Soft Matcha Cookies: Mix, Scoop, Bake in 30 Minutes (No Mixer Needed)

🩵Ease Level & Flavor Profile

• Ease level: No mixer needed for small batches (uses melted butter or room temperature softened butter). Just mix, scoop, bake!
• Flavor profile: Earthy, green tea flavors. Not too sweet. soft and slightly chewy. Perfect for tea lovers (green tea lovers)
• Dishes: Minimal dishes (mixing bowl, rubber spatula, ice cream scoop or spoons).

🥣Main Ingredients

• All-Purpose Flour: The backbone for these cookies and provides structure without making cookies dense. For soft cookies, don’t overmix (gluten development = toughness).
• Matcha: Matcha powder gives this cookie its beautiful color and earthy tea flavors.
• Baking powder and baking soda: Baking powder lifts the dough slightly for a delicate, crumbly texture while baking soda helps the tenderness and spread of the dough.
• Granulated White Sugar: I wanted to use mainly white can sugar for this recipe to help the matcha flavors shine through more.
• Unsalted Butter: Provides richness, tenderness, and that classic melt-in-your-mouth texture. Lets you control the salt level precisely.
• Egg: Binds ingredients, adds structure, and contributes to a tender crumb.
• Salt: Balances sweetness.

See recipe card below for ingredient measurements! This is for those that want a more in-depth idea of what each ingredient is and what they do. ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-

✨How To Make Matcha Cookies

Step 1: Combine Ingredients

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. Stir to sift together. Then add wet ingredients into dry ingredients bowl.

Step 2: Mix

Mix matcha cookie dough until incorporated. There shouldn't be any wet or dry streaky spots. Don't overmix. Make sure to scrap along the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Step 3: Portion Matcha Cookie Dough

Portion out matcha sugar cookie dough by using an ice cream scoop for even sizing or using a spoon.

Step 4:  Bake & Enjoy

Space them 3 inches apart on the prepared pan lined with parchment paper and bake. Let cool and enjoy!

🔄Substitutions/Variations

Want to switch it up? Here are some variations and substitutions you can try
✧ദ്ദി( ˶^ᗜ^˶ ): 

• Try a different tea powder like hojicha powder for another flavor profile!
  

🍴Tools

• rubber spatula
• ice cream scoop or spoons, to portion out cookie dough
• cookie sheet/tray
• parchment paper or baking pan spray
• mixing bowl

🍪How To Store/Freeze Matcha Cookies

• For Baked Cookies:
  • At room temperature, store cookies in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. For soft cookies, place a slice of bread in the container to maintain moisture. Cookies stay fresh for 3-5 days. Crisp cookies may last slightly longer but may lose some crunch over time.
  • In the freezer, Place cooled cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet to freeze, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. Separate layers with parchment paper if you'd like to help prevent them from sticking when freezing the cookies. Cookies remain fresh for up to 3 months. Let them sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes or reheat in a 300°F (150°C) oven for a few minutes to refresh the texture when thawing.
• For Unbaked Cookie Dough:
  • In the fridge, wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container. Dough can be refrigerated for 2-3 days before baking. Bake directly from fully chilled at 300 F (with fan) or 325 F (without fan), 10-14 minutes depending on your cookie texture preference
  • In the freezer, shape dough into balls and freeze on a baking sheet until solid. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container, removing excess air. Frozen dough lasts up to 3 months. Bake directly from fully chilled at 275 F (with fan) or 300 F (without fan), 10-14 minutes depending on your cookie texture preference.
    
    I love freezing extra cookie dough whenever I make batches so I always have a freshly baked treat whenever I want :)

‼️Pro Tip

• For evenly sized cookies, use an ice cream scoop! This is my favorite way to portion out cookie dough so they’re nice and evenly baked.
• Want perfectly circular shaped cookies? Give them a shimmy! Use a circular cookie cutter, mason jar lid, heat safe mug/measuring cup to give your cookies a shimmy so that their edges are more evenly circular. 
• Freeze your extra cookie dough! Having a cookie dough freezer stash is my secret weapon for late night cravings (who else loves a freshly baked cookie at 9pm??) and last-minute hosting guests/gifting! Pre-portioned dough means warm, freshly baked cookies are always 15 minutes away, no thawing needed. Will I bake them all at once? Probably…but I don’t see the problem :) 
  
  I've been using these stainless steel stackable containers. They aren't completely air tight but if you plan to only freeze for about a month, they should be okay without freezer burn. Each container should fit about 8x (1.5oz) scooped cookie doughs. To make it more airtight, use this press & seal before placing the lid on top to store the frozen cookie dough for up to 3 months. Until I find a better container, this is what I've been doing for now. Hope this helps. 💙✨

⏲️Overwhelmed? Make Ahead!

Do you feel overwhelmed or have a busy schedule but still want to bake this recipe?! Here is a general idea of the work flow I would do as a professionally trained baker (with a degree in Baking & Pastry Arts) and years of experience in NYC bakeries to help you have more fun!⬇٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-

(Spoiler (ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ.ﾟ: most bakes in professional kitchens/bakeries are broken down into steps for efficiency. We usually aren't measuring, mixing, baking EVERYTHING on the same day. Some components are prepped beforehand so don't feel bad if you feel like you aren't accomplishing what you'd like to in your baking journey, you just haven't figured out the right system yet! Let me help you with that~⋆˙♡)

You can combine any of the work days to suit your timeline. The idea is you really don't have to make everything in ONE DAY! My recipe card below is written in a way to make and bake this in one day for recipe structuring purposes (as well as reading or printing) but if I were to break up the baking steps for this recipe, this is what I would do:

˗ˏˋ ★ Day By Day Baking Steps For Matcha Cookies ★ ˎˊ˗

Day 1: Prep Ingredients & Tools 

1. Measure out the dry ingredients for matcha cookies and set aside. Take your egg and butter (don't mix them together) and set aside. (You can combine day 1+2 steps)
2. Prepare your tools you'll need.

Day 2: Make Matcha Cookie Dough

1. Mix the cookie dough and either scoop it onto a parchment-lined sheet pan 2-3 inches apart for baking or set them side by side and cover it with plastic wrap to prevent drying, or portion it into a container with a lid for storing.
2. If storing, put into fridge or freezer (make sure to use freezer friendly containers if freezing). You can bake these cookies chilled from the fridge or from frozen (and this makes it super easy to make way in advance to have in your freezer and bake whenever.)

Day 3: Bake

Bake cookie dough, cool, and enjoy!

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ woohoo, you did it!!! ٩>ᴗ<)و I hope this was fun and it helped you become a more confident baker ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗