These soft matcha chocolate chip cookies are an incredible twist on a classic chocolate chip cookie! Chewy green tea chocolate chip cookies with a subtle matcha flavor that everyone will love! And if you like this matcha cookies recipe, you’ll love my Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins with Orange Zest, my Brownie Mix Cookies with White Chocolate, Cherries and Pistachios, and my Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter and Sea Salt!
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Soft Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
If you've ever baked with matcha before, you know it adds such a deliciously complex flavor to sweet treats, and these matcha cookies are a perfect example! They bake up nice and chewy, with crispy edges and lots of chocolate chips, and they can be made with your choice of white chocolate chips, semisweet chips, or dark chocolate! They're a delicious twist on classic chocolate chip cookies!
What is matcha for baking?
Matcha is made from specially-grown green tea leaves that are steamed, dried and stone-ground into powder. It dates back to the 12th century in Japan, where it has become part of the revered practice of the tea ceremony. Matcha comes in three grades: ceremonial grade is the highest quality that is used for the Japanese tea ceremony, and is a bright, grassy green color. Premium grade matcha is also relatively high in quality, but its standards are not as stringent as ceremonial grade, so it is a more affordable option for lattes and other everyday drinks. Culinary grade matcha is a lighter green, with a slightly more bitter grassy flavor, and is affordable enough to be used in cooking and baking recipes like these matcha cookies.
What does matcha taste like?
Matcha imparts a deliciously earthy, grassy tea flavor and bright green color to baked goods. It adds a lovely complexity to sweet dishes that breaks up any overly sweet flavors, and it complements flavors like dark chocolate, vanilla, lemon, mint, berries, and ginger. The earthy flavor of matcha is a perfect fit for these soft matcha chocolate chip cookies!
Matcha Cookies Ingredients
- butter - we're using melted butter, which helps the cookies to stay nice and chewy and makes them super easy to mix up!
- granulated sugar - using granulated sugar adds sweetness and crisp edges to these matcha chocolate chip cookies.
- brown sugar - to add a richer sweetness and contribute to a chewier texture, we'll add in light brown sugar as well. Or if you just realized you're out of brown sugar, check out my recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar!
- egg - your egg should be room temperature before adding it in.
- vanilla extract - be sure to use a high-quality pure vanilla extract. Or better yet, check out my post on how to make vanilla extract at home with just 2 ingredients!
- all purpose flour - be sure to measure your flour correctly to ensure an accurate amount. I like to use a kitchen scale to measure by weight. You can add a little extra flour to produce slightly thicker cookies.
- cornstarch - a little cornstarch helps to keep these cookies soft and chewy!
- matcha powder - it should be a high quality culinary grade matcha -- I use AprikaLife organic matcha.
- baking soda - gives these green tea chocolate chip cookies a bit of lift.
- chocolate chips - you can use whatever chocolate chips you like in these matcha cookies! I like Ghirardelli white baking chips or their jumbo-sized semisweet chocolate chips.
Equipment
You'll need a lined baking sheet for this recipe -- I like my Nordic Ware Baker's Big Sheet lined with a Silpat ¾ sheet liner! You'll also want a small cookie scoop for evenly-sized cookies. Here are a few more of my favorite tools for these green tea chocolate chip cookies:
Tips and F.A.Q.
Does chocolate and matcha go together? Absolutely! Matcha works especially well with chocolate as a flavor combination. The creamy sweetness of chocolate balances out the earthiness of the matcha so well! I love dark chocolate chips and white chocolate in these matcha cookies!
Your green tea chocolate chip cookies should turn out a warm green color, but if they're too brown you may have added too much brown sugar, or baked them a bit too long.
For a batch of soft matcha chocolate chip cookies this size, you'll want 2-3 teaspoons of matcha powder. I like to use a full tablespoon for a noticeable matcha flavor.
First, you'll want to make sure you use a good quality matcha. I use AprikaLife culinary grade organic matcha, and I love the flavor and freshness. If you use a high quality matcha, it should have a smooth, earthy flavor that isn't bitter. You can also add flavors that will complement your matcha, like citrus, chocolate, vanilla, and spices.
Matcha is traditionally produced in a long, meticulous process by the tea leaves are planted, cared for, hand-picked, processed, steamed, dried, and stone-ground. High-quality matcha takes a lot of time, energy, and attention to detail to produce, which is what makes it cost more. Producing a less-expensive matcha usually involves cutting corners that can result in a less desirable flavor, color, or nutritional benefit.
Chances are, you accidentally added too much flour by measuring with a dry measuring cup. For best accuracy, I always recommend measuring dry ingredients by weight with a kitchen scale. A dry measuring cup can hold varying amounts of flour depending on how tightly it's packed, but a kitchen scale always gives you the exact amount you need. Scooping flour with a measuring cup can inadvertently add too much flour to your dough, which will keep these cookies from spreading and from getting as soft and chewy as they can be. If you don't have a kitchen scale (you should) you can use the spoon-and-level method. For more, see my post on measuring baking ingredients accurately!
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a star review rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
More Cookie Recipes You'll Love
- Almond Lemon Cookies
- Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies
- Lemon Curd Cookies
- Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies with Cinnamon Sugar
- Coconut Macadamia Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks
- Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies
📖 Recipe
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cup (167 g) all purpose flour - measured by weight or fluffed using the spoon-and-level method. (see note)
- 2 tablespoon (16 g) cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) matcha powder - high-quality, culinary grade
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- ½ cup (114 g) salted butter - melted
- ⅔ cup (133 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar - packed
- 1 large egg - room temperature
- 1½ teaspoon (7 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (177 g) chocolate chips - semi-sweet, dark, or white
- flaky sea salt - for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and matcha until well combined. Set aside.1⅓ cup all purpose flour, 2 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon matcha powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until smooth.½ cup salted butter, ⅔ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until combined into a dough. Fold in chocolate chips.¾ cup chocolate chips
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill at least 30 minutes.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking liner or parchment paper.
- Use a small cookie scoop to scoop dough out onto lined cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until edges of cookies are golden brown. Centers will still look underdone just as they come out of the oven -- the cookies will continue to cook a bit as they cool. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.flaky sea salt
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PIN the best chewy matcha white chocolate cookies for later!
Last Updated on October 18, 2022 by Chenée Lewis
Liza
My family loves chocolate chip cookies, and this recipe was a fun new twist on the classic. Really delicious, and we love the green color!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you! I'm glad your family enjoyed!
Dina Miller
Wow! So good! Made a double batch and the family devoured!
Chenée Lewis
That's always a good idea!
Mahy
Fantastic cookies! I love how delicious they look, and definitely something my family will love, too!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
These cookies are so pretty and I love the idea of using different chocolate chips. Can't wait to make these.
Chenée Lewis
Thanks! Yeah you can even mix and match!
Dannii
My kids loved these. So fun to make too.
Chenée Lewis
Great to hear it!
bakingbruh
really good. they made my depressed dad happy. =)
Chenée Lewis
I'm so happy to hear that! Sending hugs to you and your dad!!
Mimi
These were so soft and delicious. Love making them for the kids to enjoy when the return home from school.
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much! Glad you and the kids like them!
Krissy
I love all things matcha so I was super excited when I found this recipe. They turned out so good! Will be making them again on St. Patrick's day because they're green!
Chenée Lewis
Oh what a great idea!
Sharon
I love the earthy taste of matcha and it went perfectly with the sweetness of the chocolate chips in these cookies.
Chenée Lewis
So glad you liked them! Thanks!
Sara Welch
Whipped up a batch of these this afternoon and they did not disappoint! Such a fun and tasty twist to a classic recipe, indeed!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you liked them! 🙂 Thanks so much!
Andrea
These earthy and sweet cookies sound marvelous. I can't wait to taste them.
Chenée Lewis
You'll love them!
Sade Yimer
These cookies are delicious! I did not have cornstarch so I just added 4 tablespoons of more flour. Thank you for sharing your delicious cookie recipe!:)
Chenée Lewis
You're very welcome! I'm glad you liked them!
bakingbruh
i made these with my mom. they r really good. we used white chocalet chips and we made even my depressed dad happy
Amanda
Way, wayyyyy too sweet. I used Aprika Premium Culinary grade matcha, added a little extra even, and the flavor is only incidental, almost completely overpowered by all the sugar. These are so sweet I don't know if I can/want to eat them. I even subbed in some coconut sugar (not as sweet as cane) and cut back 4 Tbsp overall, and they are still way too sweet for my liking and the matcha is barely perceptible.
Chenée Lewis
Sorry to hear that you weren't a fan! Hope you can find something else on the blog that you enjoy 😊
Nancy
Delicious cookies. Such a hit with the family! Definitely better than store-bought. Will be making more!
Chenée Lewis
So glad to hear it! Thanks!
Catherine M Cullen
These are the worst cookies I’ve baked in a long time ( yes I measured my ingredients). Overly sweet, too much chocolate ( I used Ghirardelli), baked at 12 minutes they were dry, 9 they were almost not cooked enough. I used culinary grade matcha. Simply not a good cookie.
Chenée Lewis
Thats too bad, sorry to hear you didn't like the cookies!