My soft and chewy matcha white chocolate cookies are rich, buttery, and infused with earthy matcha flavor. The sweet pops of creamy white chocolate balance the subtle bitterness of the matcha, making them both sophisticated and incredibly comforting.
They're perfect for tea lovers or anyone after a unique twist on a classic cookie. If you love matcha, you'll also want my matcha cupcakes and my matcha overnight oats for a nourishing breakfast.
Quick Look: Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
⏱️ Ready In: About 27 minutes (no chilling required)
🔥 Bake Time: 10–12 minutes at 350°F
🍽️ Makes: 18 cookies
✨ Calories: Approximately 237 per cookie
🥄 Main Ingredients: Culinary-grade matcha, white chocolate, brown sugar
🌿 Dietary Info: Vegetarian
💛 Why You'll Love It: Soft, chewy, buttery cookies with earthy matcha and creamy white chocolate chunks — and a gorgeous green color.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Earthy matcha + creamy white chocolate. The white chocolate balances the matcha's subtle bitterness perfectly.
- Soft and chewy. A rich, buttery, bakery-style texture, like my all-time-favorite chocolate chip cookie.
- Beautiful green color. Stunning on a cookie tray or tea-party table. Pair them with my naturally colorful lemon raspberry cookies too!
- No chilling required. Mix, scoop, and bake (though you can chill for chewier cookies).
- Part of a cookie family. A cousin to my triple chocolate chunk cookies and chocolate chunk pecan cookies.
Jump to:
- Quick Look: Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- Easy Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
- Expert Tips
- What Makes This Recipe Special?
- Matcha White Chocolate Cookies FAQs
- Matcha White Chocolate Cookies Troubleshooting Guide
- Storage
- Other Colorful Dessert Recipes to Consider
- Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter: Softened, creamed with the sugars for a chewy texture.
- Brown sugar + granulated sugar: Brown sugar for chew, granulated for crisp edges.
- Egg + egg yolk: The extra yolk adds richness and chew.
- Vanilla extract: Rounds out the flavor.
- All-purpose flour: The structure of the cookies.
- Culinary-grade matcha powder: The star — use a good-quality matcha for the best flavor and color.
- Baking soda + baking powder: Your lift.
- Kosher salt: Balances the sweetness.
- White chocolate, chopped: Creamy, sweet pockets that balance the matcha — the same white-chocolate love as my white chocolate espresso blondies.
See recipe card for quantities.
Easy Substitutions & Variations
- Butter: Salted works — just reduce the added salt slightly.
- White chocolate: Swap for milk or dark chocolate for a different balance (chips work too).
- Matcha: High-quality green tea powder works if matcha is unavailable, though the flavor will be milder.
- Sugar: Use all brown sugar for extra chewiness.
- Nuts: Add ½ cup chopped macadamia nuts for crunch, like my brown butter coconut pecan cookies.
- Extra chocolate: Stir in a handful of white chocolate chips, or go fully chocolate with my easy double chocolate filled cookies.
- Drizzle: Melt white chocolate and drizzle over cooled cookies for a bakery finish.
How to Make Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
Disclaimer: I bake by weight for accuracy. Cup measurements are approximate and may vary depending on how you scoop.
Step 1: Cream and mix the dough: Whisk the dry ingredients (flour, matcha, baking soda, baking powder, salt). Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.
Step 2: Add the white chocolate: Fold in the chopped white chocolate. Chill up to 24 hours for chewier cookies if you like, but it's not required.
Step 3: Scoop and bake: Scoop large 60g (3-tablespoon) portions onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers look slightly underdone. Cool on the tray 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack and top with extra white chocolate or a dusting of matcha if desired.
Weigh your ingredients! Using a kitchen scale ensures your measurements are accurate, which is key for getting consistent results in baking. It takes the guesswork out of measuring and helps your recipes turn out exactly as intended every time.
Expert Tips
- Use culinary-grade matcha. Good-quality matcha gives the best flavor and that gorgeous green color.
- Don't overbake. Pull the cookies when the centers still look slightly underdone — they finish setting on the tray.
- Use the extra yolk. It's the secret to a rich, chewy texture.
- Weigh your dough balls. 60g each gives big, even bakery-style cookies.
- "Scoot" for round cookies. Right out of the oven, swirl a large round cookie cutter around each cookie to nudge it into a perfect circle.
What Makes This Recipe Special?
Matcha and white chocolate are a match made in heaven: the earthy, slightly bitter matcha keeps the sweet, creamy white chocolate from being one-note, and together they make a cookie that's both sophisticated and comforting. They're soft and chewy with crisp edges, and that natural green color makes them a showstopper with zero food dye.
They're part of a whole cookie family on the blog. If you love a chewy, mix-in-loaded cookie, you'll also want my sourdough chocolate crinkle cookies and my brown butter sugar cookies.
Matcha White Chocolate Cookies FAQs
Culinary-grade matcha is perfect here and gives great flavor and color. A high-quality green tea powder works in a pinch but will taste milder.
No — this dough bakes well without chilling. Chilling up to 24 hours gives slightly chewier cookies with deeper flavor if you have the time.
Yes — chips work fine, though chopped bars give bigger, meltier pockets.
Use a plant-based butter and dairy-free white chocolate; the texture will be very similar.
Lower-quality or older matcha loses its vibrant color. Use fresh, good-quality culinary matcha for the brightest green.
Matcha White Chocolate Cookies Troubleshooting Guide
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Cookies spread too thin | Butter too warm. | Chill the dough briefly before baking. |
| Cakey instead of chewy | Too much flour or overbaked. | Measure by weight and pull when centers look soft. |
| Dull or yellowish color | Low-quality or old matcha. | Use fresh culinary-grade matcha. |
| Bitter flavor | Too much matcha or low quality. | Measure carefully and use good matcha; white chocolate balances it. |
| Dry cookies | Overbaked. | Bake 10–12 minutes; they finish setting on the tray. |
Storage
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months with parchment between layers; thaw in the fridge, then bring to room temperature.
Other Colorful Dessert Recipes to Consider
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Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- Stand Mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Baking sheets
- Parchment Paper
- Cookie scoop
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 170 g unsalted butter softened (¾ cup)
- 150 g brown sugar packed (¾ cup)
- 100 g granulated sugar ½ cup
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 280 g all-purpose flour 2 ¼ cups
- 2 tablespoon culinary-grade matcha powder about 10g
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 170 g chopped white chocolate 1 cup, or two 4-ounce bars
Instructions
- Prep the dry ingredients: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, matcha, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Cream the butter and sugars: In a large mixing bowl, beat softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (2–3 minutes).
- Add eggs and vanilla: Beat in the egg and yolk, followed by vanilla extract.
- Mix the dough: Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chopped white chocolate. Can be chilled up to 24 hours for chewier cookies with a more complex flavor, but chilling isn't necessary for this dough.
- Bake: Scoop large 60g (3-tbsp) portions of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until edges are set and centers are slightly underdone.
- Cool: Use a lard (6+ inch) round cookie cutter to "scoot" the cookies into uniform circles, if desired. Let cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Top with extra chopped white chocolate or a dusting of matcha if desired.
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