Matcha Green Tea Cookies

Deck the halls and decorate the shrine because this holiday treat comes straight from Japan! The cookies are a beautiful green color and the powdered sugar gives them a holiday feel which will erase the “bah-humbugs”. They are sweet, soft, and oh, so delicious.

Desserts Japanese

Celebrate the holidays with sweet and buttery matcha green tea cookies. These cookies have a soft and cakey texture and are topped off with confectionery sugar which adds some sweetness and imparts creates the image of a light dusting of snow on the lawn. These cookies are made with flour, baking powder, butter, egg, vanilla extract, almond powder, and of course, matcha.

Matcha is made from green tea leaves that are dried and ground into a fine powder. The tea is grown in the shade in the last few weeks before harvesting. The leaves are carefully dried, often inside, to prevent damage to the leaves. The leaves are then ground into a powder using a stone grinder.

Matcha Green Tea Cookies

Matcha cookies are the perfect treat around the holidays or anytime for that matter! The cookies are sweet enough on their own where the powdered sugar is optional. These cookies, although cakey, spread out on the baking tray so be sure to allow plenty of separation while cooking.

PREP	COOKING	YIELD
15 mins	15 mins	12-14 cookies

PREP	15 mins
COOKING	15 mins
YIELD	12-14 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar (100g)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/8 cup salted butter (85g)
7/8 cup flour (105g)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 TBSP matcha
1/4 cup almond powder (20g)
1/4 cup powdered confectioners sugar

Instructions:

Soften the butter at room temperature for about 15 minutes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Place a piece of parchment paper in a baking pan or cookie sheet and set aside.
Sift together flour, almond powder, baking soda and matcha and set aside.
Put the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla in a mixing bowl beat with a hand mixer until smooth.
Gradually add in the flour mixture while continuing to beat until all ingredients are combined and smooth.

Using a tablespoon, spoon the dough onto the baking sheet allowing for separation.

Bake uncovered for 14-16 minutes until the cookies rise and the edges begin to brown.
Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with powdered sugar while hot.

Cool for 10-15 minutes and store in an airtight container.

Notes:

Matcha cookies can be stored unrefrigerated in an airtight container. They are also good frozen.

Jay H

Jay is a Project Manager for a U.S. Company that does business globally. He has worked and lived in many places and has spent time learning how to cook dishes from around the world. Currently based in Japan, he created the Mountain Plums website during the Covid pandemic as a way to express himself though cooking while staying active.

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Jay H

Jay is a Project Manager for a U.S. Company that does business globally. He has worked and lived in many places and has spent time learning how to cook dishes from around the world. Currently based in Japan, he created the Mountain Plums website during the Covid pandemic as a way to express himself though cooking while staying active.