When I first moved to New York in the mid Eighties, I lived in the East Village with my Japanese roommate, Masako, who was studying modern dance with the Jose Limon Dance Co. With her, I learned about all things Japanese from Kabuki theater to the importance of green matcha tea in the traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. Years later, I discovered the Kyotofu cookbook by Nicole Bermensolo, an American who lived and trained in Kyoto. In this book on Japanese-inspired baking, she uses matcha and other traditional ingredients in western desserts. The outcome is no less than spectacular, as is the case in these Matcha and white chocolate chip cookies made with Matcha tea from my friends at Motechate by Ocha no Tamura.
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 pinch salt
1 egg
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp matcha green tea powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 330 degrees. Sift flour, green tea and baking soda together.
Microwave butter until it’s melted. Combine the sugar and butter together. Add the egg and salt, then mix.
Combine all powder ingredients with a spatula. Add the white chocolate.
Drop cookie dough in rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper. Leave a space between each piece of dough.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes. Serve these with a glass of Gewürztraminer wines from One Woman Vineyards. The subtle floral nose complements the matcha and the acidity in this bone dry wine is rounded out by the creamy white chocolate in the cookies.
