Sharing is Caring--Nami's Green Tea Cookies

One of my favorite blogs is Nami's Just One Cookbook. Nami shares simple Japanese recipes from a simple yet essential dashi stock to unagi don. Every recipe has easy to follow pictures to guide even an amateur in the kitchen. My ungai don was one of Nami's recipes. It literally takes 5 minutes to prepare the unagi sauce, and if you buy pre-charred eel from a Japanese supermarket, dinner can be dinner in no time!

This week I made green tea cookies--one of Nami's desserts. She rarely bakes, but all her baked goods look like they're made from a professional pastry's hands. These cookies were delicious according to my colleagues. They gobbled up every bit and pieces before noon! I love the compliments and bringing back an empty container home. My worst fear is going to a pot-luck and have no one touch the food I bring.

Anyways, Nami's cookie is a fancy version of butter biscuits. It's slightly on the crunchy side, but the cookies melts on your tongue. In the hindsight, you get a faint matcha flavor that balances the rich butter. This is definitely a decadent dessert, meant to be served during high tea or reserved for a special guest.

Nami's Green Tea Cookies

150g/ 2/3cup unsalted butter, room temperature
100g/ 1/2 cup confectioner sugar
2 egg yolks
240g/ 2 1/8 cup all purpose flour
15g/ 2 + 1/4 tablespoon matcha powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar till butter turns pale. Add egg yolks and mix till well incorporated. Shift flour and matcha powder into butter mixture, mix well. Add chocolate chips and distribute evenly into cookie batter.

Divide batter in half and roll each half into a ball. On a plastic wrap, shape each ball into a log, 2 inch in diameter and 5 inch long. Refrigerate overnight. 15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350F and let cookie logs stand in room temperature. Slice cookies into thin slices, about 1/4 inch thick or the width of your pinky. Bake for 15 minutes in the oven. Let cool on the baking sheet for another 15 minutes before placing the cookies on a cooling rack.

I used black chocolate chips while Nami used white chocolate chips. I am a dark chocolate person, but white chocolate looks more graceful in this cookie.