SMiLes by Meg

Matcha Snickerdoodles

These cookies have been on my “I want to try that” list since I got Weeknight Baking for Christmas a couple of years ago. I just never was able to find matcha at Whole Foods, which is where I assumed I would be able to find it, and I didn’t want to order it from Amazon, even though there are actually a couple of specialty items I should just order at this point since I haven’t been able to find them anywhere.

Then, last week, I found matcha at Whole Foods! I never go down the aisles full of random organic supplements and such, but I was trying to find something else and ended up in that aisle and there was the matcha. In the past, I’d always looked by the tea, which is where I assumed I’d find green tea powder. Weird that it’s actually elsewhere, but glad I stumbled across it.

Matcha snickerdoodles are basically just a variation on the rainbow snickerdoodles I made a few weeks ago. That makes this recipe sort of feel like cheating, but the base cookie is good enough that I feel like there’s no harm in having it up here twice.

To start, whisk together the granulated sugar and matcha powder in a shallow bowl to make the topping. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. When making these on a Thursday night, I got to this step and realized that I had eaten our last two eggs for dinner in the form of egg tacos. Fortunately, Erik is a very kind boyfriend and ran out to the store to get me more eggs.

Next, beat in the vanilla extract to combine.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula, and beat until fully incorporated.

Scoop out three tablespoons of dough at a time and roll into a ball. Roll the ball in the topping and place a couple of inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes. The edges will be set but the middle will still look puffy and gooey. Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool further.

The matcha flavor is kind of subtle on these (the cookie mostly tastes like it’s rolled in sugar), but we found that it was more noticeable the next day once they’d cooled completely.

Store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They get a bit crumbly, so probably not the best if you want to, for example, put them in a bag that you’re not particularly gentle with (that’s what I did – oops).

Enjoy!

Matcha Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

Topping

  • 1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon matcha powder

Cookies

  • 2 3/4 cups (12.35 ounces) flour
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (10.5 ounces) sugar
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the matcha and sugar for the topping. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
  4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until fully incorporated.
  5. Beat in the vanilla extract.
  6. With the mixer running on low, add the dry ingredients slowly, beating until all has blended in.
  7. Scoop the dough, three tablespoons at a time, and roll in a ball. Roll the ball in the topping to coat. Place about 3 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  8. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, until the edges are set and centers are still puffy. Allow to cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.