These delicious and fragrant Matcha Sugar Cookies are made with green tea Matcha powder and are a twist on the classic vanilla sugar cookie recipe. Enjoy these soft and chewy matcha cookies plain or dress them up with a white chocolate drizzle and sparkles!
Did you know that you can bake green tea flavoured sugar cookies by adding matcha powder to your sugar cookie recipe?
Adding Matcha to your baked goods is also a perfect way to naturally add vibrant green color to your Christmas and holiday sweet treats without using any artificial food coloring.
As a bonus, adding pure
You'll find these green tea cookies are easy to make, buttery, perfectly sweetened and tender.
Since white chocolate pairs deliciously with matcha, I dressed up these sugar cookies with a white chocolate drizzle and sprinkled some of them with coarse sugar for a bit of sparkle!
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How to Make them
Since this is a sugar cookie recipe, it's important to plan ahead as you'll need to chill the Matcha cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour before rolling and cutting out the cookies.
Here's an overview of the ingredients and steps to making this Matcha cookie recipe, please see the recipe card at the end of this post for ingredient amounts.
Ingredients Overview:
- Unsalted butter: Butter should be at room temperature
- Granulated sugar
- Egg: Use a room temperature egg.
- Vanilla and almond extracts: These extracts add flavor to the cookies, if you don't have almond extract you can just use vanilla on its own.
- All-purpose flour
- Matcha powder: Use culinary grade Matcha.
- Baking powder and salt
- White chocolate chips and coarse sugar or sprinkles: These ingredients are optional as they're used for decorating the cookies.
Steps Overview:
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, matcha powder, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until the dry ingredients are blended and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, beat the butter on medium speed for about two minutes or until light and creamy. Add sugar and continue beating for two to three minutes more. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract and beat well.
- With the mixer speed on low, slowly add the flour mixture and mix until well blended and the dough forms.
- Remove the dough and shape into 2 disks about one inch thick. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to two days.
- Once the dough is chilled, remove one disk from the refrigerator. Position a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it. Line two sheet pans with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper.
- If the dough is sticky you can dust your counter with a little bit of flour or icing sugar before rolling out the dough to about ¼ inch thickness.
- Using a cookie cutter, cut as many cookies as you can and place cookies on the lined baking sheet.
- Gather the scraps and re-roll the dough. Cut out more cookies until you've used up all the cookie dough.
- Bake cookies in the oven for 8 to 11 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through the baking time. Bake until cookies look set and are slightly golden underneath.
- Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tip: For soft and tender cookies, make sure to roll out the cookie dough to ¼ inch thickness. If you roll out the dough too thin the cookies will be on the crispier side.
How to Decorate Sugar Cookies
These green tea cookies can be decorated with melted white chocolate and sprinkles of your choice. I recommend working with half the chocolate chips at a time.
To melt the white chocolate chips, place them in a microwave-safe bowl, and melt in the microwave in 25 seconds increments, stirring after each increment until the chocolate is melted.
Pour the melted chocolate into a pastry bag or a small plastic food bag and cut off a very tiny corner. Starting from right above the cookie and moving your wrist quickly, drizzle the chocolate onto the cookies. If desired, add coarse sugar or sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet.
Serving Suggestions
Serve these buttery matcha cookies plain or decorated with white chocolate icing and sprinkles. These cookies are even more delicious served with a hot coffee or Matcha Latte.
These delicious chewy matcha sugar cookies would also make a great homemade gift for the matcha lovers in your life!
Storage Instructions
Let the icing on the matcha cookies dry before storing in an airtight container with wax or parchment paper between the layers of cookies. They can be frozen for up to three months if you want to bake them ahead of time. Thaw the cookies overnight in the refrigerator.
Don't forget to take a look at my Holiday Favourites for more baking inspiration and sweet and savoury holiday-themed recipes.
Enjoy!
More Sugar Cookie Recipes
Matcha Sugar Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter slightly softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. almond extract
- 2-¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp. matcha powder
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
White Chocolate Drizzle:
- 1 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
- ¼ cup coarse sugar or sprinkles of choice optional
Instructions
Matcha Sugar Cookies
- In a bowl, combine the flour, matcha powder, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until blended and set aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the sugar and continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes more, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once or twice.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract, beat well. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl.
- Mixing on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and mix until well blended.
- Remove the dough and shape into 2 disks about an inch thick. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 2 days maximum.
- Roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thickness, if dough is sticky you may want to dust your surface with a little bit of flour or icing sugar.
- With cookie cutter, cut as many shapes as you can, place cookies on the baking sheet. Re-roll the remaining dough and cut out more cookies. Repeat until all the dough is used.
- Bake in the oven for 8 to 11 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through the baking time. Bake until cookies look set and are slightly golden underneath.
- Let cookies rest on baking sheet for a few minutes and remove to rack to cool completely.
White Chocolate Drizzle
- Working with half the chocolate chips at a time, melt in the microwave in 25 seconds increments.
- Pour the chocolate into a pastry bag (with Wilton tip #233) or small plastic bag (cut off a very tiny corner). Starting from right above the cookie and moving your wrist quickly, drizzle the chocolate onto the cookies. If desired add coarse sugar or sprinkles while chocolate is still wet.
Notes
- If you prefer softer cookies, roll the dough out no thinner than ¼ inch thickness and bake the cookies for the least amount of time necessary.
- Let the icing on the cookies dry before storing them in an airtight container with wax or parchment paper between layers of cookies.
- Baked cookies can be frozen in an airtight container suitable for the freezer for up to three months.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published December 7, 2016. The recipe remains unchanged.
Rob says
Yum! I love a good sugar cookie, even if my drizzle won't look half as good! Would pair perfectly with a matcha latte.
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thanks Rob, they would be delicious with a matcha latte!
Emma Claire says
Wow. My kids love matcha and cookies. This recipe's really perfect. I will make it today.
Thank you for your sharing, Fida :).
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Hi Emma, I hope you and your kids will love them as much as we do!
Myrna says
These cookies look so festive and delicious!! Love the twist on the plain sugar cookies. Can't wait to try them...
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thank you Myrna, can't wait for you to try them too!