Matcha White Chocolate Cookies Recipe: Soft and Chewy

Matcha White Chocolate Cookies

These cookies have that soft center and slightly crisp edge that makes them hard to resist. If you have been looking for a cookie that feels a little different from the usual chocolate chip batch, this is the one I would hand you first.

They bake up soft all the way through, with a chewy, doughy middle and edges that hold just enough crispness to keep things interesting.

The earthy, gently bitter notes of matcha mellow out the sweetness of the white chocolate, so every bite lands somewhere between sweet and savory. That balance is the reason I keep coming back to this recipe, and the reason a plate of these disappears faster than I plan for.

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Here is the part that makes them weeknight friendly: the dough needs no chill time at all. You can mix, scoop and bake in one go, so warm cookies are roughly half an hour away from the moment you decide to make them.

The recipe yields 10 generous cookies and takes about 32 minutes from start to finish, with around 20 minutes of hands on prep and 12 minutes in the oven.

Why you’ll love this recipe

There are a few reasons this recipe has earned a permanent spot in my rotation.

• No chilling required. The dough goes straight from the bowl to the baking sheet, so there is no waiting around for anything to firm up.
• Soft and chewy texture. These come out of the oven soft and chewy with crisp edges, and the centers stay tender rather than turning cakey.
• Matcha and white chocolate belong together. The sweetness of the chocolate offsets the slight bitterness of the matcha instead of covering it up.
• Freezer friendly. You can make the dough in advance and bake fresh cookies whenever the craving shows up.

Tools

You do not need much equipment here, but two tools genuinely change the result.

The first is an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer. You use it to beat the softened butter and then to cream it together with the sugar, which works air into the batter.

That air is what gives you a fluffy, thick cookie instead of a flat one. Mixing by hand will work in a pinch, but your arm will know about it.

The second is a large cookie dough scooper. A scooper that holds about 4 tablespoons is ideal for big, bakery style cookies, and 3 tablespoons is the smallest size I would use. The scooper keeps every cookie the same size so they bake evenly, and it saves you from wrestling with sticky dough on your hands.

A baking sheet lined with parchment paper and a silicone spatula for folding round out the list.

Ingredients

Everything here is a pantry staple except the matcha, and these amounts are what make the cookies work.

Matcha powder is the star of the show. Reach for ceremonial grade or a high quality culinary grade with a vibrant green color and a sweet, grassy taste. Dull, olive toned matcha will taste bitter and pull the color of your cookies down with it.

Milk powder is the quiet secret here. It adds a rich, milky flavor that makes people ask what is different about these cookies. If you do not keep milk powder on hand, they still work without it.

Granulated sugar is used instead of brown sugar on purpose. Brown sugar would darken the dough and muddy that bright green color.

Unsalted butter needs to be genuinely soft at room temperature so it creams properly, and the egg should be at room temperature too for smooth mixing. Finally, chop the white chocolate into rough chunks rather than reaching for chips, and set a small handful aside for pressing onto the tops.

How to make matcha white chocolate cookies

This is a straightforward cream, mix, scoop and bake process. Set your butter and egg out about 30 minutes ahead if you can.

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.
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 very creamy. Add the sugar and cream together with the mixer until very creamy and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Add the egg and vanilla. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix again until combined.
5. Bring the dough together. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix briefly with the hand mixer until almost combined, with some flour patches still showing.
6. Fold in the chocolate. Add the chopped chocolate and finish folding the dough together with a silicone spatula until just combined. Do not overmix.
7. Scoop the dough. Using a scooper that holds about 4 tablespoons, scoop balls of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie for spreading.
8. Bake. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are set but the middle is still very soft. If you like, press a few extra white chocolate chunks onto the top of each cookie during the last 2 minutes of baking.
9. Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

That 10 minute rest on the hot sheet is not a suggestion. The cookies finish setting there, and moving them too early is how you end up with a crumbled edge.

Storage

Baked cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap if you do not have a container that fits them all.

Unbaked dough can be kept in the fridge for about 1 to 2 days if you would rather bake in smaller batches. They taste best in the first couple of days, while the centers are at their softest.

Freezing

Freezing works beautifully with this dough, which is why I often make a double batch and stash half of it.

1. Scoop the dough into balls and place them on a baking sheet.
2. Freeze the whole sheet for about 30 minutes, until the balls are firm.
3. Transfer the firm dough balls to an airtight container or freezer bag, or wrap them well in plastic wrap and foil.
4. Store in the freezer for up to 1 month.

When you are ready to bake, thaw the dough balls in the fridge overnight and then bake as directed. Baked cookies freeze just as well. Cool them completely, freeze them the same way, and thaw at room temperature or warm them briefly before serving. They hold up for up to 1 month in the freezer.

Tips & tricks

A few small habits make a noticeable difference here.

• Start with room temperature butter and egg. Cold ingredients do not blend smoothly and can curdle the batter.
• Cream properly. Beat the butter and sugar long enough to work air into the mixture. That air is what makes the cookies fluffy and thick instead of flat.
• Use a big scooper. Cookies that refuse to spread like the ones from a bakery are usually just too small. Use at least 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie, and 4 tablespoons if you want the big, domed look.
• Press chocolate on top near the end. Adding a few chunks in the last 2 minutes of baking gives you melty pools of chocolate and a prettier cookie.
• Neaten the shape while they are hot. Right after baking, you can swirl each cookie inside a round cutter or a bowl slightly larger than the cookie to make it perfectly round. A fork works too if you just want to push uneven edges back in.
• Protect the green. Matcha naturally browns in the oven. A vibrant, high quality matcha keeps the color brighter, and baking on the middle rack at the correct temperature helps prevent over browning.
• Try a variation. Dark chocolate, dried cranberries and macadamia nuts all work nicely alongside the white chocolate.

Pull them out while the centers still look underdone. They set as they cool on the sheet, and that is exactly where the chewy middle comes from.

For reference, the source nutrition lists about 272 calories per cookie, along with 35 g carbohydrates, 4 g protein, 13 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 1 g fiber, 21 g sugar, 209 mg sodium and 43 mg cholesterol.

More Cookies

If these matcha white chocolate cookies earn a spot in your regular rotation, there are plenty of other cookies worth baking alongside them, from classic chocolate chip and oatmeal to shortbread and thumbprint style cookies filled with jam. Bake a batch of these first, then keep the cookie tin going.

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Matcha White Chocolate Cookies

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Matcha White Chocolate Cookies These cookies have that soft center and slightly crisp edge that makes them hard to resist. If you have been looking for a cookie that feels a little different from the usual chocolate chip batch, this is the one I would hand you first.

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

Ingredients

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Ingredients
180 g all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon matcha powder, ceremonial grade or high-quality culinary grade
1 tablespoon milk powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ 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

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.

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• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cook Time: 12 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

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