Healthy Matcha Shortbread Cookies
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Time to read: 8 min
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Time to read: 8 min
20 min
20 min
20 cookies
Dessert
If you love a buttery, crumbly shortbread cookie AND you need to be alert and focused, eat these cookies! Fun fact, I had no idea how much caffeine was in matcha until I ate about 6 of these cookies after dinner. I didn’t sleep all night. Luckily, I had a bunch of work that needed to get done and I pulled an all night work/matcha cookie binger and was highly productive…but I certainly don’t recommend that, lol;)
Matcha is a powdered green tea that is mainly grown in Japan. I love baking with Matcha because it adds a beautiful soft green color, an interesting depth of flavor, and most importantly, it’s high in antioxidants which protect your cells from damage and disease.
Baker BEWARE, matcha has higher levels of caffeine than other varieties of green tea. If you’re caffeine sensitive, eat these healthy matcha shortbread cookies for breakfast, eating them in the afternoon will be too stimulating and likely affect your sleep.
Matcha contains about 20-40 mg of caffeine per gram (coffee contains 10-12 mg caffeine per gram for reference). Don’t worry, I did the math for you. One batch of these cookies contains 200-400 mg total caffeine, meaning each cookie has 10-20mg of caffeine. I tell my patients to keep their daily caffeine intake below 100 mg (which is 1 cup of coffee). Please consume these delightful, sophisticated cookies mindfully.
I love these cookies made with Whole-Grain and Grain-Free Flour. The Whole-Grain Swap cookies will have a few extra healthy carbs, but I love the earth flavor these cookies have. The Grain-Free will provide a keto/paleo version which is equally delicious but has a more nutty flavor. Although I didn’t test this recipe using both flours in equal parts (for this recipe it would be ½ cup Whole-Grain plus ½ cup Grain Free Flour to equal the full 1 cup of Flour Swap the recipe calls for), that is usually my favorite taste/texture preference and I bet they would turn out amazing in this cookie.
For most of my patients, I’m a big advocate for balanced macro meals breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here is an easy way to know what type of Flour Swap to choose to create a balanced macro meal. We’ll use dinner as an example. If your dinner consists of just protein and veggies, I recommend eating Whole-Grain Swap cookies for dessert to serve as your healthy carb for that meal. Conversely, if you already had a healthy carb with dinner (quinoa, sweet potato, beans, etc), I would recommend the Grain-Free Swap cookies for dessert so you don’t overeat carbs at that meal. Easy, right! Balanced macro meals are the best thing you can do to keep your metabolism firing optimally, create blood sugar stability and keep you feeling full and satisfied throughout your day (or night). If you’re a diabetic or need to stay in ketosis, always bake using the Grain-Free Flour Swap.
I wanted to create a sophisticated dessert that would also be appropriate for a St. Patrick's Day celebration. After living in Savannah, Georgia for a few years, I always celebrate in my own unique way. Usually it involves a cold craft beer, Irish music, homemade loaf of soda bread, and a healthy green dessert (to balance out the unhealthy aforementioned indulgences:).
There are two easy ways to turn your favorite desserts green, Matcha and Chlorella. I love the simplicity of shortbread, you can really taste each individual ingredient flavor in the finished cookie. A small amount of Matcha goes a long way, too much will create a bitter, plant flavor. I searched for Matcha Shortbread recipes online and I found a few 5-star recipes that looked promising. I did a 1:1 Swap for the flour/sugar/butter, but I reduced the matcha by half. Thank goodness my intuition was right. My detoxed cookies have the perfect balance of buttery shortbread with a lightly sweetened matcha flavor. If you LOVE matcha and want a stronger flavor, use 2 tablespoons instead of 1 in this recipe. The only other adjustment I made to the original recipe was reducing the baking time on the Grain-Free cookies. Coconut and almond flour are delicate and burn more easily so watch your cookies closely. Another good option to ensure you don’t burn your cookies would be reducing oven temperature to 300 degrees and baking your cookies a little longer.
Dry ingredients:
Wet ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
1. Mix dry ingredients well, making sure to break up any clumps of Powdered Sugar Swap.
2. Add Butter Swap and vanilla extract and mix well.
3. Use clean hands to continue mixing and kneading the dough. It should be crumbly but stick together when pressed. Add a little avocado oil or EVOO if needed for consistency.
4. Form the dough into 1” balls and place them on your parchment lined tray.
5. Bake for about 18 minutes (about 16 minutes for Grain-Free). Watch closely after about 15 minutes so the bottoms don’t burn.
6. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking tray.
7. Roll them in more Powdered Sugar Swap mixed with a pinch or two of matcha powder if desired.
8. Transfer the cookies to a sealed container and refrigerate overnight to completely set. The cookies will become hard and crumbly after they’ve completely cooled.
For a fun and healthy St. Patricks Day deep green color, consider adding a pinch or two of green chlorella powder to your Powdered Sugar Swap for your final rolling. This will add an extra burst of green to your finished healthy matcha shortbread cookie.
Store sealed in the refrigerator for up to 7 days or freeze for long term storage.
Prep Time | Bake Time | Total Time |
20 minutes | 17 minutes | 37 minutes |
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories per serving: 140 cal
Although not guaranteed, we have gone above and beyond to provide you with the most accurate nutritional information for this recipe.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients well, making sure to break up any clumps of Powdered Sugar Swap.
3. Add Butter Swap and vanilla extract and mix well. Use clean hands to continue mixing and kneading the dough. It should be crumbly but stick together when pressed. Add a little avocado oil or EVOO if needed for consistency.
4. Form the dough into 1” balls and place them on your parchment lined tray.
5. Bake for about 18 minutes (about 16 minutes for Grain-Free). Watch closely after about 15 minutes so the bottoms don’t burn.
6. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking tray.
7. Roll them in more Powdered Sugar Swap mixed with a pinch or two of matcha powder if desired. Transfer the cookies to a sealed container and refrigerate overnight to completely set. The cookies will become hard and crumbly after they’ve completely cooled.
*An important note on carbs:
Net carbohydrates are the sum total of carbohydrates that convert into glucose (therefore raise blood sugar) in the body. Anyone following a keto or diabetic diet should count net carbs NOT total carbs. To determine net carbs, simply subtract the fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrates on the nutrition label. If you count macronutrients (carbs, fats, protein) you should always count net carbs, not total carbs.