Last Updated on May 18, 2022 by Chenée Lewis
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.
- 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 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
- Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe - With Brown Butter
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!
Catherine
I just made these and they’re great. The batter was super easy to make. They cooked PERFECTLY in 12 minutes. I like that they do not have a heavy matcha flavor - it’s more of a ‘hint’ of matcha. You can of course always add more matcha, but I love them just the way they are.
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much! 😁
Yin
Thanks so much for the recipe! One of the best matcha cookies I have made to date! I was just wondering as the cookies were quite sweet, how much sugar can I reduce the recipe by or should I add in more matcha? I am a bit worried that it would affect the texture. Thanks 🙂
Chenée Lewis
Hi! Thanks so much I'm glad you liked them! You can cut the granulated sugar down to 1/2 cup, and you can definitely increase the matcha to 4 tbsp to even out the sweetness! You can also use dark chocolate chips instead of white chocolate or semi-sweet to cut back on the sweetness there too. Hope this helps!
Melinda
This recipe made 28 cookies for me. For the butter, I subbed half avocado (worked great because of the color!) and half margarine.
The taste was good - enough sugar and chocolate to take away the bitterness of the matcha. 😉
My negative is that they didn't flatten like yours did in the photos. I used a cookie scoop, and they baked in the exact same shape (thick clumps), rather than flattening down into thin cookies.
didn't flatten
Chenée Lewis
Hi! Glad you enjoyed them! They may not have flattened out fully depending on how you measured out your flour. I always recommend using a kitchen scale to prevent accidentally measuring out more flour than needed, since a measuring cup of flour can include varying amounts. Also, it sounds like the avocado substitution may have thickened your dough up a bit, and avocado doesn't melt down as much in the oven as butter does. Hope this helps for next time 🙂
AB
Tasted really yummy and I actually made these twice! However, I found that they didn't spread out either time I tried to cook them and looked the same when I used additional flour as per the recipe, and also when I followed the original.
Chenée Lewis
Glad you liked them! If you didn't already, it might help them to spread if you use a kitchen scale or the spoon-and-level method to measure your flour (I have a post on measuring baking ingredients). Sometimes if we use a measuring cup we end up with more flour than we need, which can keep the cookies from spreading. But either way thanks for trying them!
Chris
Made this last night, they were absolutely delicious! Sweetness of the sugar and bitterness of the matcha perfectly balanced. Mine came out much thicker than the photos for some reason, maybe because I chilled them for longer? But they were super fluffy and chewy on the inside which is exactly how I like my cookies. So it worked out great!
Chenée Lewis
Hi Chris! So glad you liked them! They may have been a little fluffier depending on how you measured your flour. But good thing you like them that way! 🙂
Kim
The cookies I made were not thin but they were chewy, soft, and crispy at the edges. My family absolutely loved them, they ate the whole batch in less than 30 minutes and they don’t usually finish the cookies so quickly. My brother did suggest adding in more matcha because he loves that matcha flavor! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Chenée Lewis
So glad your family enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing your feedback 🙂
Natalie
Oh wow! What lovely cookies. I love the vibrant color and festive look. I'm adding these cookies to my holiday baking list. Thanks!
Chenée Lewis
Wonderful! I hope you enjoy!
Brianna
The combo of calming matcha and creamy chocolate is divine! Can't beat that beautiful green color either.
Chenée Lewis
So glad you liked them!
Alex
I needed something green to make and these were perfect! Such a great color and delicious, too!
Chenée Lewis
Yes the matcha gives them a lovely color! Glad you liked them!
Erin
These cookies were so easy and tasty! My whole family loved them, thank you!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you all liked them!
Loreto and Nicoletta
These cookies are just amazing. Love the color. And absolutely love Matcga. Great info on the process of naking Matcha. I have had the wonderful experience of the Japanese tea cerimony. A nemory thst stays with me forever. Thanjs for igniting that memory!😁🙏❤😋
Chenée Lewis
You're very welcome!
Farrukh Aziz
This brings together my favorite stuff, all in one delicious cookie! It looks amazing, and it is!
Chenée Lewis
Glad you liked them!!
Amy Nash
Perfect for the holiday season, but we will definitely make these all year long! I did a mix of white chocolate and semisweet chocolate and it was wonderful!
Chenée Lewis
Great combination! So glad you liked the cookies!
Tristin
These look so chewy and packed full of flavor. Now my only decision is to choose white chocolate or semi-sweet!!
Chenée Lewis
Yes! Or you can do both!
Angie
Your Matcha chocolate chip cookies look so pretty and festive. They look like they must taste amazing!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you! They do!
Mikayla
I have not worked much with Matcha and green tea recipes, I can say I was definitely not disappointed!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you liked them! They're a new favorite of mine!