Irresistible Matcha White Chocolate Chip Cookies: Your Guide to Perfectly Chewy, Flavorful Treats
Prepare to fall in love at first bite with these exceptional Matcha white chocolate chip cookies! These aren’t just any cookies; they’re a symphony of soft, chewy texture and wonderfully intense, earthy matcha flavor, beautifully complemented by sweet white chocolate and a subtle hint of lime. Every batch I’ve shared has disappeared within hours, proving their undeniable appeal. They’re not only incredibly delicious but also surprisingly quick and easy to prepare, especially if you have a batch of homemade Matcha infused butter ready to go!
If you’re a devoted Matcha latte enthusiast eager to infuse that distinct, vibrant green tea essence into your baked goods, then this fantastic recipe for Matcha white chocolate chip cookies is exactly what you’ve been searching for. Get ready to elevate your cookie game and impress everyone with these uniquely flavorful treats.
Essential Ingredients for Your Matcha Cookie Masterpiece
Crafting these delectable matcha white chocolate chip cookies requires a selection of simple yet high-quality ingredients. The magic truly begins with our special matcha-infused butter, which gives these cookies their signature flavor and beautiful green hue. Here’s everything you’ll need to gather:
- Butter: Unsalted butter is preferred, as it gives you control over the salt content. This will be the base for our flavorful matcha butter.
- Matcha Powder: Culinary grade matcha works perfectly here, offering a robust green tea flavor and vibrant color. For a truly elevated experience, feel free to use ceremonial grade matcha.
- Granulated Sugar: Provides sweetness and contributes to the cookie’s tender texture.
- Baking Powder: A leavening agent that helps the cookies rise and achieve their desired chewiness.
- Baking Soda: Works with the slight acidity in the dough (from lime zest, if using, and other ingredients) to ensure a perfect lift and spread.
- Salt: Essential for balancing the sweetness and enhancing all the other flavors. Don’t skip it!
- Eggs: Act as a binder, adding structure and moisture to the cookie dough, contributing to its chewy texture.
- Lime Zest: This secret ingredient adds a bright, zesty counterpoint to the earthy matcha and sweet white chocolate, making the flavors truly pop.
- AP-Flour (All-Purpose Flour): The structural backbone of our cookies.
- White Chocolate Chips: Their creamy sweetness is the perfect partner to the distinctive taste of matcha.
For precise quantities, please refer to the recipe card located at the bottom of this article.
Step-by-Step Baking Guide: Creating Your Matcha White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step 1: Crafting the Matcha-Infused Butter
The secret to these exceptional cookies lies in homemade matcha-infused butter. This step not only imbues the butter with a deep green tea flavor but also ensures a beautiful color throughout your cookies. Starting with the butter creation ensures maximum flavor penetration and a smooth, lump-free base for your dough.
First, gently melt your unsalted butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Once melted, add your matcha powder. Let this mixture simmer for about 5 minutes, making sure to “stir” continuously with a whisk. Consistent whisking is absolutely crucial to prevent the matcha powder from clumping. Any lumps at this stage will result in an uneven flavor and texture in your final cookies, so take your time here to ensure a silky-smooth infusion.
Once you’ve achieved a lump-free consistency, remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the matcha butter to cool slightly. Then, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. This extra step ensures that any minuscule matcha particles that didn’t fully dissolve are removed, leaving you with a perfectly smooth and deeply flavored green butter. The smoother the butter, the more uniform the flavor and texture of your cookies.
After straining, transfer this vibrant matcha butter into a container and place it in the refrigerator to firm up. Ideally, leave it overnight to allow the flavors to fully meld and the butter to reach a firm, yet workable, room temperature consistency. This firming process is vital for the texture of the cookies, as using butter that is too warm can lead to flat, greasy cookies.
A note on alternative tea infusions: If you’re experimenting with other tea leaves, such as regular Rooibos tea leaves, black tea leaves, or even other varieties of green tea instead of matcha powder, you’ll need an extra preparatory step. First, blend the tea leaves in a food processor until they achieve a very fine, powder-like consistency. This fine powder is essential for proper infusion into the butter and to avoid any gritty texture in your cookies. The finer the grind, the better the flavor will release into the butter. Keep in mind that while the flavor will be unique, you won’t achieve the vibrant green color of matcha with these alternatives.
Step 2: Preparing the Cookie Dough
Once your matcha butter has properly cooled and firmed up, you can begin preparing the cookie dough. This is where the individual ingredients come together to form the perfect base for our chewy, flavorful cookies. Precision in mixing ensures a tender crumb and consistent texture.
Using your Kitchen Aid stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer), beat together the prepared Matcha butter and ¾ cup of granulated white sugar. Cream these two ingredients together for a good 2-3 minutes until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale green. This creaming process incorporates air, which is vital for the cookies’ soft and chewy texture.
Next, crack in the eggs and mix for another 2-3 minutes. Ensure the eggs are fully incorporated, adding moisture and richness to the dough. After the wet ingredients are well combined, it’s time for the dry elements. Gradually add the lime zest, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder to the mixture. Mix everything until just combined. Overmixing the flour can lead to tough cookies, so stop as soon as no dry streaks remain.
Finally, gently fold in the white chocolate chips using a silicone spatula. Stir just until the chips are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Avoid overmixing once the chips are in, to maintain their integrity and prevent the dough from becoming overly dense.
Step 3: Baking Your Matcha Cookies to Perfection
With your dough prepared, it’s time to transform it into delectable cookies. Proper portioning and baking technique will ensure uniform results and perfect cookies every time.
Using an ice cream scoop (a small one works best for consistent cookie size), portion the cookie dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Make sure to leave ample space between each cookie – about 4 cm or 2 inches – as they will spread during baking. Crowding the baking sheet can lead to uneven baking and cookies sticking together.
Bake your Matcha cookies in a preheated oven at 180° C / 360° F for 10-12 minutes. Baking times can vary slightly depending on your oven, so keep an eye on them. You’ll know they’re done when the edges are a beautiful golden brown and the centers are still slightly soft. This ensures that coveted chewy texture. Once baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This prevents them from breaking and helps them set properly. Then, serve them up to all your Matcha-loving friends and watch them disappear!
Flavor Explorations: Substitutions for Matcha Powder
While matcha offers a unique and distinct flavor, not everyone has it on hand, or perhaps you’re looking to experiment with different tea-infused cookies. If you’re not ready to invest in matcha powder but are intrigued by the concept of tea-infused cookies, you can certainly try substitutions. Remember, the vibrant green color is exclusive to matcha, but a world of flavors awaits!
You can substitute matcha with other finely ground tea leaves. Popular choices include:
- Regular Green Tea: Using a finely ground sencha or other green tea will still give you some of the earthy notes, albeit a milder version than matcha. Ensure it’s very finely ground to avoid a gritty texture.
- Black Tea (e.g., Earl Grey): Finely ground Earl Grey tea can add a sophisticated, citrusy-floral note to your cookies. It pairs wonderfully with white chocolate and provides a lovely aroma.
- Rooibos Tea: This caffeine-free herbal tea offers a naturally sweet, slightly nutty, and earthy flavor profile that could be a delightful alternative.
Remember, the intensity of flavor will depend on the tea you choose and how finely it’s ground. You won’t get that same beautiful green color, but you can definitely experiment with different tea infusions to find your new favorite cookie flavor!
Creative Variations to Enhance Your Matcha Cookies
While these Matcha white chocolate chip cookies are perfect as they are, there’s always room for a little creativity in the kitchen! Here are some ideas to add even more flair and flavor:
- Nutty Boost: If you enjoy your cookies with a delightful crunch, macadamia nuts are an outstanding addition to this recipe. Their creamy, buttery texture and subtle sweetness provide a fantastic contrast to the chewy cookie and the earthy matcha. Simply chop them coarsely and fold them in with the white chocolate chips. Other nuts like pistachios or almonds could also work beautifully.
- Chocolate Twist: For those who love a deeper chocolate flavor, consider swapping out half of the white chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips. The bitterness of dark chocolate would create an interesting depth against the matcha.
- Extra Citrus Punch: If you’re a big fan of the lime zest hint, you can increase the amount slightly or even add a tiny splash of lime juice to the wet ingredients for an extra citrusy kick.
- Coconut Delight: Toasted coconut flakes folded into the dough would add a lovely texture and tropical aroma, pairing well with both matcha and white chocolate.
Essential Equipment for Cookie Baking Success
Having the right tools can make all the difference in your baking experience. Here’s a list of equipment that will help you effortlessly create these amazing Matcha white chocolate chip cookies:
- Kitchen Machine (Stand Mixer): Indispensable for creaming butter and sugar until light and fluffy, ensuring proper aeration for a tender cookie.
- Baking Sheet: Essential for baking your cookies evenly. Using multiple sheets can speed up the baking process.
- Whisk: Crucial for ensuring your matcha powder is completely dissolved into the butter, preventing any lumps.
- Close-meshed Sieve: Used to strain the matcha-infused butter, guaranteeing a perfectly smooth base for your dough.
- Preserving Jar: Ideal for storing your homemade matcha butter while it chills in the refrigerator.
- Mixing Bowl: A large bowl is needed for combining all your cookie dough ingredients.
- Parchment Paper/Silicone Mat: Lines your baking sheets to prevent sticking and ensures even browning. It also makes for easy cleanup.
- Ice Cream Scoop (small): Helps to portion out uniform cookie dough balls, leading to evenly sized and baked cookies.
- Silicone Spatula: Perfect for gently folding in the white chocolate chips without overmixing the dough.
- Cooling Rack: Allows air to circulate around the cookies, cooling them completely and preventing them from becoming soggy.
Storage & Baker’s Tips for Perfect Matcha Cookies
Storage Recommendations
Once your delicious Matcha white chocolate chip cookies have fully cooled on a rack (at least two hours, but preferably overnight), they are ready for storage. For optimal freshness, store them in an airtight container, such as a cookie tin, lined with greaseproof paper. This lining helps absorb any residual moisture and keeps the cookies from sticking together. When properly stored at room temperature, these delightful cookies will maintain their chewiness and intense flavor for up to five days. If you need to store them longer, you can freeze them for up to 3 months in an airtight freezer-safe container, separating layers with parchment paper. Thaw at room temperature when ready to enjoy.
This recipe yields approximately 26 cookies, making it perfect for sharing with family and friends, bringing to a potluck, or simply having a delicious stash for yourself throughout the week.
Baker’s Tips: Matcha Quality Matters
When it comes to matcha, there are generally two main grades: culinary and ceremonial. For this recipe, culinary-grade matcha is perfectly acceptable and will yield a delicious result with good color and flavor. However, as a dedicated matcha lover who always has ceremonial-grade matcha on hand for my morning caffeine fix, I often reach for the higher-quality ingredient. Ceremonial-grade matcha typically offers a smoother, less bitter flavor profile and an even more vibrant green color, which can subtly elevate the taste and appearance of your cookies. While not strictly necessary, using ceremonial matcha can provide a truly exquisite difference in your baked goods.
🍵 Interesting Facts About Matcha: More Than Just a Flavor
Matcha is much more than just a unique ingredient for lattes and baked goods; it’s a superfood powerhouse with a rich history and an impressive array of health benefits. Originating in Japan, this finely ground green tea powder has been a staple in traditional tea ceremonies for centuries, revered for its unique flavor and its ability to promote a calm, focused state of mind.
The vibrant green tea is packed with unparalleled health benefits, often providing ten times the nutritional potency of traditional brewed green tea. This is because when you consume matcha, you’re ingesting the entire tea leaf, not just the brewed water, meaning you get all of its beneficial compounds.
One of matcha’s most celebrated attributes is its ability to provide a natural energy boost without the jitters or sudden crashes often associated with coffee. This is due to its unique combination of naturally occurring caffeine and L-theanine, an amino acid. L-theanine promotes a state of relaxed alertness, enhancing focus and concentration while mitigating the potential side effects of caffeine, resulting in a sustained and gentle lift throughout your day.
Furthermore, matcha is an antioxidant powerhouse. It’s particularly rich in catechins, especially epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is known for its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These antioxidants help strengthen your immune system, protect your cells from damage, and can even give your metabolism a gentle boost, aiding in weight management when combined with a healthy lifestyle. The abundance of vitamins and minerals found in matcha further contributes to overall wellness.
Beyond the physical benefits, matcha is also renowned for enhancing mood and concentration. The L-theanine in matcha has been shown to increase alpha wave activity in the brain, leading to improved mental clarity, reduced stress, and an uplifted mood. This helps you stay focused and productive all day long, making matcha a favorite for students, professionals, and anyone seeking enhanced cognitive function.
In essence, say goodbye to brewing multiple cups of tea – one serving of matcha is all you need to unlock a day’s worth of wellness, whether you’re drinking it or enjoying it in a delicious cookie!
🙋🏻 Frequently Asked Questions About Matcha Cookies
This recipe specifically calls for 2 tablespoons of matcha powder. This amount provides a robust, noticeable matcha flavor and a beautiful green color without being overpowering. If you prefer a milder taste, you could slightly reduce it, but 2 tablespoons is ideal for a balanced flavor profile in these cookies.
In baking, matcha imparts an intense, earthy, and slightly vegetal green tea flavor. It’s often described as having umami notes, a subtle bitterness (especially if using culinary grade), and a fresh, almost grassy aroma. In this recipe, the earthy matcha flavors create a wonderful contrast and balance with the sweet, creamy white chocolate chips and the bright zest of lime, resulting in a complex and incredibly delicious cookie.
Culinary-grade matcha is generally recommended for baking as it is more cost-effective and its robust flavor stands up well to other ingredients. However, if you desire a smoother, less bitter taste and a more vibrant green color, ceremonial-grade matcha can also be used for an even more luxurious cookie experience.
Yes, absolutely! You can scoop the dough into balls and freeze them on a baking sheet until solid. Once firm, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, you can bake them directly from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the baking time.
If you try this recipe, please share your thoughts and let me know how you liked it by giving it a ★★★★★ star rating and leaving a comment below. Your feedback would be awesome! You can also sign up for our Newsletter or follow me on Pinterest or Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @combinegoodflavors and hashtag #combinegoodflavors, so I don’t miss it!
Other Delicious Cookie Recipes to Explore
If you’ve enjoyed these unique matcha cookies, you might be interested in exploring more delightful cookie creations. Here are some other fantastic recipes from my collection that are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth:
- No Chill Sugar Cookies: Perfect for when you need delicious cut-out cookies without the wait.
- How to make delicious Linzer Cookies with Egg Liqueur: A sophisticated twist on a classic, perfect for special occasions.
- Delicious, Super Quick M and M Cookies: A colorful and fun treat that’s always a hit with kids and adults alike.
- Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chestnut Flour: A unique, gluten-friendly option with a delightful nutty flavor.
- Egg Yolk Cookies: A clever way to use up leftover egg yolks, resulting in rich and tender cookies.
- Chocolate Espresso Crinkle Cookies: Deep chocolate flavor with a hint of coffee, finished with a beautiful crinkled texture.
📖 Recipe Card
Matcha White Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Nora
5 from 40 votes
Pin Recipe
2 hours 10 minutes
13 minutes
2 hours 23 minutes
Equipment
-
Kitchen machine
-
Baking pan
-
Whisk
-
Close meshed sieve
-
Preserving Jar
-
Mixing bowl
-
Parchment paper/silicone mat
-
Ice cream scoop (small)
-
Silicone spatula
-
Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Butter
- 2 tablespoon Matcha powder
- ¾ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 2 teaspoon Lime zest (from 2 limes)
- 2 cup AP-Flour
- 1 cup White chocolate chips
Instructions
-
In a small pan on low heat, melt ¾ cup Butter and let it simmer for about 5 minutes with 2 tablespoon Matcha powder.
-
Keep “stirring” occasionally with the whisk to avoid lumps.
-
Once you remove it from the heat, let it cool down slightly and strain it through a fine sieve.
-
Put it in a refrigerator and let it firm up, or leave it overnight till it comes to room temperature.
-
Now we need to make the cookie dough by beating the Matcha butter with ¾ cup Granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes.
-
Next add 2 Eggs and mix for another 2-3 minutes before adding 2 teaspoon Lime zest, 2 cup AP-Flour, ½ teaspoon Baking soda, ¼ teaspoon Salt, and 1 teaspoon Baking powder, and giving everything another mix before adding 1 cup White chocolate chips.
-
Once the white chocolate is added, give the cookie dough a stir with a spatula.
-
Now we can use an ice cream scoop to portion the cookies on a baking pan covered with parchment paper, leaving space between the cookies (4 cm/ 2 inch).
-
Bake the cookies in a preheated oven for 10-13 minutes at 180° C / 360° F.
-
Leave the cookies on a cooling rack to cool. After cooling, store in an airtight cookie tin lined with greaseproof paper.
Never miss a recipe!
Sign up and let me spoil you weekly with a delicious homemade recipe!
Like this recipe?
Mention @combinegoodflavors or tag #combinegoodflavors!
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
| Calories: 150kcal
| Carbohydrates: 17g
| Protein: 2g
| Fat: 8g
| Saturated Fat: 5g
| Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g
| Monounsaturated Fat: 2g
| Trans Fat: 0.2g
| Cholesterol: 28mg
| Sodium: 113mg
| Potassium: 37mg
| Fiber: 0.3g
| Sugar: 10g
| Vitamin A: 242IU
| Vitamin C: 0.1mg
| Calcium: 28mg
| Iron: 1mg
🤎 You might also like
- Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Matcha Truffles – a Delicious St. Patrick’s Day Treat
- Sour Cream Cookies with Pearl Sugar
- Easy Matcha Butter Recipe
⛑️ Food Safety Guidelines for Baking
Ensuring food safety is paramount when baking to prevent foodborne illnesses. Please keep the following guidelines in mind:
- Always cook eggs and other ingredients to a minimum safe internal temperature. While cookies are baked, ensure your oven is at the correct temperature for thorough cooking.
- Avoid using the same utensils or cutting boards for raw ingredients (like unbaked dough containing raw eggs) and cooked food to prevent cross-contamination.
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling raw ingredients, especially eggs.
- Do not leave raw cookie dough or baked cookies sitting out at room temperature for extended periods, as this can encourage bacterial growth.
- Never leave cooking food unattended, particularly when operating an oven or stovetop.
- If using oils for any part of the recipe (though not explicitly in this one), choose oils with a high smoke point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always ensure good ventilation in your kitchen when using a gas stove or oven to prevent the buildup of harmful fumes.
For further comprehensive information on safe food handling practices, please refer to the Safe Food Handling guide from the FDA.