Green Tea Shortbread Trees

These Green Tea Cookies are easy cutout shortbread cookies that you can make in any shape you like. The pretty green color is perfect for the holidays, and the cookies are sweet and crunchy.

I love shortbread cookies, and these green tea cookies are a new favorite. The natural green color makes them perfect for Christmas, especially if you use a tree-shaped cookie cutter to cut them out.

I found a recipe for green tea shortbread cookies on Project Foodie. The last time I tried to make green tea shortbread cookies, I had trouble with the dough. The dough for this green tea cookie recipe is much easier to work with.

These are great holiday cookies because they’re easy to make. I love that they’re naturally green already, so I don’t think you need to add sprinkles or food coloring to the cookies. I also love that you don’t need eggs to make the recipe since I didn’t have any on hand.

I really love the texture and flavor – the cookies came out sweet and crunchy. I could munch on these all day long.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Butter
• Matcha powder
• Granulated sugar

Flour: I used all purpose flour for this recipe. I haven’t tested it with alternative flours.

Butter: I cut the butter into small pieces so it’s easier to cream with the sugar.

Matcha powder: I use ceremonial-grade matcha powder for baking because the color is vibrant. You can learn more in my post about baking with matcha powder.

How to Make Matcha Cookies

Whisk the flour and salt in a small mixing bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) until it’s creamy. Add the matcha powder and beat it into the butter until the color is uniform. Beat in the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Slowly add about half of the dry ingredients while mixing at low speed. Slowly add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until combined.

At this point, the dough will be crumbly, but if you squeeze it, it should hold together. Gather the dough and form it into a ball.

Place the dough ball on a piece of parchment paper and press it down. Top it with another piece of parchment, and then roll out the dough between the parchment so it is 1/3″ thick.

Cut out the cookies and then reroll the dough as needed to cut more. Try to cut as many as possible so you don’t have to keep rerolling.

Place the cookie dough cutouts on a baking sheet lined with parchment and chill them in the refrigerator for one hour.

Once they are chilled, transfer them to a new sheet pan lined with parchment and bake the cookies for about 17 minutes at 325°F. The cookies are done once the edges start to lightly brown.

Storage Tips

You can make the dough a day ahead and leave it in the refrigerator to roll out later. The dough will be very stiff if you do this, but it will warm up as you roll it out.

Once the cookies are baked, allow them to cool to room temperature. You can serve them right away or store them in an airtight container for up to a week.

You can freeze matcha cookies, too. Once they are cool, store them in a freezer bag or container for up to a month.

If you like the taste of green tea, I think you will enjoy these shortbread cookies. I’ll definitely make another batch to share as gifts for the holidays.

More Green Tea Cookie Recipes

• ​Matcha Green Tea Leaves (Cut Out Cookies)
• Chewy Matcha Mochi Cookies
• Crispy, Chewy Matcha Green Tea Cookies
• Green Tea Snowball Cookies
• Soft Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies

Green Tea Shortbread Tree Cookies

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 17 minutes minutes

Total Time: 47 minutes minutes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Matcha powder gives these cookies a natural green color that’s perfect for the holidays. The dough is very easy to work with and the cookies are crisp and sweet.

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Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• a pinch of salt
• 1 cup butter cut into small pieces
• 2 1/2 tbsp high-quality matcha green tea powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

• Whisk flour and salt together in a small bowl.
• In a separate bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add matcha powder and beat until mixture is a uniform green color. Add sugar continue beating until light and fluffy.
• Add about half of the flour, then mix on low speed. Gradually add remaining flour, mixing just until blended. The mixture should look crumbly; but if you squeeze it between your fingers, it will come together. Gather the dough into a large ball.
• Roll out dough to 1/3-inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper. Peel off top parchment paper.
• Cut out as many cookies as possible using cookie cutter and place on cookie sheets 1-inch apart. Re-roll remaining dough and repeat until all of the dough is used up. Refrigerate cut outs for one hour.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Bake for about 17 minutes or until the cookies are dry and firm to the touch. The edges might just start turning brown.

Notes

Recipe slightly adapted from DeDe Wilson's recipe found on Project Foodie

The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.

Did you make this recipe?I'd love to see it! Mention @KirbieCravings and tag #kirbiecravings!