It’s been almost two months since I made these cookies for my friend’s baby shower and I’ve been meaning to share them with you ever since! I made two flavor versions of this simple cookie, green tea and lemon. My friend is waiting until her baby is born to learn the gender (only two more weeks to go!), so I thought it would be fun to go with a theme of gender neutral colors for these cookies. These cookies have a real shortbread like consistency—soft, but a little crumbly, and full of flavor. I can’t decide which flavor I like better, so you should just go ahead and make both! Each recipe below makes 2 dozen cookies. Read carefully—I’ve typed the instructions once, with options for each set of ingredients. I hope this is easy to follow!
Matcha Green Tea Cookies, adapted from Rasa Malaysia
7 T Earth Balance butter, softened
1/2 cup packed powdered sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
2 t matcha powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 T almond milk
1/3 cup sliced almonds, lightly chopped
Lemon Cookies
7 T Earth Balance butter, softened
3/4 cup packed powdered sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
zest of 1 lemon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 T lemon juice
1/3 cup sliced almonds, lightly chopped
Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and matcha powder/lemon zest).
With an electric mixer at medium speed, cream the Earth Balance butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. Add the almond milk/lemon juice and mix together.
Lower the mixer speed. Add in sifted ingredients a little bit at a time until dough is formed.
Add in the sliced almond in 3 batches and stop the mixer immediately once all combined.
Remove the dough and place on a 22 inch long piece of plastic wrap. Roll the dough into a 1 1/2 inches thick log. This does not need to be perfect—get it close enough and then you can form it once it is wrapped. Wrap the log with the plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 325. Line two baking sheets with parchment papers.
Remove the dough from the freezer. Use a sharp knife and cut the dough 1/4 inch thick each. Rotate the log as you slice so you don’t get one flat side. Arrange the cookies on the baking pan 2 inches apart.
Bake them for 14-16 minutes on the middle rack. Remove the cookies to wire rack to cool completely before storing in air tight containers.
Taste them both and let me know what your favorite flavor is!
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