Making cookies and customizing them with tea is so much fun! The possibilities are endless, especially if you grab a basic cookie recipe like a shortbread and add different kinds of tea. This recipe is so easy and the cookies are so basic that it’s a perfect choice to customize and make different types of tea shortbread cookies. This time, I chose Hojicha and a David’s Tea choco-mint blend called read my lips.
I’m obsessed with Hojicha and Hojicha lattes (one of my top morning choices!) so I’ve been wanting to bake with it for a while. Hojicha is a roasted japanese green tea with a toasty/nutty flavor. Just like Matcha, but much less common, it can also be finely ground until a talc-like powder is achieved, but it’s brown. I recently bought some Hojicha powder to test some recipes and share them here (scroll to the bottom of the post to see where to buy).
I can think of so many things I would bake and add Hojicha powder… It will add a toasty/nutty flavor to any recipe, so it would work perfectly well with almond or coconut flour, any recipe that includes nuts or is creamy. I mean, I could replace Matcha with Hojicha powder for most Matcha recipes out there and try them out!
I was definitely inspired by Bonnie’s tea shortbread coins but I switched up the teas she used. Besides the Hojicha powder, I also used a heavy blended tea with a choco-mint flavor (that I personally wouldn’t choose to drink) with some chocolate chips and lip shaped candy inclusions that seemed perfect for making cookies.
This recipe is enough to make over 2 dozens of 2 inch diameter cookies so I divided the batter in half to create the 2 different flavors. The half with Hojicha powder was dark brown and tasted strongly nutty and toasty. The other half with the ground tea leaves tasted like after eight, but more subtle. Perfect choice for making cookies.
*I separated all the lip shaped candy and the chocolate chips from the tea leaves and ground the tea in a coffee grinder. Then, I mixed them back together so I could add them to the cookie batter.
I encourage you to try this recipe with different types of tea. Try other blended ones, especially those with strong flavorings should work quite well here. Just remember to grind de leaves and herbs before you add them to the batter. If the blend has some inclusion that makes sense to keep whole in the cookies, like the candy lips and chocolate chips in this case, separate them before grinding and then mix in back again in the batter.
The result was simply delicious! This recipe makes buttery cookies that melt in your mouth. The tea gives them such a special flavor worth of having them on their own or accompanied by tea.
- 1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- For Hojicha variation: 2 teaspoons Hojicha powder
- For choco-mint/other teas variation: 2-3 full tablespoons of loose leaf tea
- Using a mixer, cream the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Sift flour and pinch of salt. Use your hands to combine all ingredients.
- Divide mixture in half and place into two bowls. Add the Hojicha powder to one half and the ground loose leaf tea to the other. Use your hands to combine each, until mixture is homogeneous.
- Roll each mixture into a log shape and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Remove wrap and re-roll on a flat surface making sure the log is smooth and even. Re-wrap loosely and refrigerate for 15 more minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Remove the logs from the fridge, unwrap and use a sharp knife to cut 1/2 inch thick cookies.
- Place cookies in a baking sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for about 5 days
