Green Tea Cookies from Food Network Magazine

Although I'm not a regular subscriber, I do like to purchase the Christmas issue of Food Network Magazine each year because it usually features some new cookie recipes, and this weekend, I made the Green Tea Cookies from this issue.

These looked pretty simple, and since I already had two of the more unusual ingredients — matcha powder and coarse sugar — I was good to go. Happily, the recipe is also available online here if you're interested!

These cookies have a light but distinctive matcha taste I enjoy, and I'm curious what non-tea lovers might think about the taste since matcha is not nearly as well known a flavor as, say, chocolate chip. My only other comment about this recipe is that while I made the dough exactly as directed, I didn't have much luck rolling it out (it kept sticking to the rolling pin) or cutting it out with a scalloped cutter (the dough stuck to my plastic cutter too). Finally, I just broke off pieces of cookie dough and rolled them into the size of large gumballs, then flattened them to about 1/4 inch. Also — and I'm going to really sound like a lazy baker here — I ignored their direction to reposition the racks in the oven, which was going to involve rotating the cookies halfway through. I don't want to be a slave to the oven every 8 to 9 minutes. Instead, I test-baked one cookie, which was done after 15 minutes in the middle of the oven as usual. Easy. So I think my lazy way of making these cookies turned out just as good as theirs!

Also in this issue, there's a free pull-out booklet with ideas for gifts in a jar. One of the recipes is for Mini Lemon Scones, and I may have to try these as well. So, have any of you started any Christmas baking yet?