1-First off, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper to keep things from sticking this little step saves so much cleanup time.

2-Next, in a mixing bowl, sift together the almond flour, arrowroot powder, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set that aside. In another bowl, mix the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until it’s all combined nicely. Then, blend the dry and wet ingredients to form a dough, wrap it up, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. I always use this chilling time to catch up on my day, and it makes the dough so much easier to handle.

3-Once chilled, let the dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then roll half of it between wax paper to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out your cookies with a cutter, and if it’s sticky, pop them in the freezer for 5 minutes before baking. Arrange them on the baking sheet, spaced half an inch apart, and keep them cold until you’re ready to bake.

4-Now, bake those cookies at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through for even cooking. Let them cool completely on a wire rack before moving on patience here is key, as I once rushed and ended up with a messy filling.

5-For the buttercream, sift the powdered sugar and matcha powder together first. In a bowl, cream the shortening and vegan butter for about 1 minute, then add the sifted mixture and beat on low, then high, until it’s fluffy. Stir in the vanilla extract, and if it’s too thick, add almond milk gradually to get that creamy consistency.

6-Finally, pipe the buttercream onto half of the cooled cookies and sandwich them with the others. Chill in the fridge until set, and you’re done! This process takes about 30 minutes prep, 20 minutes cook time, and a total of 50 minutes excluding chilling, yielding around 30 cookies at just 70 calories each.