Matcha Shortbread Sandwich Cream Cookies
I brought superfood green matcha to the table today.In the form of cookies! Yes, cookies.
And not just any cookies but buttery shortbread cookies that are green and vegan. And not just sit-there-and-do-nothing cookies but cookies stuffed with a sweet whipped cream. ALL vegan and gluten-free, helped along in that direction using Bob’s Red Mill‘s candy-like organic coconut palm sugar and actually also his gluten-free baking flour (which is the stuff that dreams are made of where gluten-free baking is concerned) .
But I digress. Let’s talk about the cookies. I know you are aching to.
First, let’s first talk about the benefits of matcha. If you know all about it already, skip down a few paragraphs. If you haven’t skipped, still my guess is you probably know something about this tea, though, right? It’s origins are from China, dating back to 1100s. It is made from crushing matcha leaves that are whisked into hot water and ingested as a creamy green drink, as opposed to steeping and discarding the leaves as with traditional green tea.
And you probably already know too that matcha is very exciting because of its potential health benefits: it is full of vitamins and minerals, and is super rich in antioxidants that protect against disease, support the heart and anti-age!
Also matcha is supposed to boost metabolism, making weight control easier.
I love that it has slow-absorbing caffeine so you don’t get a rush and tumble as with coffee – although I still love coffee, but it’s fun to switch off. But no drinking today. Today, I used matcha in a recipe for cookies!
Buttery shortbread cookies that are green and vegan and flaky and filling and so haunting in flavor. The cookies are made of 5 simple ingredients, including Bob’s Red Mill‘s coconut palm sugar which is perfect to offset the matcha’s grassy flavor. You can use maple syrup but this coconut palm sugar actually adds an amazing “buttery” flavor, no coconut flavor at all.
Some cookies can make you feel tired, you know? But not these. I was up and buzzing around after snacking on them.
Although probably because I ate four in one sitting, haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these interesting cookies.
Oh, and obviously you do not have to make them into sandwich cookies – you could just eat them on their own with a cup of hot tea! Enjoy!
Vegan Matcha Shortbread Sandwich Cream Cookies
Buttery matcha shortbread cookies that are flaky, and vegan and gluten-free - also filled with whipped cream. This recipe makes 18 cookies, and you can create 9 sandwich cookies with it.
Ingredients
Matcha Shortbread Cookies (Add ingredients to one bowl)
- 2/3 cup gluten-free baking flour (if you use a different gluten-free flour, add 1/4 tsp xanthan gum, although this flour is best for shortbread cookie texture))
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 tsp matcha (My two favorite matcha brands are Matcha Maiden and Kenko Matcha)
- 1/2 cup plant milk
- 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar (or maple syrup)
- pinch of salt
Whipped Coconut Cream (Add ingredients to one bowl)
- 1 can (13.5oz) coconut cream (or high fat coconut milk), chilled overnight in refrigerator
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
Instructions
Make the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 F
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Blend up mixture with wisk, to combine, then continue to mix by hand to achieve a dough that can be pressed onto parchment and either rolled or pressed flat for a cookie cutter.
- You can play with the flour and milk amounts to get the kind of texture you need. For instance, depending on the flour you use, you might have to add a a tbsp more milk.
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Once you have a texture that can be shaped into a ball and rolled out, sprinkle some flour on a piece of parchment paper, and press the dough onto it.
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Then place another sheet of parchment on top of the dough, and roll it flat. I used a glass but you can use a rolling pin. If the dough is sticking to the top parchment, you might want to sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the dough. But be careful about using too much flour during the rolling step because the more flour you sprinkle, the more it dries out the dough.
- Peel back top parchment and cut cookies out.
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Place the circles on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, cool in pan 2 minutes, and on a cooking rack for 10 minutes. Four or so of my cookies had a bubble of air rising up so I put them under a layer parchment and put a pot on top of that to flatten them so I could have 18 cookies flat and uniform to create 9 sandwich cookies.
Mix Coconut Cream
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Scoop only the solids out of the chilled coconut cream (or milk) can. Save the coconut water for another recipe. Blend up ingredients using a hand mixer until creamy.
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Use a frosting piping bag or sandwich bag with corner snipped to pipe about 1 tbsp of cream onto one cookie and top it with the other.
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Keep the cookies refrigerated in a sealed container, although by the next day the cookies will soften considerably.
- I like to eat them the first day, while the cookies are flaky and the frosting is fluffy.
- Enjoy!
Thank you Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post. The recipe, ideas, content and opinions expressed here are all my own. I do recommend you try Bob’s Red Mill products, you will be so inspired by all their healthy unique products!
Dee Dine is the recipe developer and writer behind Green Smoothie Gourmet. She shares her super healthy wholesome recipes on her blog and her Instagram that she feeds her family and friends. She gravitates toward recipes that are fast to create, plant-based, nutritious, easy, and use familiar ingredients. And chocolate is always a good idea! More about Dee.
Julia
These are wonderful! I used white sugar instead of brown because that is all I had. And I had the right flour, this 1 to 1 baking flour you mentioned, so the recipe worked for me. I read your comments on your Pinterest and so glad I did.
Dee | Green Smoothie Gourmet
Julia! Yes, using this gluten-free flour with xanthan gum is very important to this recipe – without it, it won’t bind. I will update recipe notes on that. So glad you liked the recipe! Dee xx
Kathleen
I just tried this recipe and I’m not sure why but it didn’t work out for me! I used all-purpose flour instead of GF flour which is the only thing I can think of that may have been the problem. When I followed the recipe, my dough was very soft and not able to roll or shape at all, so I had to add more flour. I even put the dough in the fridge to help make it more workable. In the end, I was able to roll and cut it, but I could tell that the dough was not the right consistency. When baked, they shrank right up and were crispy on the edges and raw inside.
Dee | Green Smoothie Gourmet
Kathleen, sorry the batter didn’t bind well. It was because you used an all-purpose flour. This recipe calls for not only gluten-free flour, but one with xanthan gum because that is the primary binding agent. I suppose if you had added xanthan gum to your all purpose flour it might have worked, but I’m not sure because as a rule gluten-free flours are dryer. Dee xx
Natalia
Hola buenas tardes hice la receta con los ingredientes y medidas que son y fueron buenos.
Dee Dine | Green Smoothie Gourmet
Muchas gracias, ¡estoy tan feliz de que te haya gustado la receta!