Instructions

Chocolate Cookie Cups:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spray two regular sized muffin tins with cooking spray or lightly butter them, lastly sprinkle with a little flour.
3. In a medium bowl, combine and whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric stand mixer or hand mixer, beat butter and sugars on med-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3mins.
5. Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time, mix until fully combined, add vanilla extract. Beat until combined. Stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
6. Gradually, with the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
7. Using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) scoop dough into muffin tins, press down slightly to flatten. For some of the cookie cups I also used a 4 tablespoons cookie scoop and it worked fine.
8. Bake for about 10-13mins or until mostly set, but still soft in the middle.
9. Remove from oven and immediately use a small jar or container to press firmly down in the center to create a well. I used a small cinnamon powder jar, shot glasses also work well. Make sure you have the jar handy, as the cookie cups will harden.
10. Cool in pans for 10mins, loosen each slightly by twisting it in the pan. Cool for 5 more minutes then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. For this recipe, I find that silicone muffin tins are the easiest to use, as it makes cookie cup removal much easier.

Matcha Cream:

1. Add cream cheese and mascarpone cheese to a large mixing bowl, using an electric stand mixer or hand mixer, beat on medium speed for 1 - 2 minutes until creamy and combined.
2. Add the powdered sugar, beat until combined on medium - high speed for 1 - 2 minutes, start on low speed and increase speed gradually. Stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
3. Add the vanilla extract and whisk for 30 seconds.
4. Add the matcha powder, beat until combined on medium - high speed for 1 - 2 minutes. Taste and if needed add more matcha powder. During mixing, stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
5. Refrigerate the frosting for 10 minutes. Add matcha frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe highly on the completely cooled cookie cups.
6. Sift matcha powder on top and refrigerate for 4-6 hours before serving.
7. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
8. Serve chilled, enjoy!