Green Tea Shortbread

I failed dismally when I tried to come up with a clever name for this post. So instead of wasting any more time looking for something that isn’t ever going to appear, I’ll take the straight forward approach. Here’s a recipe I found on Martha Stewart, and have since located similar versions in a web search. I love the flavor of Matcha tea ice cream, so the idea of cookies with a similar flavor really appealed to me. I tried them twice. The dough is a vibrant green color, but it fades somewhat during baking. The first time I baked them enough to colour to slightly bronze, but the second time I shortened the baking time so the cookies just started to colour. Either way they were very tasty. If you like shortbread and you’d like to broaden your baking repertoire, I suggest you give these a try. Enjoy!

Green Tea Shortbread

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Matcha green-tea powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Sift flour, tea powder, and salt into a small bowl; set aside. Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar; continue to beat until very light in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add flour mixture; combine on low, scraping sides of bowl with a spatula if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
Place a piece of parchment on a clean surface; dust with flour. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness; chill in refrigerator or freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Cut chilled dough with chosen cutters.
Using a wide spatula, transfer to baking sheets. Chill until firm.
Gather scraps together, re-roll, chill, and cut shapes.
Bake until firm and barely starting to color, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cool completely on wire rack; store in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 weeks.