Matcha White Chocolate Cookies That Stay Soft and Chewy

What Is Matcha White Chocolate Cookies?

If you have been looking for a cookie that feels a little special without being difficult to bake, matcha white chocolate cookies are worth your time.

At their heart, they are a soft baked sugar cookie made with earthy green tea powder and creamy chunks of white chocolate.

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The result is a cookie that looks bright green in the pan, smells like a tea shop on a rainy afternoon, and tastes like a cross between a warm vanilla sugar cookie and a milky matcha latte.

Most home bakers are surprised by how simple the recipe is. You cream butter and sugar, fold in flour, matcha, and a little baking soda, then stir in white chocolate chunks.

There is no dough chilling required, which means the total clock time from craving to cookie is about half an hour.

I started making these for weekend tea sessions and now keep them in rotation whenever I want a treat that looks impressive but takes very little effort.

The recipe below uses ceremonial grade or high quality culinary grade matcha, granulated sugar for a clean sweet flavor, and just enough white chocolate to keep every bite creamy.

The texture is the part most readers ask about: the cookies come out of the oven with crisp edges and a soft, slightly doughy center that sets as they cool.

If you have ever baked my thick chewy chocolate chip cookies and loved the bakery style texture, this recipe follows the same logic in a green tea version.

Matcha and white chocolate are a natural pairing because the sweetness and buttery notes of white chocolate soften the slight bitterness of green tea powder.

The flavor is earthy but not grassy, sweet but not cloying, and the bright color makes them a showstopper on a dessert plate. Once you try one, you will understand why matcha cookies have become a permanent part of my bake list.

Why you’ll love this recipe

There are a few reasons these cookies have become a repeat bake in my kitchen, and none of them require any special skill. Here is what makes this matcha white chocolate cookie recipe worth adding to your collection right away.

• No chilling required. You mix the dough, scoop it, and bake. The whole process fits inside a half hour window, which is perfect for weeknight baking or last minute guests.
• Soft and chewy every time. A short bake at 350°F leaves the centers soft and slightly underdone looking, which sets into a chewy, almost fudgy middle as the cookies cool on the sheet.
• Matcha and white chocolate are a perfect flavor match. The creaminess of white chocolate balances the earthy bitterness of matcha so well that you do not need frosting, glaze, or extra sugar.
• The dough freezes like a dream. Scoop the dough into balls, freeze them on a sheet pan, and bake straight from the fridge whenever you want one or two fresh cookies.
• They look bakery beautiful. The bright green color with creamy white chocolate chunks on top makes these the kind of cookie you can bring to a cookie swap and feel proud of.

These cookies also give you room to play. Swap the white chocolate for dark chocolate, add dried cranberries, or sprinkle flaky sea salt on top. The base recipe is forgiving and reliable, which is exactly what I want when I bake with friends who have never measured flour before.

Tools

You only need a few basic pieces of equipment to make these cookies, and you probably already own most of them. I am listing the tools that matter most, including the one upgrade that makes the biggest difference.

Electric hand mixer

An electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment) is the easiest way to cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This step takes about 3 to 4 minutes by machine and is hard to replicate by hand.

If you bake more than once a month, a hand mixer is one of the best small investments you can make.

4 tablespoon cookie dough scooper

A large cookie scoop, the kind that holds about 4 tablespoons of dough, is the secret to bakery style cookies. Using a scoop keeps every ball the same size so they bake evenly, and you never have to touch the dough with your hands.

A 3 tablespoon scoop works in a pinch, but a 4 tablespoon scoop gives you those thick, oversized cookies I love.

Other helpful tools

• A large mixing bowl and a small bowl for dry ingredients
• A silicone spatula for folding in the chocolate at the end
• A sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat
• A wire cooling rack for transferring cookies once they set

If you already bake cookies using my bakery style chocolate chip cookies recipe, you have every tool on this list ready to go.

Ingredients

This matcha cookie recipe keeps the ingredient list short and pantry friendly. All of the measurements below match the canonical recipe exactly, so you can weigh your way to a perfect batch every time. If you do not have a kitchen scale, I have included approximate volume equivalents in the notes for popular ingredients.

Ingredient notes and swaps

Matcha powder is the most important ingredient to get right. Ceremonial grade matcha gives the brightest color and cleanest flavor, and a high quality culinary grade is a close runner up. Older or cheaper matcha can taste dull and turn the dough muddy, so pick a tin you actually trust.

Milk powder is the small secret ingredient in this dough. It adds a soft, milky flavor that makes cookies taste like they came from a real bakery. If you do not have any, simply skip it. The cookies will still be delicious.

White chocolate can be chips, chunks, or a bar chopped with a knife. Chunks give you those big, melty pools of white chocolate on top, which is the look I prefer. If you want a smoother look, chocolate chips hold their shape better.

How to make matcha white chocolate cookies

Before you start, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pull your butter and egg out early so they reach true room temperature. The whole process moves quickly once you begin, so having everything ready makes the bake a calm, happy experience.

The recipe yields 10 large cookies, with a prep time of 20 minutes and a bake time of 12 minutes for a total of about 32 minutes.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside while you mix the dough.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, matcha powder, milk powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the softened butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat on medium high for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture looks pale and fluffy.
4. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract just until combined. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula so nothing sticks to the sides.
5. Add the dry ingredients. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix with the hand mixer on low until almost combined. A few flour patches are okay at this stage.
6. Fold in the white chocolate. Switch to a silicone spatula and fold in the chopped white chocolate by hand. Stop mixing as soon as the chocolate is evenly distributed. Overmixing is the fastest way to tough, flat cookies.
7. Scoop the dough. Using a 4 tablespoon cookie scoop, place dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each one. These cookies spread, so give them room to grow.
8. Bake. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges look set and lightly golden but the centers still look soft and slightly underdone. During the last 2 minutes, you can press a few extra white chocolate chunks on top for a bakery style finish.
9. Cool on the sheet. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. They will continue to cook gently and finish setting up, which is what gives them that chewy center. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

If the dough feels sticky when you scoop, do not worry. You can pop the scooped balls into the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up, although this recipe is designed to skip that step. For an even closer look at the method, the team at Sally’s Baking Addiction walks through a very similar process with great photos.

Quick recipe card

Nutrition per cookie

The numbers below come directly from the source recipe and are calculated for one of the 10 cookies. They are useful as a rough guide if you are tracking your bakes, but exact values will change slightly based on the size of your dough balls and the brand of white chocolate you use.

Storage

These cookies stay soft for several days when stored properly, which is a good thing because one batch rarely lasts long in my house. The key is keeping air away from them so they do not dry out on the counter.

Storing baked cookies

Once the cookies have cooled completely, stack them in an airtight container with a sheet of parchment between the layers. They will stay soft and chewy at room temperature for up to 4 days.

If your kitchen is very warm, you can store the container in the fridge and let the cookies come back to room temperature before serving so the white chocolate softens again.

Storing unbaked dough

If you want to bake a few cookies at a time, you can refrigerate the scooped dough balls in a covered container for 1 to 2 days. The dough will firm up in the fridge, so you may need to add a minute or two to the bake time. For longer storage, freezing is the better option.

Freezing

Freezing is where this recipe really shines.

You can bake fresh cookies whenever you want without mixing a new batch of dough. The flavor is just as good when you bake the dough straight from the freezer, and the texture is identical.

How to freeze cookie dough

1. Scoop the dough into balls using your 4 tablespoon scoop.
2. Place the dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes, or until they are firm to the touch.
3. Transfer the firm dough balls into a freezer safe container, a zip top bag, or wrap them well in plastic wrap and foil. Label the container with the date.
4. Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw the dough balls in the fridge overnight, then bake as the recipe directs.

How to freeze baked cookies

If you baked a whole batch and want to save some for later, you can freeze the baked cookies too. Place them in a single layer in an airtight container or freezer bag, separating layers with parchment.

Freeze for up to 1 month and thaw at room temperature, or reheat for a few seconds in the microwave for that fresh from the oven feel.

If you love having warm cookies on standby, the dough balls are the smarter choice because they keep their just baked texture.

Tips & tricks

A few small habits make the difference between good matcha cookies and bakery worthy ones. These are the tips I keep coming back to whenever I bake this recipe, and they apply to just about any soft baked cookie on my site.

• Use room temperature ingredients. Softened butter and a room temperature egg blend smoothly into the sugar. Cold butter will not cream properly and cold eggs can cause the batter to look broken.
• Cream the butter and sugar very well. Spend a full 3 to 4 minutes beating them together. The air you whip in is what gives the cookies their thick, puffy shape instead of flat, thin rounds.
• Use a large cookie scoop. Anything smaller than 3 tablespoons will leave you with cookies that spread into crackers rather than puff into thick bakery style rounds. The 4 tablespoon scoop is my sweet spot.
• Press extra chocolate on top at the end. During the last 2 minutes of baking, gently press a few white chocolate chunks on top of each cookie. The chocolate melts just enough to look soft and glossy, which is the look people expect from a bakery cookie.
• Do not overmix the dough. Mix the dry ingredients until almost combined, then switch to a spatula. Overmixing develops gluten and creates tough, chewy cookies in the wrong way.
• Pull the cookies out early. The centers should look underdone when you take them out. They will finish setting on the warm baking sheet, and that gentle carryover is what gives you the chewy texture.
• Try swaps and add ins. Dark chocolate chunks, dried cranberries, macadamia nuts, or a sprinkle of flaky sea salt all work beautifully in this dough. If you want more inspiration, this roundup of matcha white chocolate chunk cookies from Broma Bakery shows how the same base can take on totally different personalities.

Note from Ruby: If your first tray comes out a little flat, do not panic. The most common reason is butter that was too soft, or dough that was scooped too small. Chill the dough briefly, scoop larger balls next time, and bake on a cool sheet pan for bakery style results.

Frequently Asked Questions

More matcha recipes to try

If you fall in love with this recipe the way I did, you are in luck. The blog has a few more ways to bake with matcha, and so do my favorite baking sites.

The team at Love and Lemons has an easy matcha white chocolate cookies version that swaps in a touch of almond extract for a totally different flavor profile, and my own thick chewy chocolate chip cookies are a great place to practice the bakery style scoop method before you bake these matcha ones for friends.

Once you bake a tray of these, you will see why they have earned a permanent spot in my kitchen. Soft, chewy, bright green, and packed with creamy white chocolate, they are the kind of cookie that disappears within an afternoon.

Save a few dough balls in the freezer, and you will always be 15 minutes away from a warm, fresh cookie whenever the mood strikes.

Matcha White Chocolate Cookies

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What Is Matcha White Chocolate Cookies? If you have been looking for a cookie that feels a little special without being difficult to bake, matcha white chocolate cookies are worth your time.

• Total Time: 32 min
• Yield: 10 cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

180 g all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon matcha powder, ceremonial grade or high-quality culinary grade
1 tablespoon milk powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
115 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
150 g granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100 g white chocolate, roughly chopped, plus a handful extra for topping

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Instructions

1-Preheat oven to 350°F and line a: Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2-In a small bowl, stir together the: In a small bowl, stir together the flour, matcha powder, milk powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3-In a large mixing bowl, use an: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat softened butter until very creamy. Add sugar and cream together with the mixer until very creamy and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
4-Add in the eggs and vanilla extract: Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and mix again until combined.
5-Add the flour mixture into the butter: Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and briefly mix with the hand mixer until almost combined with some flour patches left.
6-Add the chopped chocolate and finish folding: Add the chopped chocolate and finish folding the dough together with a silicone spatula until just combined. Don’t overmix.
7-Using a 4-tablespoon ice cream scooper, scoop: Using a 4-tablespoon ice cream scooper, scoop out balls of cookie dough and place them on your baking sheet, leaving about 2″ between each cookie for spreading.
8-Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes or until: Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are set but the middle is still very soft. In the last 2 minutes of baking, press a few extra white chocolate chunks on top of each cookie (optional).
9-Let the cookies cool on the baking: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Last Step:

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• Author: Ruby Bennett
• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cook Time: 12 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Calories: 272kcal
• Sugar: 21g
• Sodium: 209mg
• Fat: 13g
• Saturated Fat: 8g
• Carbohydrates: 35g
• Fiber: 1g
• Protein: 4g
• Cholesterol: 43mg