Matcha Sugar Cookie Recipe

Of all the baking experiments that have filled my kitchen with delightful aromas over the years, none have surprised and captivated my family quite like these Matcha Sugar Cookies. The first time I made them, I was a bit nervous. Would the earthy, slightly grassy notes of matcha be too overpowering in a classic sugar cookie? My son, a notorious skeptic of anything green that isn’t a vegetable he’s forced to eat, eyed the vibrant dough with suspicion. But the moment they came out of the oven, the air filled with a unique, intoxicating scent—a perfect marriage of warm, buttery vanilla and fresh, mellow green tea. He took a tentative bite, his eyes widened, and then he declared them “the coolest cookies ever.” Since that day, they’ve become a staple for holidays, special occasions, or just a quiet afternoon with a cup of tea. They are visually stunning, with a delicate, jade-green hue that needs no food coloring, and their flavor is a sophisticated dance of sweet and earthy. These cookies aren’t just a treat; they’re an experience—a simple, elegant, and utterly delicious way to bring a touch of Japanese-inspired artistry to your cookie jar.

The Ultimate Matcha Sugar Cookie Recipe

This recipe is designed to create a perfectly balanced matcha sugar cookie that holds its shape for cut-outs, has a tender, buttery texture, and a beautiful, vibrant green color. The flavor is distinctly matcha without being bitter, complemented by sweet vanilla notes.

Ingredients

• For the Cookies:
  • 3 cups (360g) All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 tablespoons (15g) High-Quality Culinary Grade Matcha Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 cup (227g) Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup (200g) Granulated Sugar
  • 1 large Egg, at room temperature
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• For the Optional Royal Icing:
  • 2 cups (240g) Powdered Sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons Meringue Powder
  • ¼ cup (60ml) Warm Water, plus more as needed
  • ½ teaspoon Vanilla or Almond Extract

Instructions

Part 1: Making the Cookie Dough

1. Sift Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together the all-purpose flour, matcha powder, baking powder, and salt. Sifting is highly recommended, especially for the matcha powder, as it prevents small, dark green clumps from forming in your final dough and ensures a uniform, beautiful color. Set the bowl aside.
2. Cream Butter and Sugar: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the softened unsalted butter on medium speed for about 1 minute until it is smooth and creamy. Add the granulated sugar and continue to beat on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl periodically. The mixture should become light, pale, and fluffy. This step is crucial as it incorporates air into the dough, which is key to a tender cookie texture.
3. Add Wet Ingredients: Add the room temperature egg and vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed until everything is fully combined, about 1 minute. The mixture should look emulsified and smooth. If your egg is too cold, the mixture might look slightly curdled, but it will come together once you add the dry ingredients.
4. Combine Wet and Dry: Turn the mixer down to its lowest speed. Gradually add the sifted dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients in three additions. Mix only until the flour streaks have just disappeared. Be very careful not to overmix the dough at this stage. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, which will result in tough, hard cookies instead of tender, melt-in-your-mouth ones.
5. Chill the Dough: The dough will be soft. Divide it in half, form each half into a flat disc about 1-inch thick, and wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap. Chilling is the most important step for preventing spread. Refrigerate the dough for a minimum of 2 hours, or up to 3 days. A longer chill time allows the flour to fully hydrate and the flavors to meld, resulting in a more flavorful cookie.

Part 2: Baking the Cookies

1. Preheat and Prepare: When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. This prevents sticking and promotes even browning on the bottom of the cookies.
2. Roll and Cut: Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator. Let it sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to become slightly more pliable. Lightly flour your work surface and your rolling pin. Roll the dough out evenly to a ¼-inch thickness. If the dough feels sticky, you can roll it between two sheets of parchment paper. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out shapes and carefully transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1.5 inches of space between each cookie.
3. Optional Second Chill: For extra sharp edges, especially with intricate cookie cutter shapes, you can place the entire baking sheet of cut-out cookies into the freezer for 10-15 minutes before baking. This solidifies the butter one last time, ensuring minimal spread in the oven.
4. Bake: Bake for 10-12 minutes. The edges should be set and the centers should look firm and matte. Unlike traditional sugar cookies, you will not see much browning due to the vibrant green color. Be careful not to overbake, as this will make them dry and crispy rather than tender.
5. Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies continue to bake from the residual heat of the pan, so this step is important. Ensure they are completely cool before attempting to decorate them.

Part 3: Decorating (Optional)

1. Make the Icing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add the warm water and extract, and beat with a hand mixer on low speed until combined, then on high speed for about 2 minutes until glossy and stiff peaks form.
2. Decorate: Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Outline and flood the cookies as desired. You can also simply drizzle the icing over the cookies or dip one half of each cookie for a simple, elegant look. Let the icing set completely at room temperature, which can take several hours.

Nutrition Facts

• Servings: Approximately 36 cookies
• Calories per serving (1 cookie, undecorated): Approximately 110 kcal

Disclaimer: Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact ingredients used, cookie size, and thickness.

Preparation Time

• Active Time: 30 minutes
• Chilling Time: 2 hours (minimum)
• Baking Time: 10-12 minutes per batch
• Total Time: Approximately 2 hours 45 minutes

How to Serve Your Matcha Sugar Cookies

These versatile cookies can be enjoyed in many ways. Their sophisticated flavor profile makes them suitable for both casual snacking and elegant dessert spreads.

• Classic Tea Pairing:
  • Serve alongside a traditional cup of hot matcha or a frothy matcha latte for a full green tea experience.
  • They also pair beautifully with other Japanese teas like sencha, genmaicha, or hojicha.
  • A simple cup of English breakfast tea or Earl Grey provides a lovely contrast.
• As a Dessert Component:
  • Crumble the cookies over a scoop of vanilla bean or black sesame ice cream for a delightful textural contrast.
  • Use two cookies to create a mini ice cream sandwich.
  • Serve them on a dessert platter alongside fresh berries, white chocolate squares, and other complementary treats.
• Gifts and Party Favors:
  • Their beautiful color makes them perfect for holiday cookie boxes, adding a unique hue amongst the traditional browns and whites.
  • Package them in clear cellophane bags tied with a ribbon for elegant party favors for weddings, baby showers, or tea parties.
  • They are a thoughtful and unique homemade gift for friends, neighbors, and colleagues.
• With Coffee:
  • While tea is a natural pairing, the earthy notes of matcha are also a wonderful complement to a milky latte or a smooth cappuccino.

Choosing the Right Matcha for Baking

A common question that arises when baking with matcha is what type to use. The quality of your matcha powder will have the single biggest impact on the final color and flavor of your cookies. Understanding the difference is key to success.

Culinary Grade Matcha

This is the recommended grade for baking and cooking. Culinary matcha is specifically intended to be mixed with other ingredients. It has a stronger, more robust, and slightly more bitter flavor profile that is designed to stand up to sugar, flour, and fats. It’s also more affordable than ceremonial grade. Within culinary grade, you might see sub-grades like “premium,” “cafe,” or “ingredient” grade. For these cookies, a high-quality culinary or premium grade will yield a beautiful green color and a pleasant, noticeable matcha flavor.

Ceremonial Grade Matcha

This is the highest quality matcha, intended for traditional Japanese tea ceremonies where it is whisked with hot water and consumed on its own. It has a very delicate, smooth, and subtly sweet flavor with minimal bitterness. While you can use it for baking, it’s not ideal for two main reasons. First, its delicate flavor can be easily lost or overwhelmed by the other ingredients in the recipe. Second, it is significantly more expensive, and its nuances will not be appreciated when baked, making it an unnecessary splurge.

The Takeaway: Save your expensive ceremonial grade matcha for drinking and opt for a high-quality culinary grade matcha for this recipe to achieve the best balance of flavor, color, and cost. Look for a powder that has a bright, vibrant green color, not a dull or yellowish-brown hue, as this is an indicator of freshness and quality.

Additional Tips for Perfect Matcha Sugar Cookies

1. Don’t Skip the Chill. This is the most critical tip for sugar cookies that hold their shape. Chilling the dough solidifies the butter. When the cold dough hits the hot oven, the butter takes longer to melt, which means the cookie’s structure sets before the butter has a chance to spread out too much. This results in clean edges and thicker cookies.
2. Measure Your Flour Correctly. How you measure flour can dramatically alter a recipe. The most accurate way is to use a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, use the “spoon and level” method. Fluff up the flour in its container with a fork, then use a spoon to scoop it into your measuring cup until it’s overflowing. Finally, use the back of a knife to level it off. Scooping directly with the measuring cup compacts the flour, and you can end up with 25% more flour than the recipe calls for, leading to dry, crumbly cookies.
3. Sift the Matcha and Dry Ingredients. Matcha powder is extremely fine and prone to clumping. If you don’t sift it, you’ll end up with little dark green, intensely bitter specks in your cookies. Sifting it with the flour, salt, and baking powder ensures it is evenly distributed, giving your cookies a uniform jade color and a balanced flavor.
4. Room Temperature Ingredients are Non-Negotiable. For the creaming process to work its magic, the butter and egg must be at room temperature. Softened butter traps air when beaten with sugar, creating an emulsion that gives the cookies a tender crumb. A cold egg can cause the creamed butter to seize and separate. To quickly bring an egg to room temperature, place it in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 5-10 minutes.
5. Watch the Oven, Not the Clock. Every oven is different. The baking time of 10-12 minutes is a guideline. Start checking your cookies at the 10-minute mark. You’re looking for the edges to be set and the surface to appear dry and matte. They will not brown like a traditional cookie. If you wait for the edges to turn golden, you’ve likely overbaked them. They will continue to cook slightly on the hot pan after you remove them from the oven.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Why aren’t my cookies as green as the ones in the picture?
The vibrancy of the green color is almost entirely dependent on the quality of your matcha powder. An older, lower-quality, or improperly stored matcha will have a duller, sometimes yellowish or brownish-green color. For the brightest color, use a fresh, high-quality culinary grade matcha from a reputable brand. Also, be sure not to overbake the cookies, as browning will mask the green hue.

2. Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
Yes, you can substitute the all-purpose flour with a high-quality 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour blend (one that contains xanthan gum). The texture may be slightly different—often a bit sandier or more delicate—but they will still be delicious. Keep a close eye on them in the oven, as gluten-free flours can sometimes brown faster.

3. Can I make these cookies vegan?
Absolutely. To make these matcha sugar cookies vegan, you will need to make two substitutions. First, replace the unsalted dairy butter with a high-quality vegan butter substitute that comes in stick form (not a soft tub margarine). Second, replace the chicken egg with a “flax egg.” To make one flax egg, whisk together 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken into a gel-like consistency before adding it to the creamed vegan butter and sugar.

4. My dough is very crumbly and hard to roll out. What went wrong?
A crumbly dough is usually a sign of one of two things: too much flour or not enough fat/moisture. This often happens if the flour was compacted when measured (see tip #2 about the spoon and level method). It can also happen if the butter was too cold when creamed. To fix a slightly crumbly dough, you can try kneading in a teaspoon or two of milk or water until it comes together. If it’s crumbly right after mixing, it’s likely a measurement issue. If it’s crumbly after chilling, let it sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to soften slightly before attempting to roll it.

5. How far in advance can I make the dough?
This dough is perfect for making ahead! You can prepare the dough and store the wrapped discs in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The flavor actually deepens and improves with a longer chill time. You can also freeze the dough for longer storage. The wrapped discs can be frozen for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, simply thaw the frozen dough in the refrigerator overnight before rolling and baking as directed. You can also freeze the cut-out, unbaked cookies on a baking sheet, then transfer them to a freezer bag. They can be baked directly from frozen; just add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.