Green Tea Cookies, Lesson #1

Note: Finally! Another post! I have been very busy with a cake order for a client but don't fret, I am still here. So let's carry on :)

My first reaction to my creation.

Ooohh! What?! My cookies!! :'(

Is what I asked myself after they came out of the oven. Matcha Cookie Fail #1. It will serve it's purpose though, fear not! You can't learn something without failing at it at least once, is what I always say. Especially when you're trying to create a new recipe, you should always expect to make many mistakes to find that perfect one! Have faith ;)

Some of the ingredients for making Matcha Crinkle Cookies

So anyway, I was so excited about the whole idea thinking that white chocolate and matcha would make a good combination.. Well it turns out to be a little more complicated than that.

I used the Chocolate Crinkle Cookies recipe as a guideline to make these Matcha Crinkle Cookies that I sooo badly wanted. But when you're substituting or adding something in a recipe, the end product would definitely have a different texture and taste, etc. right? Especially since I'm adding Powdered Matcha.

But before I continue, if any of you are new to the world of Matcha and want to know something about it, here is a simple explanation from Matcha Source. For others please feel free to scroll down, but if you want to read that's okay too! :)

What is Matcha Powdered Green Tea?
"Matcha is premium green tea powder from Japan used for drinking as tea or as an ingredient in recipes. While other green teas are grown throughout the world, matcha is unique to Japan. It is the heart of the Japanese way of tea and has been celebrated in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony for hundreds of years."

What does matcha taste like?
"Complex. Alluring. Bitter. Misunderstood. Addicting. That’s how Sophia F., a matcha enthusiast from Florida, describes the taste of matcha. Chlorophyll and amino acids give matcha its unique rich taste, an initial vegetal, astringent taste, followed by a lingering sweetness. Matcha made in the traditional Japanese style, whisked with water, is a full-bodied green tea. The intensity of the experience compares to one’s first taste of dark chocolate or red wine. When added as an ingredient, the taste of matcha becomes subtler. It adds the flavor and color of green tea to your creation, be it a smoothie, latte, savory sauce or pastry."

They explained that better than I could ever have. Interesting tid bit isn't it?

So moving on to what I did:

Change #1

-White Chocolate (WC). I used the same amount as the recipe found in most Chocolate Crinkle recipes. Definitely too much for a white chocolate, my gut told me that I should cut it down to just a few chunks but I was too stubborn so I pressed on. The original recipe calls for Semi sweet chocolate, and semi sweet is well, semi sweet and has a little bitterness to it which is why it works best.

Change #2

-Sweet Matcha Powder (SMP). Once again, my gut told me to use the unsweetened one but... I didn't listen. Because Sweet (WC) + Sweet (SMP) + Sugar = Waaay Too Sweet.

Butter, Sweet Matcha Powder, and White Chocolate

So what's lesson #1? Listen to your guts. lol. Don't get me wrong, I love sweet stuff but I had the wrong proportion of ingredients so it came out too sweet for me.

But anyway, before I show you what my cookies turned out like I would like to show you how my Chocolate Crinkle Cookies comes out of the oven. It's a melt in your mouth cookie, and has a soft and velvety texture, especially when it just came out of the oven. My taste buds sing with joy when I bite into one of these babies.

Not much cracks, which is how I want it. Yummy and pretty to look at :)

And now, please welcome... My failed Green Tea Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

BAM! It doesn't look like good eats to me :(

Too many cracks and they're too flat... But that's probably because I took the batter out of the fridge a little too soon.

Now I have never tried making green tea sugar cookies before. That's also something I could probably look into. Have you ever made green tea cookies before? Do you like them? What was your experience like? Please share your ideas and thoughts, good and bad are both welcome.

Anyway, I guess there's a lot to be done so for now I'll be experimenting a little bit more in the kitchen until I've come up with a recipe that is worthy and we could all enjoy.