So I have recently stepped into the world of Matcha, and let me tell you, it’s a blast. When I’m looking for a jitter free pick-me-up, matcha is my new go to. I love its bright green color and fresh flavor. After a matcha buying disaster, which i’ll fill you in on (just keep reading), I had a pound of non drinkable culinary grade matcha to use. So in the spirit of green food (Yay, St. Patrick’s Day) and finding a way to use my pound of matcha, we got these AIP Healthy Matcha Cookies. The honey and matcha pair perfectly in this cookie for the ultimate green matcha dessert, and as always they are AIP, Paleo, and Vegan Friendly.
Why Matcha?
I used to be a chronic coffee consumer. Every day was 2-3 cups of coffee at any time of the day, morning, noon, or night. When I started the elimination phase of the AIP diet I cut caffeine out completely. Which meant goodbye coffee. After being completely off of caffeine and reintroducing it into my diet I began to notice my body’s reactions to coffee: jitters, increased feelings of anxiety, excessive sweating, and indigestion. I knew that with the way my body was responding to coffee I couldn’t keep it as a part of my everyday diet.
So I stepped into the world of tea, which has treated my body much more gently. I recently introduced matcha as an occasional drink on days I need an extra energy boost, and have found that matcha does not produce the same side effects as coffee. Unlike the caffeine in coffee, which instantly hits the bloodstream, the caffeine in matcha enters into the bloodstream at half the pace of the caffeine in coffee and contains an amino acid that promotes relaxation.
My Matcha Disaster & The Blessing of Healthy Matcha Cookies
My husband actually bought me the first round of matcha, and the last time we were in the states I decided to buy some more. The problem was, I knew absolutely nothing about buying matcha. I looked on Amazon to try and find a good deal– not too expensive but not too cheap. I didn’t buy the ceremonial grade, because I wasn’t using my matcha for a ceremony so I thought the culinary grade would work just fine. It turns out there is a BIG difference between culinary grade matcha and ceremonial matcha. Ceremonial grade matcha is smooth, bright green and carries a fresher flavor, while culinary grade is gritty, dull, and a bit bitter.
So, what do you do when you have a pound of culinary grade matcha? Well, you bake with it. You can thank my incompetence for this recipe, otherwise I never would have used my matcha in experimental baking😅
Ok, let's skip to the good part: Tips on Making Healthy Matcha Cookies
What kind of matcha should I buy?
If you are buying matcha, I 100% recommend not making my mistake of buying culinary grade matcha and only buying ceremonial grade matcha. Like I mentioned earlier, ceremonial grade matcha has a brighter green color, a fresh earthy flavor, and a smooth texture. Culinary grade matcha is really only good for baking and maybe adding to smoothies. So if you want a more pleasurable matcha experience and cookies with a vibrant green color, go with the ceremonial grade matcha.
How can I make this recipe vegan?
If you want this recipe to be vegan, simply swap the honey with maple syrup or another liquid sweetener. The measurements should be an easy one-to-one swap.
Do these cookies have caffeine?
I was surprised when I found this out, but caffeine does not reduce in baked goods. This recipe is the equivalent of one and a half cups of matcha. Caffeine content varies depending on the matcha, but this will be about 90 mg of caffeine. To find out how much caffeine is in a cookie, just divide the caffeine content by the number of cookies you make. If you are super sensitive to caffeine, be careful about eating these cookies before going to sleep!
Instrutions for how to make AIP Healthy Matcha Cookies
In a small bowl, mix together the cassava flour, arrowroot flour, coconut flour, matcha, baking soda, and salt. Set this bowl aside to add into the wet ingredients later.
In a larger bowl mix together the coconut oil and palm shortening until smooth. You may need to add the oil to the palm shortening a little at a time to make sure that the palm shortening does not clump up. This works best when both the ingredients are at room temperature.
Next add in the honey and vanilla extract and coconut milk to the oil and shortening. Mix again until everything is well blended. Take the bowl of dry ingredients and slowly add them to the wet ingredients.
Scoop the dough into 9-12 balls of dough. The dough will spread on the cookie sheet, so make sure there is plenty of room between the cookies.
Bake for 8-10 minutes on 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet before moving them so that the cookies don’t fall apart. Enjoy your delicious AIP Matcha Cookie or store them in an airtight container to keep fresh.
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Healthy Matcha Cookies (AIP, Paleo, Vegan friendly)
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Cassava flour
- ¼ Cup Arrowroot flour
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut flour
- 1 ½ Teaspoon Matcha powder
- ½ Teaspoon Baking soda
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Cup Coconut oil Room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons Palm shortening Room temperature
- ¼ Cup Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut milk
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the cassava flour, arrowroot flour, coconut flour, matcha, baking soda, and salt. Set this bowl aside to add into the wet ingredients later.
- In a larger bowl mix together the coconut oil and palm shortening until smooth. You may need to add the oil to the palm shortening a little at a time to make sure that the palm shortening does not clump up and mixes well with the oil.
- Next, add in the honey, vanilla extract, and coconut milk to the oil and shortening. Mix again until everything is well blended.
- Take the bowl of dry ingredients and slowly add them to the wet ingredients.
- Scoop the dough into 9-12 balls of dough. The dough will spread on the cookie sheet, so make sure there is plenty of room between the cookies.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes on 350 degrees fahrenheit. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet before moving them so that the cookies don't fall apart.
