Matcha Green Tea Cookies

ATTLING THE DESIRE to gorge on sweets has become a bit problematic for me lately. Every meal has felt incomplete unless it ended with dessert. For instance, I made some green tea cookies, and as soon as they had cooled, I ate 6 of them, one after the other. The takeaway from this is that I am not to be left unattended with cookies.

Since I am embracing this physical dependence on sugar, or at least attempting to make a gradual departure from it, I made semi-healthy green tea cookies. Green tea has antioxidants, you can look it up. ;-) The first step to all of this is making little matcha chip morsels, which is so easy a task you will be dreaming of all sorts of infusions.

MATCHA CHIP INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups white chocolate chips (I like Ghiradelli)
• 2 tbsn. matcha powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt your white chocolate using the double boiler method (i.e. place a bowl over a pot of hot water, making sure to form an airtight seal). Once the white chocolate shows the first signs of melting, reduce the heat and stir until smooth.
2. Add 2 tablespoons green tea powder. You can purchase food grade matcha powder online. Otherwise it becomes very expensive.
3. Transfer everything into a bag and pipe chips onto a piece of aluminum foil. Put them in the freezer for about 35 minutes or until hardened.

Matcha Chips

Piles of cookies, waiting to be devoured.

COOKIE INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1/4 cup green tea (brewed 1 tablespoon green tea to 1/4 cup water)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups matcha chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Combine sifted dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt). Beat butter and sugar until well combined, then egg, vanilla, and green tea until light and creamy.
3. Using a wooden spoon, stir matcha chips into dough.
4. Place cookie dough on sheet (with cookie dough balls having 1" diameter) about 1" apart. For pillowy cookies, leave as is. For slightly flatter cookies, press down with your palm.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

What other teas would you like to try this with?

Enjoy!
Margaret

Red Bean Coffee Pudding

ECONSTRUCTING a delicious dessert in my head and attempting to reproduce it is challenging for me because of all the things that could go wrong (e.g. the correct proportions of each ingredient, taking care not to miss the subtle hints of certain spices, over- or under-baking). Moreover, making minor mistakes are much more noticeable in baking than in cooking. Despite the potential for catastrophe though,  I love to experiment even if it isn't successful.

After some trial and error, my mom and I unearthed the golden proportions for this amazing, and I am not exaggerating, coffee and red bean pudding. It has a custard-like consistency and uses agar to help with the thickening process. Upon making this recipe, I discovered that gelatin (what my mom used) is derived from animal protein, which of course, I am totally against. You can get a vegetarian gelatin, but I haven't scavenged yet. (Let me know if you find one!) Luckily for vegetarians, powdered agar can be substituted in equal measure for powdered plain gelatin.

A pick me up, but also a weigh me down. ;-)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine coffee with hot water and let cool.
2. Combine unflavored gelatin with cold water and microwave for 10-15 seconds.
3. Mix gelatin mixture with coffee mixture.
4. Combine heavy whipping cream and Azuki red beans.
5. Distribute evenly among 4-5 medium-sized ramekins and refrigerate until firm.

Hope you enjoy!

XO, M

Peanut Noodles

ABIT, OR PERHAPS the lack of good Asian cuisine within close proximity, has me constantly experimenting in my own kitchen. I love anything that involves peanut sauce, which always conjures up memories of the dish my Mom always brought to potlucks, one with an unmistakably fragrant peanut and sesame sauce. Gourmet Magazine had a recipe with peanuts and noodles that seemed pretty promising, so I adapted my own version. 

Firm tofu, red bell pepper, Persian cucumbers, green onion, and garlic.

Buckwheat soba noodles.

 

Toasted black sesame seeds, chili powder, and ground ginger.

Peanut sauce--tangy and sweet. In other words, heaven.




Just like Mom's!

I used 3/4 of a brick of firm tofu, a medium sized red bell pepper, five green onions, one large clove of garlic, a few tablespoons of sesame seeds (enough to stud most of your noodles), and enough noodles to serve 4 hungry people. There are no hard and fast rules in this recipe except for the peanut sauce. Make sure to purée everything to form a good emulsion.

• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger 
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey

I aim to bake next week... so stay tuned! :)

MARGARET