To know me is to know how very much I love cookies. Of all desserts, the cookie is the sweet treat in its finest form. Being pretty heavily Vata on the Ayurvedic spectrum, sweets are said to pacify and soothe this airy dosha (energy type). So a warm cookie feels like an idea worth entertaining, right?
That being said, I am turned off by overly sweet sweets — really saccharine, one-note things that are usually heavily processed and individually wrapped (and that inevitably make me ready for a nap within 20 minutes). I gravitate towards desserts with a touch of the savory, salty, or bitter. Enter Matcha. It’s rich and slightly vegetal but still delicate, making it a perfect contender for baking and my dessert leanings.
It is also a beautiful ingredient in its own right, which lets me do my favorite thing — pretend the cookie is an important part of my daily ritual. Matcha is rich in antioxidants and naturally green with chlorophyll, and it has been enjoyed in Japan for centuries.
This Matcha sesame cookie recipe, in addition to all of the magic provided by its star ingredient, green tea, also has the bragging rights of containing no refined sugar, plus the supporting cast of flax meal and the humble sesame seed. Flax brings fiber, omega-3s and protein, while sesame seeds are a source of calcium, iron and potassium, among others.
The result is a not-too-sweet, complex flavor in tiny cookie form. It’s perfectly chewy, light and dreamy — a lovely little green pillow for your taste buds. Enjoy!
Matcha Sesame Cookies
Ingredients1 flax egg (1 tbsp. flax meal + 2.5 tbsp water) 2 ½ tbsp. coconut oil (melted) 3 tbsp. maple syrup 2 tsp. vanilla extract (I love Mexican vanilla) 1 ½ cups almond flour 1 ½ tsp. Sun Potion White Dragon Matcha ¼ tsp. flaky sea salt ¼ tsp. baking soda Sprinkling of sesame seeds (about 1-2 tsp.; I used white here but black sesame seeds are great too) |
MethodPreheat oven to 325° F Combine flax and water in a small bowl; let rest for 3-5 minutes. Melt coconut oil. Add in maple syrup, vanilla, and flax egg. Combine together. In a separate bowl, mix the almond flour, Matcha, salt, and baking soda, just enough to remove any clumps and incorporate the matcha. The result should be a nice green powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, about ¼ at a time. Fold together gently; don’t overwork. Cover the bowl of dough with a cloth or wax wrap and place in the fridge to firm for 8-10 minutes. The chilled dough will be easier to work with. Remove from the fridge and using a spoon and your hands, make the dough into small balls, the size of a chocolate truffle or a gumball. Leave at least a couple of inches between cookies on the baking sheet (a silicone baking mat or parchment paper both work well). You’ll have 14 cookies. Flatten the cookies slightly with your hand, spatula, or I use the bottom of a measuring cup. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and use your flat hand to gently press the seeds into the dough. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Cool on a baking rack. Or, start putting them directly into your mouth right from the baking sheet, fresh out of the oven, like me. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these matcha cookies vegan?
Yes. A flax egg replaces the egg, and the recipe uses coconut oil and maple syrup rather than butter or refined sugar.
How much matcha goes into the dough?
One and a half teaspoons of White Dragon Matcha across 14 cookies. Sift it with the dry ingredients so it disperses evenly and the dough turns a clean green.
Why chill the dough?
Eight to ten minutes in the fridge firms the coconut oil, which makes the dough far easier to roll into balls.
Can I use black sesame seeds?
Yes — black sesame looks striking against the green and tastes just as good.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
