Vegan Matcha Cookies

Want to bake something delicious? These vegan matcha cookies are incredibly easy Bake them and fill your home with the delicious, sweet scent of freshly baked treats! They're light crispy edges, a soft, slightly chewy inside and, of course, that one beautiful, green color of matcha.

The matcha gives the cookies a delicious, distinctive flavor that really comes through, without making them bitter. The butter and sugar bring out the light, earthy, bittersweet notes matcha looks beautiful in balance sheet. Plus, the cookies are not overly sweet, which really brings out the matcha flavor.

Even without any extra ingredients, these cookies are incredibly delicious, but you can do all sorts of things with them vary! For example, add white chocolate, macadamia nuts, or a combination of both. Or skip the filling and decorate the cookies with colorful sprinkles. Perfect for holidays and special occasions—and simple enough for every day!

Ingredients and supplies

• 190 grams of wheat flour
• 10 grams of cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 13 grams of high-quality matcha
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 115 grams of vegan butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
• 150 white granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp unsweetened soy milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• optional: about 130 grams of coarsely chopped macadamia nuts or vegan white chocolate (or a combination of the two)
• optional: (Halloween) sprinkles + a little powdered sugar mixed with water or lemon juice to help them stick
• hand mixer or food processor

Preparation

1. Sift the flour, cornstarch, matcha, and baking powder together into a bowl. Add the salt and mix well so that the matcha is evenly distributed.
2. Beat the soft vegan butter with the granulated sugar for about 2–3 minutes using a mixer or in a food processor until the mixture is creamy and slightly fluffy.
3. Add the soy milk and vanilla extract, and stir briefly.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix with a spatula until everything is just incorporated and well combined. Do not mix any longer than necessary.
5. Optional: Add the chocolate and/or macadamia nuts. Gently fold them into the batter until they are evenly distributed.
6. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for 45–60 minutes. This will firm up the butter again and prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
7. Preheat the oven to 170 °C (convection). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into about 16 balls if they’re filled with nuts and/or chocolate, and into about 12 if they’re unfilled. This will make small to medium-sized cookies. Place them on the baking sheet with plenty of space between them (spread out over two baking sheets if necessary) and press them down slightly to form thick discs.
8. Bake one baking sheet at a time in the middle of the oven for about 14 minutes. The edges should start to firm up, while the center still looks soft. Don't wait until the edges are golden brown—otherwise, the matcha will lose its beautiful green color.
9. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet (outside the oven) for about 10 minutes before carefully transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely. They'll firm up as they cool.
10. Optional: Mix a small amount of powdered sugar with a few drops of water or lemon juice to make a thick glaze. Use small dots of the glaze to attach the sugar eyes and Halloween sprinkles. Let the glaze set.

Tips & Variations

Choose high-quality matcha. The the quality of your matcha largely determines the flavor and color of your cookies. Cheaper culinary-grade matcha is often a bit more bitter and has a duller color. Since we want that beautiful green color and a mild, pleasant matcha flavor, we recommend using a good-quality matcha. But you certainly don’t have to use the most expensive one!

Use white granulated sugar. Brown sugar often gives cookies a delicious caramel-like flavor, but it can make the green color of the matcha less vibrant. With white sugar, your cookies will stay a more vibrant green, and the matcha flavor will really come through.

Keep oven Keep an eye on them. Every oven is different! We bake the cookies at 170 °C on the convection setting, but your oven might work better at a temperature 10 degrees higher or lower. To preserve the green color, we recommend not baking at a temperature much higher than 170 °C on the convection setting.

Adjust the baking time on the format. The larger and thicker your cookies are, the longer they’ll take to bake. Don’t bake them too long. Don’t wait until the edges are too golden brown, because then the matcha might lose its bright green color. The cookies should still be a little a little soft when you take them out of the oven. While cool down they'll happen on their own more solid. They're also delicious when they're still a little warm, straight from the baking sheet! Do you prefer firmer, crispier cookies? Then you can bake them a little longer, but keep in mind that this may change their color.

Do you want the cookies? decorate with candy eyes, frosting, or colorful sprinkles? Let the filling Then it's best to skip it or use a little less. This will give the cookies a nicer, smoother surface for decorating. Let them cool completely cool down before you attach the decorations with a little icing.