Prep Time : 45 Minutes | Cook Time : 15 Minutes | Total Time : 2 hours | Difficulty : Easy
Hello my lovelies! I did say I would annoy you with Japan things. Matcha is a favourite flavour of mine and I’ve already posted a few recipes using it. Coconut and Matcha are excellent friends. The sweet nuttiness of coconut goes well with the smooth grassy brightness of the tea. I ate so many perfectly flavoured matcha things in Tokyo. Smooth dreamy custards. Melting chocolate truffles. Kitkats. None had the bitterness that can creep in when the matcha is a little old or the flavours not well balanced. Buy a small amount of matcha and use it quickly so the flavour stays true and sweet. Matcha is also a great ingredient for this time of year. It’s green and glorious without artificial colouring and goes well with strawberries which are at their best around Christmas time in NZ.
I have made my cookies as ginko leaves as a little ode to the trees of Tokyo and so I can use the cutter I got at the Tsukiji Outer Market. At this time of year go with whatever festive shapes speak to you. You should use a metal cutter though as a plastic one may not be able to get through the coconut bits and choose something without too many intricate details.
To get the most coconutty flavour we are going to toast our coconut. Use the finest coconut you can – the brands do vary in how finely they shred it so peer into the packets. Pop it into a small non-stick pan and put it over a low heat. Stir the coconut all the time and watch it carefully. It won’t do anything for a while. Do not turn up the heat. All of a sudden it will start to brown. Keep stirring and when it’s mostly golden take it off the heat and tip the coconut into a cold bowl to stop it cooking.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, coconut extract and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
Add the coconut and mix through. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until an even dough forms.
Tip the dough out onto the bench and bring together into a disc. Wrap the dough and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Heat the oven to 180C (350F). Line baking sheets with baking paper.
Divide the dough in half and roll out one half. It’s just a more manageable size this way. You want the dough to be about 3mm thick. Using a smallish cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can. Preferably choose something symmetrical.
Repeat with the other half of the dough. Gather together the scraps of both halves and roll out one more time. Cut out as many more cookies as you can. I have a three-roll maximum to prevent cookies getting tough so you can roll the scraps out one more time if you want to get every last cookie.
Work out how many cookies you have. Set half of them onto cookie sheets. If you used an asymmetrical cutter turn half of them upside down. Place them in pairs on the sheets so you can keep track. If the weather is warm and the dough is getting soft, pop the cookies into the fridge on their trays for 10 minutes before baking.
Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes until golden at the edges. Rotate the trays halfway through baking.
Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely before filling.
To make the filling melt the butter and white chocolate together.
With a hand-held mixer or in a standing mixer, whip all the ingredients together. Keep whipping as it cools and it will thicken and fluff a bit. It it feels a little stiff add a few drops more cream and if it’s a bit soft add a little more icing sugar.
Sandwich the cookies together. It is easiest to pipe the filling. Leave a little border as you pipe so that you can squeeze the cookies gently to make sure they stick together without the filling going everywhere.
Leave the cookies to set up a bit – the filling will firm up over the next little while. Decorate festively if you wish.
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Coconut + Matcha Sandwich Cookies
Prep Time : 45 mins | Cook Time : 15 mins | Total Time : 2 hours | Difficulty : Easy
Makes : 30 to 40 sandwich cookies depending on size
Crisp golden coconut cookies with creamy matcha and white chocolate filling.
Ingredients:
For the cookies
- 1/2 cup (50 grams) fine shred unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 9 tablespoons (125 grams) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) caster/superfine sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
For the filling:
- 50 grams white chocolate, chopped
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 cup (150 grams) icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon matcha powder
– If using metric cups, reduce volume measures by 1 tablespoon for every cup of dry or liquid ingredients –
Equipment:
- Standing or hand-held electric mixer
- Cookie sheets lined with baking paper
- metal cookie cutters
- piping bag and plain nozzle or zip-lock bag with the corner cut off
Directions:
To get the most coconutty flavour we are going to toast our coconut. Use the finest coconut you can – the brands do vary in how finely they shred it so peer into the packets. Pop it into a small non-stick pan and put it over a low heat. Stir the coconut all the time and watch it carefully. It won’t do anything for a while. Do not turn up the heat. All of a sudden it will start to brown. Keep stirring and when it’s mostly golden take it off the heat and tip the coconut into a cold bowl to stop it cooking.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, coconut extract and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Add the coconut and mix through. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until an even dough forms.
Tip the dough out onto the bench and bring together into a disc. Wrap the dough and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Heat the oven to 180C (350F). Line baking sheets with baking paper.
Divide the dough in half and roll out one half. It’s just a more manageable size this way. You want the dough to be about 3mm thick. Using a smallish cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can. Preferably choose something symmetrical. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Gather together the scraps of both halves and roll out one more time.
Cut out as many more cookies as you can. I have a three-roll maximum to prevent cookies getting tough so you can roll the scraps out one more time if you want to get every last cookie. Work out how many cookies you have. Set half of them onto cookie sheets. If you used an asymmetrical cutter turn half of them upside down. Place them in pairs on the sheets so you can keep track.
If the weather is warm and the dough is getting soft, pop the cookies into the fridge on their trays for 10 minutes before baking. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes until golden at the edges. Rotate the trays halfway through baking. Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely before filling.
To make the filling melt the butter and white chocolate together. With a hand-held mixer or in a standing mixer, whip all the ingredients together. Keep whipping as it cools and it will thicken and fluff a bit. It it feels a little stiff add a few drops more cream and if it’s a bit soft add a little more icing sugar.
Sandwich the cookies together. It is easiest to pipe the filling. Leave a little border as you pipe so that you can squeeze the cookies gently to make sure they stick together without the filling going everywhere. Leave the cookies to set up a bit – the filling will firm up over the next little while.
Decorate festively if you wish.
Cook’s Notes:
- If your cookies have untidy edges it’s easier to bake them first and tidy stray bits of coconut up later when they’re crisp and brittle.
- Make sure your matcha is fresh so it doesn’t have any bitter flavour notes.
– These cookies will keep well filled at room temperature in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Unfilled cookies will keep for up to 10 days so fill closer to when you need them –
Adapted from Festive Baking by Sarah Kelly Iaia.
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