These matcha mochi bites are delightfully chewy, mildly sweet, and incredibly easy to make. Enjoy them with a hot cuppa tea of coffee for a simple breakfast, afternoon pick-me-up, or dessert! A dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of melted chocolate adds a delicious layer of flavor and fanciness!
Grease 6 cups in a muffin tin with room temperature unsalted butter. Set aside.
Combine glutinous rice flour, matcha powder, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and whisk together.
In a medium mixing bowl or 1-quart measuring cup, whisk together milk, egg, honey, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk well until smooth. The consistency should be thick, but runny, like a syrup. Add more milk, a tablespoon a time, to achieve the proper consistency, if needed.
Divide the matcha mixture equally among the 6 muffin cups.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Let cool 10 minutes in the pan before carefully removing the bites to a cooling rack to cool completely. Mochi bites come out of the oven puffy, but will sink as they cool.
Dust with icing sugar or drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired.
Store in a sealed container at room temperature for 2-3 days max for best results.
Notes
125 grams glutinous rice flour = just over ¼ lb. Using weight measurement for the glutinous rice flour yields the best and most accurate results.
Glutinous rice flour can also be sold as sweet rice flour; they are the same thing. Mochiko is also a well-known brand of glutinous rice flour, but brand does not matter for this recipe. Do not use regular rice flour.
Whole milk can be substituted with coconut milk or evaporated milk. Water also works perfectly.
Using water reduces the calories by 150 calories per piece.
Using coconut milk in place of whole milk reduces the calories by 80 calories per piece.
Honey can be substituted with maple syrup or other liquid sweetener.
Granulated sugar can also be used, but more milk will need to be added to achieve the consistency. Granulated sugar will also lead to a crisper crust.
After mixing the dry ingredients into the wet, the matcha mixture should be a thick, but runny liquid, like a syrup. If necessary, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, to reach the proper consistency.
Stirring chocolate chips or pieces into the batter before baking will result in them sinking to the bottom, so I would not suggest it.
Omit the chocolate completely, if desired.
Store in a food container at room temperature. Best eaten within 2-3 days.
Mochi bites will become more firm/dense after the first day, but will still be soft and chewy. You can always warm them in the microwave for a few seconds to soften them more.