Matcha cookies are one of those recipes that sounds fancier than it is. You get a vivid green colour, a gentle earthy flavour, and a slightly crisp edge with a chewy centre — all from ingredients you probably already have. If you've been wondering what to do with your matcha beyond a morning drink, this is a great place to start.
The key to a good matcha cookie is using ceremonial grade matcha. It might seem like overkill for baking, but culinary grade matcha often tastes bitter or dull when baked, and the colour goes a murky olive. A high-quality ceremonial matcha gives you that vivid green and smooth, slightly sweet flavour that makes these cookies genuinely delicious rather than just novelty.
What You'll Need
This recipe makes around 18–20 cookies. You'll need:
- 225g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 150g (¾ cup) white sugar
- 100g (½ cup) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 280g (2¼ cups) plain flour
- 2 tbsp ceremonial grade matcha powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 150g white chocolate chips (optional, but recommended)
That's it. No unusual equipment needed — just a bowl, a hand mixer or stand mixer, and a baking tray.
How to Make Matcha Cookies
Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar
Beat the softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy. This takes about 3–4 minutes with a hand mixer on medium speed. Don't rush this step — it's what gives the cookies their texture. The mixture should look pale and almost airy when it's ready.
Step 2: Add the eggs and vanilla
Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then mix in the vanilla. The batter might look a little curdled at this point — that's fine, it'll come together once the dry ingredients go in.
Step 3: Sift in the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, matcha, baking soda, and salt. Sift this mixture into the wet ingredients in two or three additions, folding gently between each. Overmixing at this stage will make the cookies tough, so stir just until no dry streaks remain.
The dough should be a beautiful deep green at this point. If the colour looks dull or yellowish, it's worth checking the freshness of your matcha — older matcha oxidises and loses its vibrancy.
Step 4: Fold in the chocolate chips
If you're using white chocolate chips, fold them in now. White chocolate pairs especially well with matcha — the sweetness balances the earthy, slightly bitter notes in the matcha, and the contrast looks great when the cookies are baked. Dark chocolate works too if you prefer something less sweet.
Step 5: Chill the dough
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours. Chilling the dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven and helps develop a slightly deeper flavour. If you're short on time, 30 minutes is enough — but an overnight rest makes them noticeably better.
Step 6: Bake
Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line two baking trays with baking paper. Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the trays, leaving about 5cm between each cookie. They'll spread as they bake.
Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are just set but the centres still look slightly underdone. This is important — they'll firm up as they cool, and pulling them out a minute early is what keeps them chewy. If you wait until they look fully baked in the oven, they'll be too crisp once cooled.
Step 7: Cool and serve
Leave the cookies on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They'll be very soft straight out of the oven and will firm up as they cool. Eat warm if you can — the white chocolate chips stay melty for a good 15 minutes.
Tips and Variations
Adjust the matcha intensity. This recipe uses 2 tablespoons, which gives a noticeable but not overwhelming matcha flavour. If you want it stronger, go up to 3 tablespoons. If you're baking for people who are new to matcha, start with 1.5 tablespoons and work up from there.
Make them thicker. For bakery-style thick cookies, refrigerate the dough overnight and bake straight from the fridge. Cold dough spreads less, which means taller, chewier cookies.
Try a sesame variation. Replace the white chocolate chips with toasted sesame seeds (about 3 tablespoons) for a more Japanese-inspired flavour. The nuttiness works beautifully with the matcha.
Store them properly. Baked cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. The unbaked dough can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen in scooped portions for up to 3 months — just bake from frozen, adding 2–3 minutes to the baking time.
Why Matcha Quality Matters in Baking
It's worth saying once more: the quality of your matcha makes a real difference in baked goods. Low-grade matcha can taste harsh or fishy when heated, and it tends to produce a flat, brownish-green colour rather than the vivid jade green you're after. Namisan's Meiso ceremonial matcha is stone-ground from first-flush Japanese tencha leaves — it has a naturally smooth, slightly sweet flavour that holds up well in baking without turning bitter.
You don't need a lot — 2 tablespoons per batch — so a tin goes further than you'd expect.
Ready to Bake?
These matcha cookies are simple enough for a weekday afternoon but impressive enough to bring to something. If you've been sitting on a tin of ceremonial matcha and want to use it for something other than lattes, this recipe is a solid starting point.
Once you've tried the base recipe, it's easy to riff on — swap the mix-ins, adjust the matcha level, or experiment with adding a pinch of cardamom or ginger. The dough is forgiving and the results are consistently good, which is exactly what a weekend baking project should be.