These cookies turn heads with their vivid green color and green tea flavor. Matcha crinkle cookies are chewy, slightly sweet, and a perfect addition to your Christmas cookie rotation. If you're a matcha fan you'll love these delicious green tea cookies too!
Why didn't anyone tell me sooner that I could enjoy my favorite color in cookie form? Now traditionally you would roll your cookie dough around in powdered sugar before baking, but I did not do that here. You still can of course, but I like just a little dusting of sugar at the end.
This amazing recipe is only one of my matcha cookie recipes. This matcha cookie with frosting is a bit like a Lofthouse style cookie. The same matcha powder cookie that's soft, sweet, and topped with a green tea frosting. A perfect matcha cookie recipe for any matcha lover.
Did you know? Green tea leaves have been used for green tea for centuries. One of the oldest beverages in the world. Also! In remote regions of Tibet, green tea leaves were pressed into 'tea bricks' and used as currency.
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Important Ingredients with Substitutions
- All-purpose flour - Measuring flour most accurately can be done with a kitchen scale. But the fluff, scoop, and level method works perfectly fine. Fluff the flour with a spoon, then gently scoop the flour into your measuring cup and level off with a butter knife.
- Cake flour - Check below on how to make your own cake flour if you don't have any.
- Matcha powder - Culinary grade matcha is best for baking and is what I recommend. You can find it online or at Walmart. The packet I used contains exactly 2 tablespoons. Some matcha powder can be yellowish in color and taste off, if so, opt for a different brand or a high quality matcha powder.
- Cornstarch - Cornstarch helps to give our cookies a soft, and chewy texture.
- Baking powder & Baking soda - Both help to control how the cookies spread and their lift.
- Salt - Adds flavor and helps to balance the sweetness. I use pink Himalayan sea salt.
- Unsalted butter - If you're using salted butter, just omit the salt in the recipe.
- Brown sugar - If you use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar just make sure it's packed. Either will work, I usually end up using a mixture of both. Brown sugar adds moisture, flavor, and chew.
- White granulated sugar - I recommend making sure you sift your white sugar before adding it. This will help to remove any lumps, larger granules, or any debris.
- Egg & Egg Yolk - For chewy texture and flavor.
- Vanilla extract - Pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste are both great options.
- Powdered Sugar - Optional - If you plan on dusting your baked cookies with powdered sugar, then I'd recommend Domino's brand. Their flavor has always been true and sweet, unlike some brands that taste off.
How To Make Cake Flour
For this recipe, put 1 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch in a ¾ measuring cup, then fill it with all-purpose flour.
See the recipe below for the full list of ingredients and quantities.
Instructions for matcha crinkle cookies
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, cake flour, cornstarch, matcha powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk then set aside.
Step 2: In the bowl of your stand mixer add the unsalted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Cream the butter and sugars with the paddle attachment for 3-5 minutes.
Step 3: While mixing on low add your egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Continue to mix until combined.
Step 4: Add your flour mixture ⅓ at a time while mixing slowly. Continue to add the flour and mix until a smooth cookie dough forms. Turn the speed up on your stand mixer as necessary.
Step 5: Using a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, create 8 cookie dough balls and place them on your baking sheet. Press the dough balls down gently and evenly.
Step 6: Cookies bake for 8-12 minutes or until the edges are set and the top is crackled.
Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on a wire rack.
Level Up with a Top Tip!
Hint: Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer- Either one of these will make great cookies!
Recipe Variations
- Before baking roll your cookie dough balls into granulated sugar, then powdered sugar for that white and green crinkle cookie contrast.
- Lightly dust your finished cookies with a powdered sugar coating after your cookies have cooled.
- Add white chocolate chips inside the cookie or as a white chocolate drizzle. This is also true for regular chocolate chips.
- Macadamia nuts would be a great addition next to that rich matcha flavor.
- Add crumbled matcha cookies to ice cream. I've even added some sifted matcha powder to it too!
- Try brown butter in your cookies! Before adding the brown butter let it cool.
Storage Recommendations
Store matcha cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Or refrigerate for longer. It isn't necessary to chill matcha crinkle cookie dough, but you can with just as delicious results.
Can I freeze matcha cookies? Freeze up in an airtight container or freezer safe resealable bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for a few hours before enjoying!
Can I freeze matcha cookie dough? Yes! Place cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and let them sit in the freezer until the cookie dough is hardened. Transfer the chilled dough balls to a freezer safe, airtight container or bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Level Up With Expert Tips & Tricks
For perfect circular shaped cookies use a large round cookie cutter or even a cup to help shape the matcha cookies when they come out of the oven. They'll be soft enough at this point to gently nudge them into perfect circles.
Chilling your cookie dough is not necessary, but can be done if you're preparing dough ahead of time.
Room temperature ingredients - As always, room-temperature ingredients are ideal. Your batters, doughs, and mixes will all come together more easily if the ingredients are all at the same temperature. Unless otherwise noted, the best practice is room temp ingredients. Set out cold ingredients for at least 30 minutes before starting your recipe.
Dust with powdered sugar for extra sweetness
Recipe FAQs
Culinary-grade matcha or lower-grade matcha powder is best for baked goods, smoothies, and even lattes. Typically lighter in color and bitter compared to ceremonial grade matcha powder.
Ceremonial Matcha is best served stirred in hot water and drank as a tea. It's bright and more vibrant in color, sweet, and creamy. Ceremonial matcha is a higher-grade Japanese green tea powder, best consumed in its natural state.
While all matcha will be some shade of vibrant green color, the color actually tells you a lot about this green tea powder. A good rule of thumb is, the deepest shade of green is high quality matcha powder.
Another best practice is to smell it, even at a higher quality, if the matcha smells off then it’s likely gone bad.
Culinary grade – Lightest color matcha, which is typically used in baking or making smoothies.
Premium grade – Mid color and slightly more potent than ceremonial grade.
Ceremonial grade – Deepest color and the highest quality. Meant only for drinking.
Similar Sweets
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Matcha Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
- Stand mixer or Hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup All-purpose flour
- ¾ cups Cake flour
- 2 tablespoons Matcha powder
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup Brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup White granulated sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 1 Egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl sift together the flour, cake flour, cornstarch, matcha powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk then set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer add the unsalted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Cream the butter and sugars with the paddle attachment for 3-5 minutes.
- While mixing on low add your egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Continue to mix until combined.
- Add your flour mixture ⅓ at a time while mixing slowly. Continue to add the flour and mix until a smooth cookie dough forms. Turn the speed up on your stand mixer as necessary. The beginning bit can be messy.
- Using a large cookie scoop, create 8 cookie dough balls. Press the dough down gently and evenly.
- Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges are just golden.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.
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