Matcha tea cookies! (green tea cookies)

Hey guys,

Sorry about not getting this out yesterday. I have been so busy with school and work that I just don't have a lot of extra time... Anyway, You guys don't want to hear anything about that. As I said last week I decided to create this post! What I love about matcha is that its healthy and well green... It fits for all Hallows eve! I know its not the 31st yet but its not everyday that you make green cookies so its very fitting for this month. Matcha has plenty of benefits!
Heres just a few:
1. High in Antioxidants

2. Loaded with Catechin, EGCg
3. Enhances Calm
4. Boosts Memory and Concentration
5. Increases Energy Levels and Endurance
6. Burns Calories
7. Detoxifies the Body
8. Fortifies the Immune System
9. Improves Cholesterol
10. Amazing Flavor
 If you're a tea lover than I would give this a try. Yes its green and yes its an earthy flavor but I don't know why you wouldn't try it. I mean did you read the benefits?

Ingredients:
3/4 (2.25 oz.) cup confectioner’s sugar
1 1/2 tbsps matcha green tea powder
10 tbsps (5 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup (8.5 oz.) flour
3 large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar (to coat the dough)

Directions:

Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and matcha powder together. Beat the butter and matcha sugar mixture together in a stand mixer (use paddle attachment) until the butter is smooth and light. Add the flour and stir until just combined. Mix in the egg yolks until they are incorporated and the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten it into a thick disc. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until it is firm. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness. Use a small cookie cutter (about 2-inches) to cut shapes from the dough. (*Note: I didn’t have a 2-inch cookie cutter, so I used a 1-inch cookie cutter and it worked quite well.) Roll the cut shapes in granulated sugar and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes (13 minutes for me) or until they begin to turn golden at the edges. Makes about 5 dozen 1-inch cookies (probably 3 dozen 2-inch cookies). Store in airtight container away from sunlight as the color will fade with exposure to sun.

So when I first made these cookies I loved the smell of the dough being made and it really made me want to be outside. Sadly, it was super hot out. I mean so hot you could hardly breath.... Here in MN that's around 90 degrees. At first I wasn't sure how this overpowering tea was going to work with some short bread cookies but it really worked and I loved it! My roommate actually loved them more than I did and ate all of them! Haha! Right out of my freezer! I always keep about 6 cookies in a small jar and I always put the rest into the freezer. It keeps your cookies fresh and sometimes you just need an ice cold cookie! What I love bout short bread cookies is that it doesn't get hard and gross it just is cold and when you bite into it, its still fluffy and Delicious. Well Again I'm sorry that this post came out so late but I believe its still a good one!

Ta ta for now,
Lil' Char

London Fog Cookies!

This recipe is awesome! If you love tea and love cookies then I think you should try this one! It has an amazing blend of earl gray tea and vanilla beans, that you just want to eat more and more. Plus it gives you energy! Haha, earl gray tea has caffeine in it and so when you mix it with a bunch of sugar you get an energy overload! Just wait until I post about the matcha cookies.... Those have a bunch of caffeine in it but this post is about Earl Gray tea cookies or London Fog cookies.
These cookies are an adaption of the drink. Its basically a Earl Gray latte! I actually made it as I was making the cookies and it was so good and it made me so excited to make the cookies. So in the festive spirit for making these cookies I decided to add the recipe for London Fog Tea! Sorry no picture of my tea!

For the tea,

Ingredients:

1 tea bag of earl gray tea
1/2 cup milk (any kind or soy milk. I used soy milk)
1 TBSP sugar. (I used German rock sugar... about 5 pieces)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract.

Directions:

Brew the tea in a small amount of water. Once the tea has steeped for about 3- 5 minutes depending on how strong you like it add the water. You can also heat the milk or make it a cold drink. I made mine with warmed soy milk! Mix in the sugar and vanilla extract and enjoy! See, easy as pie!!!!

For the short bread cookies,

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 vanilla bean split and scraped
 2 tbsp. Earl Grey Tea (about 3 tea bags)

 Directions:

Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer.  Add the vanilla, vanilla bean, and the tea.  Add the flour and mix until the dough comes together.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 mins.  Pre-heat the oven to 350F.  Roll out the dough to a little less then 1/4" on a well floured surface.  Cut out desired shapes.  Place on parchment lined baking sheets.  Chill the cut cookies for at least 20 mins. before baking.  Bake the cookies for about 12 mins. or until the edges are just barely brown.  Cool on wire racks.

These cookies freeze well in an air tight container.

Side note: It was hard to find vanilla beans. I think I went to a couple of grocery stores but couldn't find them. If you live around a Lunds I would go there or you can go to the baking isle in a craft store... I didn't know about that until a few days ago but you can bye vanilla bean paste. If you go that rough then you'll need to know that it is roughly a TBSP of bean paste for on bean! This will come in handy later on if you like to bake a lot!

Well you guys already know how much I love this recipe!!! I couldn't help but include the drink recipe. I loved it so much that I had to include it. I tried this drink for the first time at a starbucks... Now normally I'm not one for starbucks but that was all I could get into... there was a huge line and I ventured in. The girl behind the counter said that I should try this because I wanted something that had Earl Gray tea in it. She was actually from Canada, so she made it for me and I couldn't get enough of it! I looked up the recipe when I got home and found the cookie recipe and the drink recipe! It was a wonderful thing! Now that its fall here in the crazy state of Minnesota, I can enjoy it warm! Before I was enjoying it cold and believe me that it is just as good then! The cookies have this butter taste mixed with the tea and its amazing! I loved that they weren't overly sweet and not super earl gray- ish! It just goes well with a nice cup of tea or any meal as your sweet treat! I hope you guys stay around for the next cookie I make! As I said before they are called Matcha green tea cookies! Yep, I'm in the mood for tea cookies and I hope you guys are too!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

So along the lines of eating healthy and I decided to find some vegan cookies. Chocolate chip is a good one to start out with! Mainly because I don't know anyone who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies! I found this recipe in one of my cookbooks. Its called Chloe's Vegan Desserts by Chloe Coscarelli. I've also made a Vegan Milk shake from this cookbook and it was awesome! Anyway, During my vegetarian month I decided to buy a couple cookbooks that were different than the ones I have so this happened to be one.


Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 TBS arrow root or corn starch (I used arrowroot. I found it in the organic section in my grocery store)
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup vegan butter or margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 TBS pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line some cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, arrowroot, baking soda, and salt.
3. With a stand or hand mixer, mix together brown sugar, butter, sugar, water and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy. Slowly mix in the flour mixture.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Make sure the cookies are about 1 .
Tablespoons. Bake for 10- 12 minutes.
6. Let cookies cool and enjoy!


So the first time I made this recipe it was a flop. I couldn't figure out what we did wrong... Well until today when I decided to make it again. The first time I didn't use my mixer and I tried to mix it by hand. That doesn't work. Actually is makes your cookies look like pancakes. Next I melted my butter in the microwave but when we mixed everything together it got all soupy. So the next time I tried making them I left the butter out until it was at room temperature. It looked a lot better and actually got fluffy! I was really excited at this point that I couldn't wait to finish this! Sadly I think I ate more cookie dough than cookies.

I was so excited when these cookies turned out that I almost forgot to try it! What I found out was even thought the first batch of cookies I made didn't turned out they still tasted good! My roommates didn't like them as much as I did but maybe its because it doesn't have any eggs or animal products. Or maybe it was because I told them they were vegan before they tried them. I still think they ended up awesomely! I hope you guys try this recipe and enjoy it as much as I did!

Ta Ta for now,
Lil' Char

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay guys, so I found this on yet again Pinterest! the only problem I had was finding who actually posted it originally so I can't give you much information on that. I will say that whoever did had found or created an amazing recipe!

Ingredients-

2 ripe bananas
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 heaping spoonful of peanut butter


Directions-

Mash all ingredients together and roll into a ball. I didn't smash mine down and it basically stayed in a ball so I would suggest pressing down a little bit. Then bake at 350 for 15 minutes! It's that simple!


Oh my gosh guys these cookies are healthy and simple! My roommates boyfriend just ate them up! I did let him though. Sorry this recipe is so simple but it was so good I had to post it! The recipe really only makes like 8 cookies depending on how big you make them. The picture on the pan is actually cooked.

Lil' Char