My easy to make, buttery matcha cookies are an amazing baked dessert full of delicious matcha green tea flavor! You’ll love the earthy, rich flavor of the matcha powder – it’s what makes these cookies so irresistible!
Sweet, buttery, and full of fresh matcha aroma – my matcha cookies are a such a delight!
Matcha is a traditional Japanese green tea powder whose distinct flavor has taken the world by storm! The flavor is fresh, earthy, and has a delicately sweet aroma. It has a beautiful green hue, too, that keeps its striking color throughout the baking process.
You can get matcha desserts at many Japanese and American bakeries now, but why not make your own? These delightful matcha cookies are so easy to make, and they have your choice of white or regular chocolate chips to add another layer of delicious, sweet flavor!
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❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe!
It’s Unique! Matcha lends this recipe a unique flavor and color that’s hard to miss!
So Simple! My matcha cookies use a basic cookie recipe, so it’s amazingly simple to follow and make!
Perfectly Delicious! The matcha really balances out the cookie, giving it an earthy richness that cuts through the sweetness to create a perfect bite!
🥘 Ingredients
My incredible matcha cookies will leave you wanting more! They have just a few, simple ingredients so you can feel great about what you’re baking!
- Butter — The butter should be softened and at room temperature for this recipe. (See Tips & Recipe Notes)
- Sugar – You can use plain, white granulated sugar here! Sugar encourages the cookies to spread.
- Light Brown Sugar – Light brown sugar adds depth of flavor and a bit of chewiness. I recommend against using dark brown sugar for this recipe, as the flavor will be too intense.
- Vanilla – Vanilla adds a sweet flavor to the cookie. If you’re able to, use 100% pure vanilla extract.
- Egg – The egg should be room temperature, so it perfectly blends into the cookie dough. You can leave the egg on the counter for up to 90 minutes or place into a bowl of warm water to take off the chill.
- Matcha Green Tea Powder – The star of our cookie recipe! Matcha perfectly balances the sweetness of this cookie and gives it a beautiful green color!
- Baking Soda – Baking soda helps the cookies to spread nicely.
- Baking Powder – Baking powder helps the cookies rise and gives them a needed boost during the cooking process. Be sure not to mix up the different amounts for baking soda vs baking powder.
- All-Purpose Flour – The base of our cookie, of course! Use whatever AP flour brand you love or have on hand.
- Chocolate Chips – This is optional but will be a delicious addition! You can add white, milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate chips
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
My delightful matcha cookie dough comes together in just 5 minutes! They bake quickly too, but make sure your oven is fully preheated to ensure they do!
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- Prep. First, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent any sticking or over-browning.
- Cream Butter and Sugar. In a large mixing bowl, cream together 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, 1 ¼ cups of white sugar, and ¼ cup of light brown sugar until smooth and fluffy – about 5 minutes (photo 1). Mix in 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until smooth again (photo 2).
- Add Dry Ingredients. To the mix add 1 teaspoon of baking soda, ½ teaspoon of baking powder, and 1 tablespoon of matcha green tea powder (photo 3). Combine until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in 2 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour just until you see the last bits of white flour gone (photo 4). Then you can fold in an optional ½ cup to 1 cup of chocolate chips (photo 5) or white chocolate chips (photo 6) if desired.
- Portion Cookie Dough. Using a melon ball scooper or a tablespoon, portion out the dough and roll into a ball (photo 7). Place the balls of cookie dough onto your prepared baking sheets with 2 inches of spacing between each round of dough, then flatten slightly before baking.
*Note that plain matcha cookie dough should be slightly flattened, my cookies with chocolate or white chocolate chips do not need this. - Bake Cookies. Place the cookies into the center of your oven racks and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are no longer raw or shiny. *I don’t like the bottoms to brown on these matcha cookies, so I remove them at the 8-minute mark before they turn too dark on the foot of the cookie.
- Cool and Serve! Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to sit on the baking trays for about 5 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack to cool completely (photo 8). Serve, and enjoy!
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These matcha cookies are such a wonderful, sweet treat! You can eat them on their own, or serve them with milk, coffee, ice cream – or even a delicious matcha latte!
💭 Tips & Recipe Notes
Chocolate Chips are an optional, but delicious addition to the cookie!
- I especially recommend white chocolate chips, as the sweet, mild flavor pairs well with the vanilla notes of the matcha powder.
You can leave butter to soften overnight so it’s perfect for this recipe!
- Unless you live in a very hot location, butter can be left out for 1 to 2 days without refrigeration. So you can leave the sticks of butter out overnight before you plan to bake to make sure they’re the perfect texture for this recipe.
- If you need to soften butter in a pinch, you can use the microwave! Place the butter on a plate and microwave at 10 second intervals, flipping the butter onto a different side each time to make sure it softens evenly.
- It's best to choose a lower power setting to avoid unintentionally melting your butter completely. Go with a medium power setting to quickly soften your butter.
If you want a more pronounced vanilla flavor, you can substitute vanilla bean or paste!
- You can substitute either an equal amount of vanilla bean paste (concentrated vanilla beans and a little sugar) or scrape the contents of one vanilla bean into the dough. Save the pod for vanilla sugar!
🥡 Storing
If you have extra matcha cookies, you’ve got to preserve that delightful flavor! Once the cookies are cooled, put them into an airtight cookie jar or container and they’ll keep at room temperature for up to 5 days!
You can freeze either cooked cookies or rolled dough balls to bake more later!
Freezing
If freezing cooked cookies, let them completely cool and then place them into an airtight container or freezer storage bag, placing a sheet of parchment paper over each layer. When you’re ready to eat, simply let the cookies defrost at room temperature before serving.
If freezing dough balls, you should place them on a parchment-lined baking tray, flatten slightly, then let them freeze individually. You should allow between 3-4 hours for the cookie dough to freeze completely.
Once frozen, then you can put the frozen dough in a freezer storage bag and then you can pop a few out whenever you want to bake cookies! When ready to eat, simply bake from frozen at 375°F (190°C) for 8 to 10 minutes.
🍪 More Amazing Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- No Bake Butterscotch or No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter
- Banana Chocolate Chip
- Lemon Crinkles
❓ FAQ
Depending on your location, matcha may be challenging to find! If you can’t find it at the grocery store or at a local Asian grocery, you can find matcha at many online retailers!
If you’ve purchased matcha specifically for this recipe, you’ll likely have leftover matcha powder! You can of course make matcha tea and iced or hot matcha lattes – but you can also make more desserts! Try matcha ice cream, matcha fudge, or even matcha cheesecake! The possibilities are truly endless!
Due to how matcha is produced, there is no good substitute for Japanese matcha powder! You may see elsewhere that you can grind up regular green tea – but this is not the same and will not give you the same result!
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📋 Recipe
Matcha Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (softened, at room temperature)
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar (packed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- chocolate chips (optional - white chocolate chips, milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugars until smooth and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth again.1 cup butter, 1 ¼ cups sugar, ¼ cup light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- Add the baking soda, baking powder, and matcha green tea powder and combine. Stir in the flour until thoroughly incorporated into the cookie dough. Fold in optional baking chips if desired.1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, chocolate chips
- Portion the dough out using a tablespoon or melon ball scooper and roll it into a ball. Place onto your prepared baking sheets with 2 inches of spacing between each round of dough, then flatten slightly before baking.
- Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies no longer look raw. *I don't like the bottoms to brown on these matcha cookies, so I remove them at the 8-minute mark before they turn color on the foot of the cookie.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to set on the baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
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