Baked Matcha Mochi Squares (Vegan)

Happy Mochi! As a girl who grew up with eating mochi, I have to bake something with mochi once in a while. I recently got a care package from my grandparents where they packed me some matcha (green tea) powder. Looking at the can, I think it's a pretty legitimate kind. I only put two Tablespoons of matcha powder and look how green it looks! Can you believe that there's absolutely no artificial food coloring in this mochi? It amazes me every single time when I use this matcha powder.

Baked Matcha Mochi Squares 
Servings: 15 mochi squares

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice flour ("mochi-ko")
• 2 Tablespoons matcha powder 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 1 cup unsweetened soy milk 

Instructions: 

• Preheat oven at 325°F 
• In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients: rice flour, matcha powder, baking powder, and sugar. 
• Add vegetable oil and unsweetened soy milk.
• Mix well using a whisk or a rubber spatula. 
• Pour the batter into a brownie baking dish. (Make sure to oil or line the baking dish with parchment paper)
• Bake for about 50 minutes until the batter is fully baked. 

Once they're out of the oven, the top portion of the mochi is crunchy but overtime, it gets a little soggy so I would advise everyone to eat it on the day of ;) 

Dry ingredients in the bowl. 

Fresh out the oven!

Crunchy on the top, soft and smooth once you bite into it!

I personally like the edge of the brownies, cookie bars, lemon bars, and of course, these mochi bars. It's something about the edge that I really like because the edge is nice and chewy. If you don't like unsweetened soy milk, you can always replace it with coconut milk as well - I've tried both and they both tastes good! I personally chose unsweetened soy milk because coconut milk contains high saturated fats. Of course, consuming coconut milk is not bad for you - it definitely has positive health benefits; however, many people over consume it once they think that it's good for you - which can actually become a health hazard. So I would advise to make sure you don't over consume whatever that you are putting inside your body. No matter how good it is for you, if you eat too much, it won't do any good for your body ;)

With that being said, I hope you enjoy the recipe!

From my kitchen to yours, Happy Baking!

Smiles,
Mei