Recipe: Matcha Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread goes green with some help from matcha tea and avocado
Behold, a holiday cookie for everyone—even your vegan and gluten-free loved ones. To make these green-hued beauties, avocado, matcha and gingerbread spices are baked into a lovely, sugar-dusted cookie perfect for the annual holiday cookie swap. Store them in an airtight container, and they'll stay soft for up to one week.
The secret to the cookies' smooth, light texture and sweet, nutty flavor? Chestnut flour, which you can find at Italian specialty or health food stores. You can substitute with sweet rice flour, but the cookies won't be quite as tender.
Lastly, keep your nut flours fresh and matcha bright by storing them in your freezer in an airtight container (a Ziploc bag works best) and use them within eight months. These are pricey ingredients but well worth every penny, so give them the extra care they deserve.
To learn more, read "How I Met Your Matcha."
Recipe from the Tasting Table Test Kitchen
Matcha Gingerbread Cookies
These matcha tea- and avocado-infused cookies will be the highlight of every holiday cookie swap.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweet rice flour
- ½ cup finely ground almond flour
- ½ cup chestnut flour
- 1½ teaspoons matcha tea, divided
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ? cup, plus ½ cup, sugar, divided
- ? cup mashed avocado (½ medium avocado)
- ? cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup roughly chopped candied ginger
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375° and line a sheet tray with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, 1 teaspoon of the matcha tea, the baking soda, cinnamon, salt, allspice and pepper, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat ⅔ cup of the sugar with the avocado, olive oil, fresh ginger and vanilla until creamy and smooth, 2 minutes.
- Beat the flour mixture into the sugar mixture in 2 additions and, when almost combined, stir in the candied ginger. It will be a thick, tacky dough.
- Combine the remaining sugar and matcha on a large plate. Divide the dough into 12 even pieces and roll in between your palms, forming a compact dough ball. Press each ball into the matcha sugar and flatten to a ¼-inch-thick disk, coating the bottom and sides with the sugar. Place onto the prepared baking sheet, sugar-side up, and spaced evenly apart. (Note: The cookies won't spread during baking.) 6. Bake, rotating halfway through, for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on the sheet tray for at least 5 minutes, and serve.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 364 |
| Total Fat | 22.4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3.0 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 40.0 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1.9 g |
| Total Sugars | 24.5 g |
| Sodium | 192.8 mg |
| Protein | 2.2 g |
