Frog-Shaped Matcha Sugar Cookies (Vegan)
These dairy-free matcha sugar cookies are earthy, slightly sweet, and chewy. They're naturally colored because of the matcha powder and are decorated using vegan royal icing. Feel free to swap in regular butter, milk, and royal icing if there are no dietary dairy restrictions. You can also decorate using melted (vegan) milk/dark and white chocolate!
Servings 15 cookies
Cost $3.50
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (150g, $0.39)
- 1 tbsp matcha powder ($0.80)
- ½ tsp baking soda ($0.01)
- ¼ tsp salt ($0.01)
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup dairy-free unsalted butter, melted and cooled (1 stick butter/8 tbsp, $1.25)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g, $0.10)
- ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar (50g, $0.27)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.42)
- 2-4 tbsp dairy-free milk ($0.15)
For rolling:
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar (50g, $0.10)
Decoration for face:
- vegan royal icing, see recipe notes below. or use melted vegan milk/dark and white chocolate (dye the latter pink or red with oil-based food coloring)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, matcha powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (can alternatively use hand mixer or whisk), mix the butter and sugars on medium speed until combined. Scrape bottom of bowl. Add vanilla and mix again.
- Dump in all of the dry ingredients and mix until combined. If the dough is crumbly, slowly add 2-4 tbsp of dairy-free milk until it comes together. The finished dough should be thick.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- In a small bowl, add granulated sugar rolling the dough.
- Use small cookie dough scoop to gather dough (about 1 ½ tablespoon each). Roll dough into granulated sugar mixture shape into ball, then place onto lined baking tray. This will be the frog's head.For the eyes, take ½ tsp of dough, roll into sugar mixture, shape into ball. Place the eye on the upper left or right side of the head and repeat for the other eye.Place frogs about 3-4 inches apart. They will not spread much while baking.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes. Cookies should look slightly puffy and soft in the center, in addition to retaining their green color. They should not be browned.Be careful to not over bake so they don't get crispy! They will continue cooking when cooling on the pan.
- Let cool on pan for about 5-10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cool completely.
- To add the faces, use pink and black colored vegan royal icing (recipe in notes below). Place into small piping bags and cut a small tip. Use black color for the eyes and mouth, then the pink for the blush. You can also use melted vegan milk/dark chocolate for the eyes/mouth and white chocolate dyed with oil-based pink/red food coloring for the blush.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- I used this recipe for the vegan royal icing and I skipped the optional vegetable glycerin. It actually makes a lot of royal icing, so I already had a bunch of it stored in my freezer! It only takes about 10 minutes for it to thaw.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.