Treat yourself to a batch of freshly baked green tea matcha cookies! Sweet, soft and deliciously chewy, with the perfect combo of matcha and macadamia chunks for a decadent crunch. Just 10 mins prep!
In This Post You’ll Learn
Why We Love This
These super cute Japanese style cookies are so easy to make. Pairing crunchy toasted macadamia with the rich taste of green tea powder is a real match made in heaven!
They’re soft baked to perfection, light and fluffy with an ever so slightly crisp outer shell before you bite into cookie bliss.
Love matcha? Try these next: Matcha Ice Cream / Green Tea Salt
What quality matcha powder should I use for baking?
When cooking and baking with matcha powder, it’s a great idea to use culinary grade rather than ceremonial grade green tea powder.
This is because culinary grade matcha actually has a more intense, bolder flavour that won’t get drowned out in the finished product. It’s also much cheaper than ceremonial grade matcha, which really is best used for drinking only.
So you’ll be able to save money AND buy it in bulk so you can do more cooking!
What are Green Tea Matcha Cookies?
Matcha cookies are a soft tea cookie or biscuit infused with culinary grade matcha powder. The tea powder gives them their unique bright green colour and earthy flavour. They’re lightly sweeten, and go amazingly well with a coffee or tea (or even a matcha latte!) as an afternoon snack.
In Japan, you’ll find an incredible array of green tea matcha cookies from local konbini (convenience stores) through to a dedicated matcha cafe in Kyoto.
They can also be bought as souvenirs (called omiyage / お土産) from gift stores and supermarkets, especially in tourist and business areas. They’re usually individually wrapped… which is great for keeping them fresh but not so great when it comes to packaging waste! So we much prefer to make them at home, freshly baked and plastic free.
What You’ll Need
- Matcha Powder – We use Maeda-En culinary grade matcha powder which is perfect for baking. It’s mixed with boiling water to bring out the flavour and ensure there are no bitter lumps of matcha throughout the cookies. Make sure any matcha powder you use is unsweetened. Otherwise, your cookies will be far too sweet without the matcha flavour intensity you’re looking for.
- Sugar – A mix of light brown sugar and caster sugar / superfine sugar adds a little extra caramelised flavour without tasting too sweet. Sub with regular white sugar if you need.
- Salted Butter – Salted butter is our go-to because the salt helps bring out even more flavour in the cookies. Softening the butter first helps make it easier to cream with the sugar. Sub with unsalted butter if you prefer (but you might like to add a pinch of salt if you do).
- White Miso Paste – The secret ingredient! This helps to enhance all the other flavours in the cookies! You can leave it out if you don’t have any on hand, or sub with a pinch of salt.
- Vanilla Essence – Also known as vanilla extract, this adds a lovely vanilla and caramel note to the cookies.
- Flour – We use self raising flour to keep these cookies deliciously soft. If using all purpose flour, add 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda.
- Egg – We use extra large eggs that weigh around 59 g / 2 oz. It’s best to use room temperature eggs for most baking recipes, but if you forget to take them out earlier, don’t stress.
- Macadamia Nuts – The crunch and flavour is so delicious, especially once toasted! Use non-toasted macadamia nuts if you want to save time. Sub with hazelnuts, almonds etc, or use white chocolate chips for extra sweetness if you prefer.
How to Make Matcha Cookies
First, gather your ingredients: See recipe card below for measurements.
To toast the macadamias (optional)
- Dry toast the chopped macadamias in a medium frying pan on medium heat for 2-3 minutes until golden with a light char around the edges. Transfer into a small bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes before adding to the cookie dough.
Tip: The flavour and aroma of toasted macadamias is out of this world! But you can skip this step if you want to save time.
To prepare the dough
- Place the matcha powder into a small dish and pour in the hot water. Mix well with a matcha whisk or small regular whisk until the matcha is fully dissolved and frothy.
- Cream the brown sugar, caster sugar and butter using a stand mixer (or use hand held beaters and a large mixing bowl) for around 3-5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Tip: You can use a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon if you need.
- Add the bloomed matcha tea, white miso paste, vanilla essence and egg, then mix together on low.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer (if using) then fold in the self raising flour and toasted macadamias using a wooden spoon until well combined. Cover and refrigerate dough for a minimum of 15 min.
To make the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 360°F.
- Form cookie dough balls around 3 cm / 1.5 inches in diameter, then place onto baking trays lined with baking paper / parchment paper or a silicone mat. Tip: Leave a little space next to each one, as they will expand while baking.
- Flatten the tops slightly and sprinkle with the extra 1-2 tsp caster sugar.
- Bake for around 10 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges and cracks start to form on top.
- Transfer to a cooling rack until fully cooled, then serve or store in an airtight container on the benchtop.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Cookie Scoop – You can use a cookie scoop for nice evenly sized cookies if you like, but it’s not essential.
- Boiling Water – If you have a variable temperature kettle, we recommend boiling your water to 80°C / 175°F. You can also leave a regular kettle for 5 minutes after boiling to allow the temperature to drop slightly. This helps avoid too much bitterness in the matcha tea.
Storage & Freezing
No need to store these cookies in the fridge, just pop them in an airtight container on the bench. They’ll keep for a few days, and soften further over time. Matcha cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for around 2-3 months, but we recommend (and prefer) eating them fresh!
FAQs
A matcha whisk isn’t necessary for this recipe. Simply use any small whisk or even a fork in a pinch. The key is to whisk quite fast so it froths up and dissolves any lumps in the tea.
Matcha Latte Powder – This usually contains sweeteners and/or milk powder. For this reason, we don’t recommend substituting for this recipe.
Green Tea Leaves – While this can be used as a substitute, it will have a completely different flavour to matcha powder. If you do use green tea leaves as a substitute, bloom 1 tbsp of tea leaves in 2 1/2 tbsp boiling water for 10 minutes. Strain then follow the rest of the recipe as normal.
Yep, you sure can. Make the dough the day before, then store it in the fridge (in an airtight container) overnight. Then the next day while your oven is preheating, take out the dough and rest it on the bench for 15 minutes or so before shaping to make the dough slightly easier to handle.
Doing so will help stop the cookie dough spreading out as it bakes, giving them their cute fluffy dome shapes. It also helps to enhance the sweetness and flavour in the finished cookies. Of course if you really can’t wait, you can skip the chilling time.
Variations
- Hojicha Cookies – For a lighter and more toasted flavour cookie, bloom 1 tbsp of hojicha tea (roasted green tea leaves) in 2 1/2 tbsp boiling water for 10 minutes before straining then add the tea in place of the matcha tea mix.
- Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies – Swap out the macadamia nuts for white chocolate chunks or dark chocolate chips.
- Make it Vegan – Swap the egg for an egg replacement or product like Ener-G Vegan Egg Replacer and the butter for coconut oil or vegan butter.
- Love Soft Cookies? – Try our deliciously chewy Anzac biscuits next.
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★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Ingredients
- ½ cup brown sugar 50 g / 1.75 oz, not packed down
- ¼ cup caster sugar 40 g / 1.4 oz, plus 1 – 2 tsp for sprinkling
- ¼ cup salted butter 60 g / 2.1 oz, softened
- 1 tsp white miso paste
- 1 tsp matcha green tea powder heaped
- 2 tbsp hot water Around 80°C / 175°F – see notes
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cups self raising flour 180 g / 6.35 oz
- ½ cup macadamia nuts 60 g / 2.1 oz, roughly chopped, sub hazelnut or white chocolate chips
Instructions
To toast the macadamias (optional)
- Dry toast the ½ cup macadamia nuts in a medium frying pan on medium heat for 2-3 minutes until golden with a slight char around the edges. Transfer into a small bowl and allow them to cool down for a few minutes before adding to the cookie dough. Tip: The flavour and aroma of toasted macadamias is out of this world! But you can skip this step if you want to save time.½ cup macadamia nuts
To prepare the dough
- Place the 1 tsp matcha green tea powder into a small dish and pour in the 2 tbsp hot water. Mix well with a matcha whisk or small regular whisk until the matcha is fully dissolved and frothy.1 tsp matcha green tea powder, 2 tbsp hot water
- Cream the ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup caster sugar and ¼ cup salted butter using a stand mixer or hand held beaters for around 3-5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Tip: You can use a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon if you need.½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup caster sugar, ¼ cup salted butter
- Add the bloomed matcha tea, 1 tsp white miso paste, 1 tsp vanilla essence and 1 egg, then mix together on low1 tsp white miso paste, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1 egg
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer (if using) then stir in the 1 ½ cups self raising flour and toasted macadamias using a wooden spoon until well combined. Cover and refrigerate dough for a minimum of 15 min.1 ½ cups self raising flour
- Cover and refrigerate dough for a minimum of 15 min.
To make the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 360°F.
- Form cookie dough balls around 3 cm / 1.5 inches in diameter, then place onto baking trays lined with baking paper / parchment paper or a silicone mat. Tip: Leave a little space next to each one, as they will expand while baking.
- Flatten the tops slightly and sprinkle with the extra 1-2 tsp caster sugar.
- Bake for around 10 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges and cracks start to form on top.
- Transfer to a cooling rack until fully cooled, then serve or store in an airtight container on the benchtop.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Matcha Powder – We use Maeda-En culinary grade matcha powder which is perfect for baking. It’s mixed with boiling water to bring out the flavour and ensure there are no bitter lumps of matcha throughout the cookies. Make sure any matcha powder you use is unsweetened. Otherwise, your cookies will be far too sweet without the matcha flavour intensity you’re looking for.
- Macadamia Nuts – The crunch and flavour is so delicious, especially once toasted! Use non-toasted macadamia nuts if you want to save time. Sub with hazelnuts, almonds etc, or use white chocolate chips for extra sweetness if you prefer.
- Cookie Scoop – You can use a cookie scoop for nice evenly sized cookies if you like, but it’s not essential.
- Boiling Water – If you have a variable temperature kettle, we recommend boiling your water to 80°C / 175°F. You can also leave a regular kettle for 5 minutes after boiling to allow the temperature to drop slightly. This helps avoid too much bitterness in the matcha tea.
Nutrition
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