Japan meets Scotland and the result is wonderful. Slightly bitter matcha and cranberry shortbread bites are a real treat. They are a little bit bitter and sweet and they melt-in-your-mouth. These shortbread bites will be a great addition to your cookie platter. They are are perfect for people who have allergy to eggs or are vegetarian.
How to make matcha and cranberry shortbread bites
Everybody is saying that making a good shortbread is easy. I disagree with this statement. Making a good shortbread may seem easy but actually it requires certain knowledge and understanding of ingredients.
Many recipes are saying just mix butter with sugar and then add flour and bake. Well, please read the below tips. They will help you to avoid all the issues while making a great shortbread.
TIPS:
- BUTTER: In order to make the best shortbread you need to use the best butter. Not margarine, or any other butter substitute. Real butter at its best. I used salted butter in this recipe. If you can not find salted butter, you can use unsalted but add 1/4 tsp of table salt. The buttery indulgent taste comes from real butter, this is it.
- SUGAR: Traditional Scottish shortbread is made with standard white granulated sugar. I also used this type of sugar in this recipe. It works like a charm and is easily available everywhere. Using white granulated sugar makes shortbread airy and light but not powdery.
- FLOUR: As simple as it may be in order to make a good shortbread, you need to use a soft flour. If you did not know flour can be soft, hard or medium.
- Hard flour has a high protein content and has a good ability to form gluten. It is perfect to make bread.
- Soft flour has a low protein content and lower ability to create strong gluten. This flour is also called pastry flour or cake flour. It makes baked goods more flaky than doughy. For any shortbread recipe soft flour is the best option.
- Medium flour, also called AP flour – it is a mix of soft and hard flour and is the most commonly available in supermarkets.
Fort his recipe, apart from the 3 standard shortbread ingredients I have also used :
4. MATCHA: This is very important to pick the correct matcha powder. Usually, the choice is between:
- Ceremonial grade matcha, which has intense green colour due to the highest amount of chlorophyll. The taste is very mild, quite sweet and can be quite underwhelming when used in baking or cooking. Ceremonial grade matcha is chosen for traditional Japanese tea ceremonies.
- Daily grade matcha. It can be used as a drink or in baking and cooking. The flavour is rich and balanced. It is not too sweet and not too bitter.
- Culinary grade matcha. This is the matcha powder I use in baking and cooking. It has a robust earthy and bitter flavour. The colour is not as potent and vibrant as in the previous two matcha grades but it still creates wonderful green treats.
5. DRIED CRANBERRIES: use good quality dried cranberries and always taste them for freshness before using in a recipe.
HANDLING THE DOUGH – First i rub sugar and butter together for about 8 minutes. The I add flour and matcha and run everything together until crumbs form. Then I stir in dried cranberries. The whole secret is not to overwork the dough. Overworked dough means cakey and tough shortbread due to formation of gluten. We do not want it.
THICKESS AND SHAPING: I used mini cupcake pan for shaping these matcha and cranberry shortbread bites I have divided dough into small portions of 30 g each. I pressed each portion of dough into cavity and baked for 25-30 minutes. These shortbread bites need more time as they are quite thick.
What do matcha and cranberry shortbread bites taste like?
These green beauties have very interesting flavour. They are slightly bitter but the bitterness is wonderfully balanced by sweetness from dried sweet and tart cranberries. The texture is soft and crumbly and every bite is a delight. These matcha and cranberry shortbread bites are a perfect marriage between Japan and Scotland.
How to store matcha and cranberry shortbread bites
Store shortbread at room temperature in a cookie jar or a cookie tin. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months. In order to defrost shortbread, just take it out of the freezer and leave it at room temperature for an hour. It defrosts like a charm.
If you are looking for more shortbread recipes, I can recommend you the following:
Miso and brown butter shortbread
Amaretto and cranberry shortbread
Cured egg yolk shortbread bites
Click this link to see the best shortbread recipes
I hope you will make my recipe and if you do, please leave a comment below and let me know your feedback. You can also find me on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Gab and Gettr. Please say hi and do not forget to tag me in if you make my recipe. I love seeing your creations.
Recipe source – my own
Enjoy!
Matcha and cranberry shortbread bites
Bitter, sweet and scrumptious matcha and cranberry shortbread bites. I love making them as they are easy, taste unique and delicious.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Please read post above. It includes tips and useful information.
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Prepare mini cupcake tin, with 24 holes, set aside.
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In a medium bowl add butter and sugar, using your fingers, rub them together for about 8 minutes. Sugar needs time to dissolve slightly.
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Then add matcha and flour and rub together until crumbs form. Make sure you do not knead the dough and you do not overwork the dough. This is important. The longer you work the dough the more gluten develops. It will make shortbread doughy and this is not want you want.
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Stir in dried cranberries.
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Using a kitchen scale, divide dough into small portions of 30g each. You should get about 20-24 portions.
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Preheat oven to 175C fan (347F).
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Press each dough portion into a cupcake hole.
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Bake for 25-30 minutes.
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When baking is done, remove shortbread from oven and let it cool completely in the tin.
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When shortbread bites are cold, using a knife, remove each of them from the tin.