Amy Ho’s Matcha Neapolitan Cookies 2.0

I have always had a soft spot for Neapolitan ice cream. My parents thought this was the best way to appease an indecisive child who typically preferred strawberry ice cream … except for the odd day I insisted on chocolate or vanilla. Neapolitan always gave the best of, not both, but three worlds. Despite my love for the classic flavors of Neapolitan (chocolate, strawberry, vanilla), there was always one flavor I gravitated to the least (sorry, chocolate!). Earlier this spring, I decided to create my ~dream~ version of Neapolitan, but in cookie form, except with matcha subbed for the chocolate. 

When I first made this cookie, I didn’t intend for it to be my cookie of 2020. It wasn’t until I saw people having so much fun recreating the recipe and introducing new flavor combinations that it became my favorite recipe of the year. It was SO neat to see readers start a discussion with each other in the comment section to chat about what flavors they want to experiment with next and giving each other ideas for new flavor combinations.

Since creating that cookie, its popularity has grown and I have played with many different flavor combinations since. For example, I’ve made a triple berry version with freeze-dried strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry; I created a bright and fruity one with mango, strawberry, and vanilla; and I played around with different types of loose-leaf and ground tea.

This version of the cookie is made with matcha, hojicha, and vanilla. I have always been familiar with baking with matcha, but did not start experimenting with hojicha until recently. Hojicha and matcha are both Japanese green teas, and yet there are many differences between the two. Firstly, unlike traditional Japanese green teas, hojicha has a reddish-brown color. Matcha is made by stone-grinding flat dried tea leaves, while hojicha is made by slowly roasting tightly rolled dried tea leaves and stems, resulting in a loose-leaf tea. Because of hojicha’s roasting process, the tea has a beautiful earthy flavor, which complements the grassiness of matcha beautifully. Hojicha can be left as a loose-leaf tea or ground into a fine tea powder like matcha. Like using matcha in baking, you want to use a hojicha powder to flavor the dough and not the whole tea leaves. If you can only find hojicha loose-leaf tea, you can easily turn it into a powder in a spice grinder or food processor.

For the recipe, create one batch of vanilla dough, which will act as the base for the two other flavors. Once you have created the dough, portion it out into three equal portions. Add the matcha powder into one portion, and add hojicha powder into another. Gently incorporate the powder into the doughs with a rubber spatula or spoon. The key to creating a successful tri-colored cookie is combing the three doughs well when you shape each dough ball. Don’t simply gather the three doughs in one dough ball; you want to gather the three colors of dough and roll the dough ball between the palms of your hands, so any seams or cracks are smoothed out. Rolling the dough ball in sugar before baking gives the cookie extra shine and crunch. The resulting cookie is a cookie with three distinct colors and flavors that comes together to create the perfect non-traditional Neapolitan cookie.

The idea of a big, buttery cookie swirled with green and earth-toned streaks, like a piece of the earth from space, was too tempting to pass up. When I tested these and tasted the dough, I was taken aback at, yes, the earthiness — even though these two teas are among my favorite flavors, they taste very intense in the unbaked dough. Fortunately, the buttery, delicate sweetness of the base dough counterbalances the bitterness of the teas — especially after baking. These cookies are delicious and sophisticated. Two tips: I recommend getting your hands into the dough to mix in the tea powders; it took some squeezing and massaging to get the powders mixed in evenly. Second, next time I make these I will make them about half the size. Less dramatic, but better for savoring their intense flavors. — Faith Durand, Editor-in-Chief