A fun take on a buttery sugar cookie, these matcha cookies with a white chocolate glaze are soft and chewy on the inside and a touch crispy on the outside, the perfect texture for a cookie. Matcha powder gives this cookies a unique and earthy flavor, that you're going to love.
January is a strange month, after gorging on sweets and decadent dishes in December, many like to lighten it up this month. But that doesn't mean you never want a little treat. I often indulge in a smoothie during January, because it is still a sweet treat, but also healthy.
I think these matcha cookies, being not too sweet made with matcha powder which has all kinds of health benefits, are the perfect anytime cookie.
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What is matcha?
Matcha powder is green tea powder ground from shaded green tea leaves. It is different from traditional green tea in that it is not steeped in water, it is the actual tea leaves ground into a powder and mixed into the drink. Basically you're eating/drinking the actual leaves with matcha powder, which gives you a high concentration of the all the healthy things in green tea.
Health benefits of matcha
Think of it as green tea on steroids. All those great health benefits, just super multiplied. You're getting a big ole does of antioxidants and vitamins that are shown to be beneficial in preventing all sorts of things like cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes. If you want to read up on it more, check this out.
What does matcha taste like?
I think my best description would be earthy and a little grassy. It is only a touch sweet which is why I think it is a great compliment to a sugar cookie recipe base.
The price of matcha powder can vary. There is ceremonial matcha, which is expensive, is the traditionally used matcha powder for Japanese tea, it is most concentrated and the least bitter. While I am not a huge tea drinker in general, and have only had matcha tea a few times, my son is, and he raves about how much better the ceremonial matcha powder really is.
For this recipe, and a few others that I have that use matcha powder, I use culinary/ingredient grade. It tastes great in baked goods and won't put you out a ton of money. This is the matcha powder I use...
Ingredients
These buttery matcha cookies are pretty simple and use typical cookie ingredients (outside of the matcha powder:.
- Butter.
- Sugar
- Brown sugar. I like to use a little brown sugar for the moisture it adds, it helps make them soft and chewy, but you can totally use all white sugar if you'd like.
- Egg
- Matcha powder
- Flour
- Baking soda and powder
- Salt
The glaze is simply white chocolate chips melted with a bit of vegetable oil. White chocolate is a great compliment to the flavor of matcha, and I love the half white half deep green color you get on this cookie.
Instructions
Again, like a typical buttery sugar cookie recipe, matcha cookies start by whisking all your dry ingredients in one bowl, and creaming your butter and sugars together in a mixing bowl.
Then add your egg. Followed by your dry ingredients...
And boom, you've got matcha cookie dough.
Variations
Matcha cookies are easily adaptable, which is why this is such a great cookie recipe. Here are a few add-ins you might enjoy.
- Ditch the white chocolate glaze and make these chocolate chip cookies by adding the white chocolate chips directly to the batter.
- Make a dark chocolate glaze instead, equally delicious.
- Add nuts. I made these once with buttery macadamia nuts and drizzled the white chocolate glaze over the top and they were amazing,.
Tips for success
A few things to ensure matcha cookies turn out great.
- Bake on the middle rack and one tray at a time. This will promote even cooking. If you cook multiple trays on a few racks throughout the oven and the heat will not properly circulate.
- Don't overmix. This is something that is easy to do, and something I work hard to overcome. You want your cookies to be soft and chewy. When adding the dry ingredients, be sure to have the mixer on low, and mix just until incorporated. If you overdo the mixing you'll end up with a tough cookie that is hard.
- Make sure the cookie is properly cooled before dipping in the white chocolate glaze.
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
- 2½ cups flour
- 2½ tablespoon matcha powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt I use unsalted, if using salted butter, decrease salt in recipe by half.
- 2 sticks butter room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips 6 ounces
- ½ teaspoon flavorless oil I used vegetable
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and have a rack in the middle of the oven. Line baking sheets with parchment or foil.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, matcha powder, baking soda and powder and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy, about two minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add your egg, and beat until incorporated.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Mixing just until incorporated. Let the batter site for 10 minutes then before scooping.
- Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, spoon out the cookies and roll them into balls. Try as best you can to make them all the same size, so they cook evenly together. Space them a couple inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake each sheet separately in the oven for 10-11 minutes, no longer. They will continue cooking when you take them out, and be perfect. The edges should be ever so slightly golden in color.
Notes
Baked cookies can be kept at room temperature for up to a week in an airtight container.
Anonymous says
Hi Kate!
This recipe looks delicious, I'm excited to try it. Could you clarify how much butter should be used? The recipe just says 2 butter.
Thank you!
Katie Beck says
Hi! Thank you, the recipe should say 2 sticks of butter - sorry about that! I have fixed now 🙂
Thank you and hope you like them!