Matcha cookies

Originally published in Dec 2019, I’m editing and moving this one back to the top as I re-enter wintertime baking/snowy season once again!

It’s the season of eradication and elimination around here. By that, I mean I’ve been hitting cabinets and cupboards like it’s my job. Discovering bags and containers of unused and neglected protein powders and other powders, like matcha, sent me to google looking for recipes. In this case I wanted to use up the some protein powder AND matcha powder.

Mission accomplished. (I also added some dark chocolate cacao nibs from my cupboard stash to the tops of some and it tastes subtly sweet and delicious)!

It’s not easy being green, until it is. Take notes, Kermit.

Here I’m using up things around the house, not spending any money on extra groceries, making healthy snacks to fuel my work days, AND getting this wonder-drug aka matcha, into my diet. I plan to freeze the extra cookies and bet they’ll reheat well.
Note: cookies pair well with an almond milk matcha latte, especially when served in a green mug. ;)

Why do we love Matcha? Let me count the ways…

Loads of antioxidants. Slight pick-me-up without the jitters. Amino acids that aid in “relaxed alertness.” Boosts metabolism and burns fat. Tastes great.

“One of the major health benefits of matcha tea is that it delivers a mega dose of antioxidants in every sip. According to the latest innovation in antioxidant research, matcha is packed with exponentially more antioxidants than any other ‘superfood’.” — Matchasource.com

“Matcha is rich in L-Theanine, a rare amino acid that actually promotes a state of relaxation and well-being by acting upon the brains functioning.” - Matchasource.com

“It has an adaptogenic quality: if you're frazzled, it calms you; if you're feeling sluggish, it energizes you.” - Business Insider (more HERE).

Interested in making some the right way, perhaps as a new morning ritual? Learn how, HERE. And what kind of matcha to buy? Here are some ideas.

OK but for now —-back to the cookies ….

Photo credit: me ;)

Recipe: (Adapted from https://create.ora.organic/recipes/vegan-matcha-cookies/):

• 1 cup coconut oil

• 1 egg (or substitute)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ¾ cup -1 cup coconut flour

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 1-2 tsp matcha powder

• 2 scoopsProtein Powder

• Optional: add a bit of ground flaxseed, honey, sugar, coconut sprinkles, chocolate chips, etcetera.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Melt the coconut oil in a bowl and combine it with the vanilla extract and egg; Whisk together, then add the dry ingredients.

3. Mix together until the dough forms a consistency you can work with. If it’s a bit too crumbly, consider adding a little honey or water.

4. Roll dough into small balls, then press/flatten slightly on the tops once on the pan.

5. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until the edge touching the pan turns golden brown. *Add Cocao nibs to the top when cookies are warm, right out of the oven!

UPDATE NOV 2024: I found a recipe I like EVEN more and adjusted it to incorporate some Momentous Vanilla Protein Powder.

Here’s the orig recipe: https://www.cooking-therapy.com/matcha-white-chocolate-chip-cookies/

And here is it modified to include the protein powder (and doubled):

This will yield approximately 24 cookies.

Doubled Recipe with Momentous Vanilla Protein Powder:

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  (Reduced to make room for the protein powder)

• 1 cup Momentous Vanilla Protein Powder
  (To boost protein)

• 2 tsp matcha powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, softened

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, Momentous Vanilla Protein Powder, matcha powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, coconut oil, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).

4. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until combined.

5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.

6. Fold in the white chocolate chips.

7. Scoop tablespoon-sized portions of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

8. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden.

9. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

I also love making these as muffins with white chocolate chips—- soo yummy!

Matcha Sugar Cookies on a cold snowy night

So — I find myself down with the sinus infection that’s making its rounds, plus a bonus addition, an ear infection which I apparently got from flying on planes with said sinus crud, which sent it right into my ears. What am I, like, 5 years old? I didn’t even know adults got ear infections. The worst part is that my ears have been full since last Wednesday, so I’m going on a week strong now of just barely being able to hear. Occasionally the ears will “pop” and clear, but then they fill back up again.

So - -that plus the 20-some degrees outside plus snow that’s been falling (again -sigh) most of this month now, and I’m hunkering down for a chill night at home. And- the urge to bake once again came up for me. I took stock of what I’ve got in the house with a mostly-empty fridge after weeks of being gone and found I’ve got just the stuff to make matcha sugar cookies.

Googled recipes and found this one, the simplest and easiest one, which looked delish.

Batch one I made with my preferred sugar, pure unrefined cane sugar, which is brown. Hence the brownish/greenish hue… while they taste good, I had to admit the color isn’t super appetizing.

So I baked up a second batch using white sugar and they look MUCH cuter in their bright green color!

I baked them a full 15 minutes and once again refrigerated the dough in the fridge 10-15 minutes before rolling into balls to bake on the pan. They came out BEAUTIFULLY. Lightly brown on the bottom and soft inside. Yum. This IS the cure for cold snowy evenings.

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Matcha Protein Cookies: Victory Round

Ok - I still had matcha protein powder to use up (and candidly, after so many smoothies, I’m looking for ways to bake with it). ;)

I am hosting friends this weekend and want to have some yummy cookies to serve for dessert. So- I went looking for a new recipe for protein cookies.

HERE was the one I decided to try tonight. I cut the sugar it calls for in over half, and instead used a bit more salt — and I went with the larger granular salt. OH. MY. GOODNESS. The chunks of salt in the cookies combined with the subtle matcha taste/sweetness, combined with the dark chocolate chips. Good grief, folks, we’ve got a winner.

Also - can I just say (albeit sheepishly) how MUCH IT HELPS To put the dough in the fridge for awhile before prepping the cookie dough balls on the pan?! Talk about PERFECT dough-balls, which translates to PERFECT cookies (and far-less-messy fingers). Wow. All this time of rushing to get the cookies in the oven, and that 15 minutes in the fridge made all the difference. Old dog. New tricks.

Do yourself a favor and make these.

For the protein powder I used the MODE (now known as ATAQ) matcha protein powder.

Tonight I’m pairing the cookies with caffeine-free AVEDA The’Tea (licorice-forward tea, yum).