These sweet matcha white chocolate cookies are soft and chewy with a beautiful bright green color that is slightly crispy on the outside. Thanks to the matcha powder these cookies have a unique flavor that goes so well with white chocolate chips. This recipe is perfect to make with regular all-purpose flour or gluten-free!
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Why you are gonna love these matcha cookies
- You can make them regular or gluten-free! These cookies have been tested with regular all-purpose flour and 1:1 gluten-free flour. The recipe stays the same for both and they each taste fantastic.
- They are beautiful- The vibrant green color makes them a show-stopper cookie. The green also means it is loaded with antioxidants. Bonus!
- Perfect for matcha lovers- These cookies have a medium to strong matcha taste. But the matcha is balanced nicely with the sugar and white chocolate that even younger palates enjoyed them.
- No chill time! These cookies are ready from start to finish in under 20 minutes thanks to no chill time.
What does matcha taste like?
Matcha has a very earthy taste, that can be bitter depending on the brand and type. A high-quality matcha has a sweet green tea aroma. There can be a subtle sweetness as well.
Ingredients notes and substitutions
- All-purpose flour (or a 1-1 gluten-free flour blend)- You can make these matcha white chocolate cookies regular or gluten-free. I prefer King Arthur Gluten Free 1:1 blend. It will need to have xanthan gum in it.
- Unsalted butter- Used as the fat for your cookies. Be sure to use room temperature.
- Matcha Tea Powder- The matcha tea is what gives the cookies the matcha green tea flavor. It is also what gives these cookies the beautiful green color. Check out the info below on how to choose the right tea grade for your needs.
- Sugar- I use organic granulated cane sugar. Be sure to use white sugar not brown sugar as they do two different things when baked.
- White chocolate chips- Feel free to double the amount here or use white chocolate chunks instead!
- Baking soda, Baking powder, Salt- Needed for bringing you the best texture and shape for cookies!
How to make Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
- Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and matcha together in a medium bowl. You will want to make sure you whisk until it is evenly combined.
2. Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. This will be about 2-3 minutes with a hand mixer.
3. Add egg and vanilla to the creamed butter and sugar and beat with a hand mixer until combined and smooth.
4. Slowly add flour about ½ cup at a time to the butter mixture. You can use the hand mixer on low to make this easier. By the end, the dough will stick to the mixer paddles. Just use a small rubber spatula to get to dough off and place it back into the bowl. Only mix until everything is just mixed together. Do not overmix here.
5. Fold in the white chocolate chips using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Gently fold versus mixing until evenly distributed in the dough.
6. Using a cookie scoop, place round cookie scoops onto the prepared baking sheet. You will not need to hand roll these, just scoop a full scoop and place it on the cookie sheet. Be sure to evenly space the cookies to allow for them to spread. Work in batches if you do not have a big enough cookie sheet.
Top tips
- Spoon and level- To make the best cookies you MUST use the spoon and level method when measuring your flour. This means you use a spoon to scoop the flour out and place it in the measuring cup. The flour is added loosely, do not pack it down. Then when it is full you use the long side of the spoon to level the top of the flour. I repeat, DO NOT PACK THE FLOUR. This is essential for regular all-purpose flour and gluten-free. If you use too much flour you get a cakey round cookie. If you do not use not enough you get a cookie with way too much fat resulting in a buttery flat mess.
- Check them early- Check these cookies at 9 minutes. Take them out when the center is slightly unset, still soft and the edges are the slightest light golden brown.
- Room temperature- Be sure to use room temperature ingredients. Set your butter out so that it indents nicely when you touch it, but is not melty. The egg should also be room temp. Do not melt your butter. Warm butter will cause these cookies to spread too much when baking because we do not chill the dough.
- Room temperature cookie sheets- If you need to bake these in batches be sure to use a new cookie sheet or wait for yours to cool back down to room temperature before adding the cookie dough. A too warm of a cookie sheet could cause the cookies to spread too much.
FAQ
What quality matcha powder should I use?
When you are looking for matcha powder quality does matter. Low-quality matcha tea can have a very bitter taste, and have more of yellow coloring.
There are two types you are going to be considering. Ceremonial grade and culinary matcha tea powders. No one actually regulates the differentiations between the two, ceremonial matcha is typically a higher quality green tea.
I actually bake with the tea I drink which is always ceremonial grade matcha. Ceremonial is designed to be mixed with hot water and consumed as tea. The ceremonial grade always results in a bright green color and a pleasant taste.
When looking for culinary matcha, you will need to be picky. I use Encha Matcha and you can bake it with any of their grades of tea.
I do recommend organic matcha if it fits your budget.
How do I make sure they stay bright green?
A few things can affect the color of your matcha when baking. First it depends on the quality of matcha you are using. If you start with matcha that isn't a vibrant green, you most likely aren't going to a get a bright green cookie.
Second, matcha is not a fan of heat. A high baking temperature or long time exposed to heat can cause an enzyme reaction making the matcha brown. This recipe uses fairly low heat for a short amount of time. As long as you use decent matcha they should be a beautiful green color.
How to get a gooey center in the cookies
The key to a gooey center is to take the cookies out when they still look slightly undercooked. Cookies will continue to bake after you take them out of the oven. For these matcha green tea cookies, start watching them at the 9-minute mark. The edges will be slightly light golden brown and the center will be soft and very slightly undercooked.
How to achieve perfectly round cookies
The best trick ever for round cookies is to shape them after baking using a round cookie cutter larger than your baked cookies
To do this immediately after baking put the larger round cookie cutter around the cookie and basically make a circle motion with it on the cookie sheet. This will move the soft cookie around in a circle inside the cutter shaping the perfectly round cookie.
How to prevent your cookies from overcooking
Be sure to start watching the white chocolate matcha cookies at the 9-minute mark. During testing the regular all-purpose flour cookies were done at the 9-minute mark. They had a slightly unset center and lightly golden edges. For the gluten-free flour, they usually went to the 11-minute mark.
Can I adjust the flavor intensity of the matcha for these cookies?
Absolutely! Just add less matcha tea powder for a lesser matcha flavor. The flavor of the matcha is going to depend on the brand and grade you use.
Adjusting the amount of matcha will change the color of the cookies.
More matcha recipes
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Recipe
Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
- Total Time: 19
- Yield: 20 cookies 1x
Description
These sweet matcha white chocolate cookies are soft and chewy with a beautiful bright green color that is slightly crispy on the outside. Thanks to the matcha powder these cookies have a unique flavor that goes so well with white chocolate chips. This recipe is perfect to make with regular all-purpose flour or gluten-free!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free 1:1 baking flour (use spoon and level method)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoons matcha tea powder (see notes)
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Measure out all ingredients.
- Whisk: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and matcha tea. Set aside.
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, add in butter and sugar and use a hand mixer to cream together for 2-3 minutes, until creamed and smooth. Then add in egg and vanilla. Use a hand mixer to beat the wet ingredients until completely combined. Slowly add flour to wet ingredients beating on low to mix. Stop just as the flour is mixed in.
- Add in the white chocolate chips: Fold in the white chocolate chips with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
- Bake: Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, make round scoops and place them onto the cookie sheet spacing evenly and about 3 inches apart. Place into oven and bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden and are "set". The middle should still be soft, and will look slightly undercooked. When testing the regular all-purpose flour cookies were done at 9 minutes and the gluten-free cookies were done baking at 11 minutes. Start watching both variations at the 9 minute mark so you have a soft cookie.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet. Remove and let them cool the remainder of the way on a cooling rack.
- Enjoy: Store these cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze and take out what you need.
Notes
- If you would like to make the matcha flavor less intense use 1-2 teaspoons but expect the color to be different.
- a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour contains xanthan gum. I love King Arthur brand.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 9
- Category: Baked Goods
- Method: Baking
Keywords: how to make matcha chocolate chip cookies, matcha cookies, matcha green tea chocolate chip cookies
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