Healthy Matcha Shortbread Cookies

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.

• Make sure your Butter Swap is well stirred and at room temperature before making your cookies, oil separation is normal in the Butter Swap. If you have trouble stirring your Butter Swap until smooth, pour the entire jar in the blender.  Your Butter Swap will stay smooth for months after a quick blend!
• Let your dough rest for about 5 minutes after you’ve blended the wet and dry ingredients, then knead with clean hands for another minute.
• Your dough will be crumbly but should hold together when pressed. If your dough is too dry to stick together, simply add some avocado oil or extra-virgin olive oil. The avocado oil is neutral in flavor so that is my preference. EVOO will impart some flavor to the finished cookies so only use EVOO if you enjoy the flavor of olive oil. I experimented with both healthy oils and enjoyed the variations equally.
• Try to keep your cookies the same size for even baking time. They won’t spread as they bake because these cookies do not contain a leavening agent like baking soda or powder.
• Don’t overbake! Every oven is different, watch your first batch closely, remove them when the tops start to crack (this happens more in the Whole-Grain Flour) and the bottoms turn golden. They will continue to bake on the hot cookie sheet after you remove them from the oven. The 16 minute approximate baking time is for 1”cookies, so if you decide to make larger cookies, they will need a longer baking time.
• These matcha shortbread cookies will become semi-hard and crumbly when they’ve completely cooled. They are soft and fragile straight out of the oven so don’t move them from the cookie sheet until they are cooled.