Matcha Checkerboard Cookies

1. Before We Start: Please remember that this recipe requires at least 2 hours of chilling time. I encourage dividing the baking process into morning and afternoon or two days (chilling overnight) to minimize the waiting periods. Gather all the ingredients. Allow the unsalted butter to soften to room temperature for 1 hour or longer. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale. For weights, click the “Metric“ button at the top of the recipe to convert the measurements. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
2. You will also need a hand or stand mixer with whisk (and paddle) attachments or food processor, an aluminum baking sheet, 2 resealable (Ziplock) sandwich-size bags (about 6 x 6.5 inches, 15 x 16.5 cm), a rolling pin, and rolling pin guides (optional; I bought my acrylic rolling guides from Amazon).

To Mix the Cookie Dough

1. Separate the egg yolk from the egg white.
2. Place the egg white in a small bowl, cover with plastic, and store it in the refrigerator. Weigh the yolk and divide it in half for one batch of this recipe. Place the ½ egg yolk in a small bowl and mix until smooth.
3. Place 7 Tbsp unsalted butter (at room temperature) in a bowl and press it with a silicone spatula until smooth. Add ½ cup confectioners’ sugar.
4. Blend well with an electric mixer until the mixture turns fluffy and pale. Tip: Whipping the butter and sugar mixture adds air, and this makes the cookies crispier.
5. Add ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and blend until incorporated.
6. Then, add ½ large egg yolk and continue mixing until smooth.
7. Add 2 Tbsp almond flour and blend it until fully incorporated and smooth.
8. With the silicone spatula, scrape down the bowl to collect the dough.
9. Now, weigh the dough in a clean bowl over a kitchen scale (I use a digital kitchen scale). Weigh the total amount and divide it in half. My batch of dough is roughly 180 g, so each half weighed about 90 g. Place each half in separate bowls, one to make the plain dough and the other to make the green matcha dough.

To Make the Plain Dough

1. Sift ½ heaping cup cake flour into the bowl for the plain dough.
2. Lightly mix with the spatula, gently folding the flour into the dough until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
3. Once crumbly, press the dough together, shaping it into a ball and scraping the sides.
4. Put the dough ball in a plastic resealable (ziplock) sandwich bag. Set aside.

To Make the Green Matcha Dough

1. Using a hand whisk, mix 5 tsp matcha (green tea powder) into ½ cup cake flour until well incorporated. Tip: Pre-mixing makes it easier to blend in.
2. Sift the matcha-flour mixture into the bowl with the other half of the dough.
3. Gently fold the flour mixture into the dough with the spatula until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
4. When crumbly, press it into a cohesive dough ball and put it in a plastic resealable sandwich bag.

To Roll Out the Dough Balls

1. Release the air from the sandwich bag, seal, and roll the dough ball flat with a rolling pin.
2. If you're using the rolling guides, place them on either side of the bag and roll flat. You could stack two disposable chopsticks (or something similar) as rolling guides. However, my recipe should work perfectly to completely fill the sandwich bags with cookie dough to a 5-mm thickness without the use of rolling guides.
3. Using the rolling pin, evenly flatten the dough to 5 mm thick and about 6 x 6½ inches (15 x 16.5 cm) in size.
4. Repeat rolling out the matcha dough using the same method.
5. Roll out gently so the dough doesn't come out of the sealed bag. Now, place the bags of flattened dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour.

To Assemble the Checkered Logs

1. Remove the chilled and firm dough from the fridge. Using a sharp knife, cut open the left and right sides of one sandwich bag. Repeat with the other bag. Tip: Make sure your chilled dough feels solid before you begin. As the dough warms, it will soften. If the dough becomes too soft to handle, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate until firm. Then, continue with the recipe.
2. Peel back the tops of the sandwich bags to uncover the dough, leaving the bags on the bottom as is.
3. Lightly brush the matcha dough surface with beaten egg white. Pick up the plain dough with its plastic bag, then flip the plain dough onto the matcha dough. Apply gentle pressure to adhere. Then, peel away the plastic bag from the plain dough.
4. Cut this layered dough in half. Brush one half with egg white.
5. Matching the clean-cut sides, stack the other half on top so you have four layers of alternating colors. Apply gentle pressure to adhere.
6. Measure and mark 1 cm intervals (just over ⅜ inch) with the tip of your knife along the top and bottom edges of the dough stack. These are cutting marks that you will use in the next step. I use a pastry board with measurements, but I highly recommend using a ruler here.
7. At each 1-cm interval, cut straight down with a knife to make 1-cm strips of layered cookie dough. I was able to cut eight strips. Tip: Your dough strips might warm up and soften. If this happens, wrap them in plastic, place on a tray, and refrigerate until firm. Then, try again.
8. Lay three strips flat on your work surface. You can see in the image that I flipped the middle strip to reverse the colors. This will create the checkered pattern when you stack the strips. Brush the middle and bottom strips with egg white, then stack in three alternating layers. Press gently to adhere without misshaping the log.
9. Stack three more strips into a second log. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Tip: If you want to freeze the dough logs to slice and bake at a later time, please see the To Store section for instructions.
10. For the leftover two strips, I simply roll them into a ball, then roll it into a log. Alternatively, you could cut the strips in half crosswise and stack them to make short checkered logs. Either way, wrap the leftover dough log in plastic and chill.

To Bake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Slice the chilled dough logs into cookies ¼ inch (7 mm) thick.
2. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake for 13–15 minutes, or until slightly browned on the bottom.
3. The residual heat will brown the cookies more, so remove them from the oven when they are just a tad golden. Cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack.
4. Continue slicing and baking the leftover cookie dough. Tip: When you slice the dough log, rotate it to maintain the circle shape.
5. Serve with your favorite beverage and enjoy!

To Store

1. Once the matcha checkerboard cookies are completely cool, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week (I add a silica gel packet). To freeze, transfer the matcha checkerboard cookies to a freezer-safe airtight container or resealable freezer bag. Freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight to enjoy. To freeze the cookie dough: Tightly wrap the checkered logs in plastic wrap and put them into freezer bags. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator for 2 hours before slicing and baking.