Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies

Good news! I went to Costco the other day. Bad news: It was not sample day. I did, however, eat pizza. And if you don't know the joy of which I refer, I firmly insist that you try Costco pizza if the opportunity presents itself. For me, it reminds me of the good ol' days of Chuck-E-Cheese, and probably moreso the chain that existed prior to the rat taking it over - they always had that kind of pizza with perfect brown bubbles on the cheese.

But oh! I had a point. While there, I of course wandered about. You never know what you will find at a store like Costco. It changes regularly, so you can find some real gems in there. This time around I found a sizeable bag of matcha, an item I've had in the back of my mind for a while. I've enjoyed a few matcha teas (one with ginger sticks out in particular), and find it to be a very tasty green tea.

I had a social event that night with some friends who know me as a baker. I used to bake so much when we all worked together, and recently have lost some of my mojo. I realized I was long overdue for some fresh-baked cookies, so the idea of matcha cookies popped in my head. I used a pretty standard chocolate chip cookie recipe, posted here as cinnamon ginger chocolate chip cookies - I really enjoy the flavor that cinnamon and ginger adds to cookies. With some slight adjustments, I changed this into a matcha recipe, using white chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate as I felt it would balance the flavor better.

It was easy enough; I beat the butter and sugar in my stand mixer, then added the eggs, vanilla and almond extracts. I gradually added the dry ingredients, including the matcha, then stirred in the chocolate chips. I'm one of those batter-tasting people, and I knew after a taste that I was in for a treat.

I baked the cookies for about 13 minutes, as I was using a medium scoop and they took a little longer than smaller cookies would.

They turned out a darker color than your average chocolate chip cookie, but remained soft and easily breakable.

The flavor was great. It was sweet, but had a subtle amount of matcha flavor. The ginger paired well with the matcha, as was expected, but all in all it was like a soft cookie with a hint of green tea. Overall, this was like a introduction to matcha rather than the full semester of coursework, and I have to say it is a great start. I have a feeling matcha and I are going places.

Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon concentrated vanilla 1 teaspoon regular
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs

1 teaspoon minced ginger (if unavailable, add 1/4 teaspoon powdered)
2 1/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon matcha

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons coconut milk (or milk or heavy cream)
1 bag white chocolate chips (11.5 ounces)

Instructions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, vanilla and almond extracts together until fluffy. Mix heavy cream, then add in eggs one at a time until well combined. In a small bowl, stir together flour, matcha, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda.  Gradually mix flour mixture into wet ingredients until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Scoop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes, until edges begin to brown.