More Matcha

Round two! *ding, ding*

Time to bring out the matcha again! Actually, to be honest, it was still sitting on my counter after making ice cream. I asked my Toronto cookie pal if he would be nice enough to host a friend (dropped birthday cake) for a couple of nights while she was in town. He graciously obliged and we (dropped cake friend) were busy making cookies to make up for her stay.

I opted with blondies and Matcha shortbread! Oh, I love shortbread. It's a sinful treat that I usually indulge in during the holidays, but sometimes....on a cold, rainy day - there is nothing more satisfying than a crumbly piece of buttery, buttery goodness. Oh....butter. It's also a fantastic cookie to ship as well. Yes, it's kind of gross when you think about it - a standing box of buttery cookies - but think about it, it doesn't go stale, doesn't become chewy - the flavours actually tend to mellow out and it hardens up a bit, which makes it perfect for a long-haul trip! The blondies (or brownies) are also perfect for travelling - keep them tightly wrapped and they'll stay chewy and dense for a while (if they're not eaten first!).

This recipe is another one from an old Martha holiday issue, but interesting enough, I was never interested in trying it. Matcha fear rears its ugly head, I suppose. In the recipe photo, the cookies are artfully cut out using leaf cookie cutters. Unfortunately, the only leaf cookie cutter I have is a maple leaf, and I don't think it would be particularly appropriate for this recipe. I did want to stay with the theme and do a leaf cut-out, so I cut the leaf shapes by hand and scored veins on top. The veins looked a little haphazardly done, but after baking, they actually 'puffed' out quite nicely! I think they look rather artistic, actually!

Recipe c/o Martha Stewart

Oh lord. I just spotted on the recipe that it's from 2001. Wow. Took me nearly 10 years to evolve my taste to work up the gusto to make this recipe, hahaha.