread cookies that you can play around 🙂 Thanks for your feedback always 🙂