cookie conundrum ⋅ [DEFINITION]: a perplexing problem related to the preparation, baking, or consumption of cookies.
I found myself in a cookie conundrum a few days ago. I planned to bake green tea biscuits with chocolate chips for this month’s Leftovers Club exchange. But in order for these plans to come to fruition, I should actually stock my pantry with the appropriate ingredients before cooking.
I was all ready to get going—baking sheets were lined; mixing bowls, measuring cups, and spoons were all out; the oven was preheated—until I realized that I had no eggs, butter, or all-purpose flour around the apartment. Undeterred by my lack of preparation, I dug around the cupboards and shelves and found enough ingredients to make gluten-free and vegan chocolate chip cookies. I was not entirely convinced that I could pull it off, but I told myself that I would bake another batch of cookies if these turned out awful.
When the cookies came out of the oven, I was pleasantly surprised. The chocolate chips were still melted, the dough was soft, and the cookies retained a lot of the vibrant color of the green tea matcha powder. As the cookies tasted delicious, I decided to stick with that batch.
My partner for this month’s Leftovers Club is Ashley from Spoonful of Flavor. She has a ton of scrumptious and colorful recipes on her blog, and I am particularly fond of her recipes for baked goods. Just take a look at these German chocolate cupcakes and triple berry lemon cookie cups. How can you refuse one of those?
Green Tea Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 TBS golden flaxseed meal, substitute the flaxseed meal and water for one large egg if not vegan
- 3 TBS water
- 2 cups brown rice flour or all-purpose flour if not gluten-free
- 2 1/2 TBS green tea matcha powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 2/3 cup + 1 TBS sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 5 TBS unsalted vegan butter spread or regular unsalted butter if not vegan
- 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF (~190ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Make a flax egg. In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of golden flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of water. Once it is mixed well, set it aside for about 10 minutes. The flax egg will turn into a gooey texture. If you are not making vegan cookies, just whisk a large egg.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix the brown rice flour, green tea matcha powder, baking powder, and salt together.
- In a large bowl, mix the sugar, butter spread, applesauce, and flax egg until well incorporated. Gradually add the flour mixture with the wet ingredients. I usually add the flour in three batches, mixing the ingredients in between batches.
- Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Freeze the cookie dough for 30 minutes so that it is easier to handle and shape on top of the baking sheets.
- Shape a heaping tablespoon of dough into a ball, and flatten it into a circular shape on the baking sheet. Repeat for the rest of the dough.
- Bake the cookies for about 14-16 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies start to brown.
- Let the cookies cool for a few minutes before eating.
- Store the cookies in an air-tight container. If there are still any leftovers after two days, I suggest microwaving the cookies for about 10 to 15 seconds before eating. This softens the cookie and melts the chocolate chips again.
Notes
If you love food, and you love becoming foodie pen pals with other bloggers, join the Leftovers Club!
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[email protected] Food Ramblings says
These cookies look awesome- I bet the green tea flavor is delish! Your partner will love them!
Lisa says
Thanks, Elizabeth! I love green-tea flavored goodies, so these cookies were perfect!
GiselleR @ Diary of an ExSloth says
I love it when a reluctant experiment turns into something awesome 😀
I’ve made vegan brownies before but not cookies so I’m excited to give these a try.
Thanks for sharing!
Lisa says
Thanks, Giselle! Lately, I’ve been able to turn kitchen mistakes into something delicious, so I hope to keep the streak going!
Johanna says
These look absolutely awesome! I’ve been throwing around the idea of trying something like this with scones.
Lisa says
Thanks, Johanna! And if you do make scones with green tea and chocolate, I would LOVE the recipe!
Marissa @ In My Yellow Cardigan says
I was TOTALLY in a cookie conundrum for my LOC creation too! It’s the best kind of conundrum to be in I think. : )
These look so good though! How creative to use green tea!
Lisa says
Haha, so true, Marissa!
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
You read my mind! Green tea is my favorite but I’ve never tried it in cookies. I am really excited to try these! Thanks so much, Lisa!
Lisa says
Thanks, Ashley! I love green tea, too (especially when they’re in the form of ice cream mochi). I hope you enjoy them!
Shaina says
I have never had baked goods with green tea in them, but since I am an avid green tea drinker I’m sure I’d love it. I like the slight green coloring in the cookies too, it’s kind of cool looking haha
Lisa says
Thanks, Shaina! If you get a chance, you should also try green tea ice cream, too. It’s one of my all-time favorite flavors.
Faye says
I love green tea! Such a great idea to bake it into a cookie!!
Lisa says
Thanks, Faye!
GiGi Eats says
OOOOO I love the use of matcha in this recipe!!! 🙂
Lisa says
Thanks, GiGi!
Jo from yummyvege says
These look delicious! Only problem is finding matcha powder where I live…
Lisa says
Thanks, Jo, and so sad to hear about the matcha shortage! I’ve seen them sold online before, but it is quite pricey.
Marie @ Little Kitchie says
These are so creative – love it!
Lisa says
Thanks for your kind words, Marie!
Anne says
I just tried the recipe and the cookies turned out sooooo yummy! Thanks for sharing! I will certainly make another batch soon!
Lisa says
Thanks for letting me know how they turned out, Anne! So glad you liked them!
Stephanie says
Hi Lisa, I love Matcha Green Tea goodies and I am eager to try this recipe! I noticed that it requires unsweetened applesauce; how does the applesauce work in this recipe and can I substitute with something else?
Thank you!!
Lisa says
Hi Stephanie! I’m so glad that you want to make these! I used applesauce to give moisture and natural sweetness to the cookies without having to add more butter or sugar. I haven’t tried the cookies without the applesauce before, but I would add about 3 tablespoons of the vegan butter spread (or regular butter if you’re not vegan) and a few more tablespoons of sugar (about 2 to 3). Let me know if this helps!
Mo says
Hi there, If I am using regular all purpose flour should I sub it one to one?
Lisa says
Hi Mo, that’s right, one-to-one should work. Let me know how it goes!
Gemma says
Thanks, I really love to try this recipe. cookie lovers here looks delish.
Lisa Lin says
Thanks, Gemma!