So I am going to go green tea cookies with white chocolate. I'll use a "ravioli" technique. LOL. This means I'll cut the dough into cookie circles but on half of those circles, I'll place chopped up pieces of premium white chocolate and I'll use the remaining circles as tops to pinch down on each bottom circle, making the cookies look like enclosed pockets. Once all of that is done, I'll bake them this way and they should come out moist and chewy with creamy white chocolate centers. Hmmm...I might even whip up some royal icing for decorations on the cookies (green and white or just white) or I'll think of something else. I want these to be attractive as well as tasty.
BTW, curious about matcha powder? I love the stuff. It can be used in so many ways. You can use it to make your own tea, to bake and cook with, as a dye agent, and for medicinal purposes. Many juice bars and coffee shops add green tea powder to smoothies, shakes and juices. It is used in ice creams, creams, puddings and dough mixes and Japan uses it extensively in wagashi and agar desserts (don't get me started on my intrigue of this amazing category of Japanese desserts). The higher quality green tea powders will be stronger and sweeter in flavor, and yes...more expensive. I paid a good deal for my green tea powder at surfas. When I put my finger into the bag for a dab and tasted it, it was indeed sweet and very distinctive. The smell is the green tea powder is earthy, calming, and highly aromatic. A good and quick drink to make with green tea (if you like soy or nut milks like I do) is to put some green tea powder (couple of teaspoons or to your liking) into a blender of soy milk (2 cups), add cane sugar, honey or agave nectar, and then add ice and blend well. Easy drink and can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Inside Info: I've yet to try this but will now that I've given it more thought, but since green tea powder consists of so many amino acids, I bet it is excellent for the skin. Amino acids help to keep skin supple, smooth, and moisturized. Anytime skin is excessively dry, ashy or damaged, there are a lack of amino acids at skin site. Collagen in the skin is comprised of an abundance of amino acids so that they act of building blocks for any skin damage and for maintenance of the skin over time. I figure, the best way to use green tea powder (outside of drinking it in teas and self-made potions) for the skin is to make a paste out of it with a little bit of water and apply it to the skin, especially the face, for a beauty treatment. Leaving it on for at least 20-30 minutes would be ideal to take any effect. After that, I'd wash it off. I will definitely be trying this. If anyone else has tried this, I'd love to hear your experience with it. I'm a fanatic for anything related to naturopathy, alternative medicine, and natural beauty care. I have more books on this stuff than is healthy. LOL. And when I got my degree in biochemistry, I did strongly consider taking my med school aspirations into getting a naturopathic degree. So, that's one of many paths I've dabbled around with. As I mentioned in my original entry, I'm all over the place with intense interests and pursuits. Food will continue to be one of those big passions, for sure. Food is a science, after all. :)
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