Green tea (matcha) white chocolate chip blondies

My family and I have been drinking tea for as long as I can remember. As a small child, I learned how to soak tea leaves and properly serve tea to my elders. It wasn't until fairly recently that I heard of matcha, or green tea powder. I saw matcha popping up on food blogs everywhere, and it really piqued my interest.  From ice cream to macarons, green tea powder was taking over.

During a regular trip to the Asian grocery store, I looked through all the shelves in the tea aisle and finally found what I was looking for. I bought a pack of the matcha powder and thought long and hard about what I should make first.

Since I didn't have some of the key ingredients for ice cream or mochi, I settled on making green tea white chocolate chip blondies. I already had everything I needed in my pantry.  I found the perfect recipe from Bake Something and was eager to make these.

Like regular blondies, the batter came together very easily.  I was initially concerned about the super deep green color of the final mixture but it turned out fine - don't they look beautiful? One thing that I carefully read over in the comments on Bake Something's website was the amount of sugar I needed to add. The original recipe called for sweetened matcha powder, but the product I bought was unsweetened. I followed another reader's guidance and used 1/4 cup of matcha powder and 1/2 cup of sugar.

These green tea blondies are fabulous! They still taste like a white chocolate blondie except that there is a subtle green tea background. I was glad that the green tea wasn't too strong and that the color wasn't too green. My husband had a hard time deciding if he liked these better than regular blondies. I don't want to make him pick, so I'll just have to add both recipes into our regular dessert rotation.

PS. Don't forget about my contest and giveaway! You have until 12pm ET on Friday, June 8th to enter. The winner will receive a Hamilton Beach 6 quart slow cooker!  Be sure to leave me a valid email address so I can contact you if you win!

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour 
• 1/4 sweet matcha powder (I had unsweetened matcha powder and used 1/4 cup of it plus 1/2 cup of sugar)
• 6 oz white chocolate (I used white chocolate chips)
• 6 TBSP butter  
• 2 eggs  
• 1/2 tsp vanilla  
• 1/4 tsp almond extract  
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted (I omitted)
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven at 350. Grease and flour an 8x8 baking pan. (I used a silicone square pan and lightly buttered it.)

In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the butter and white chocolate and heat at thirty second intervals until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.

Stir in eggs and matcha powder, sugar (if using) until combined, then add flour, vanilla, and almond extract just until incorporated. Lastly stir in almonds (I did not use) and white chocolate chips. 

Pour into prepared pan and spread into even layer. Bake about 20 - 25 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut and enjoy.

Yield: About 16 blondies (depending on how big you cut them)

Source: Bake Something