Matcha latte cookies

Matcha latte cookies are a real treat for matcha lovers, although they may also pleasantly surprise those who aren’t particularly fond of its flavour. They are based on my recipe for tiramisu cookies. These delicate green, soft cookies have a distinct yet pleasantly mellow matcha flavour, which pairs beautifully with a light and fluffy mascarpone and cream filling. The whole thing is finished with a delicate dusting of matcha, making the cookies taste a little like a cup of creamy matcha latte :). They are beautiful, fragrant and definitely difficult to stop at just one.

Makes 18 cookies.

Ingredients for the cookies:

• 115 g butter
• 150 g caster sugar
• 12 g matcha
• 1 large egg
• 210 g plain flour
• 2.5 g potato starch
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• a pinch of salt

All the ingredients should be at room temperature.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar and mix together. Add the egg and mix again until combined. Sift the plain flour, potato starch, matcha and bicarbonate of soda directly into the mixture and add the salt. Mix again until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined and a dough forms.

Line a large, flat baking tray with baking paper. Shape the dough into balls about the size of a small walnut; the easiest way is to portion it out using a small ice cream scoop. Place the balls on the baking tray, leaving several centimetres between them, as they will spread sideways during baking.

Bake the cookies at 175°C, fan oven, for approximately 9–10 minutes. The longer the cookies are baked, the more crisp and firm they will become, so do not extend the baking time unnecessarily. Immediately after baking, the cookies will be very soft, so leave them on the tray for a few minutes to cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ingredients for the cream:

• 150 g mascarpone, chilled
• 150 ml double cream, chilled
• 30 g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• matcha, for dusting

Place all the ingredients (apart from the matcha) in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until thick and fluffy.

Cut off the end of a disposable piping bag and fit it with a piping nozzle with a small round opening. Transfer the cream to the piping bag and pipe it onto the cooled cookies in a spiral, starting in the centre and working outwards. Alternatively, you can simply spread the cream over the cookies using a spatula. Finally, dust lightly with matcha.

Once the cream has been added, the cookies should be stored in the fridge, although they will also keep well at room temperature for a while. It is best to dust the cookies with matcha just before serving, as it darkens on the surface of the cream over time. Before serving, it is worth taking the cookies out of the fridge at least 30 minutes in advance, so that the cream and cookies can come to the right temperature and develop their full flavour.

Enjoy!