Towards the end of last week it was cold and wet and our Korean language teacher sent us a song for a rainy day. I thought: the good thing about baking is that regardless of the weather, everyday is a good day when you have something cooking in the oven.
I made two batches of biscuits using two different types of chocolate chips, white and ruby. The green tea was not the better known matcha (Japanese green tea powder) but 녹차 nokcha which is from Korea.
The chocolate chips were an accidental discovery. I had bought some chocolates from Fortnum and Mason and the box contained truffles made with ruby chocolate. Upon doing some research I found out a bit more and was then on my way to getting a bag of these chocolate chips for baking.
The problem was, the minimum quantity I could purchase was 2.5 kg so there is ample opportunity to make lots of cakes, cookies and desserts. My head is already spinning with ideas. Callebaut, the manufacturers of this chocolate, also have ideas here.
Once I opened the bag, I could not stop picking on the chocolate chips. They taste like berries and is in a shade of pink that somehow reminds me of the My Melody rabbit from Sanrio (ie Hello Kitty and Friends). In fact just looking at makes me happy.
I made the cookies in my Thermomix and they tasted very, very good. It has never occurred to me that there would be any type of chocolate other than the conventional dark, milk and white chocolate that we already know.
For the Cookies:
130 g unsalted butter, softened
100 g unrefined castor sugar
1 egg
175 g plain flour
1 tablespoon ground green tea
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
150 g ruby chocolate chips
You will also need two baking trays lined with baking paper or a reusable silicon non-stick mat like Silpat.
How to Make:
(for the conventional, non-Thermomix method of making these cookies, please scroll further down)
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ Gas 4.
Weigh the butter, sugar and egg straight into the Thermomix bowl and mix 2 minutes/ speed 3.
Add the flour, ground green tea, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix 40 seconds/ speed 4.
Add the chocolate chips and stir 30 seconds/ speed 2.
Using a small ice cream scoop (mine holds a volume of 25 ml), divide the dough onto the baking trays.
Place the trays in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. The cookies should feel just slightly firm in the middle when ready.
Leave the cookies on the baking sheets until sufficiently cool enough to be transferred onto wire racks to finish cooling.
How to make the cookies in a conventional, non-Thermomix way.
Preheat the oven to 180° C/ 375° F/ Gas 4.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until the mixture is lighter in texture and colour.
Crack the egg into a bowl, beat lightly then gently stir into the butter and sugar mixture.
Gradually add in the flour, ground green tea, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Continue to beat until everything is incorporated.
Add in the chocolate chips and give the mixture a final stir to distribute everything evenly.
Using a small ice cream scoop (mine holds a volume of 25 ml), divide the dough onto the baking trays.
Place the trays in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. The cookies should feel just slightly firm in the middle when ready.
Leave the cookies on the baking sheets until sufficiently cool enough to be transferred onto wire racks to finish cooling.
Kit Kats are what I carry with me on journeys as they are such perfect snacks. Over the years I have been presented with many novelty flavours such as Nasi Lemak and Cherry Blossom. For the record I still like milk chocolate Kit Kat but am now wondering if Ruby Kit Kat will be my next favourite.
Finally, here are the photos of the green tea and milk chocolate cookies I made whilst waiting for the ruby chocolate chips to arrive. They were very good too, just not as exciting as the pink chocolate ones.
