These soft Matcha Chocolate Cookies with dark chocolate chunks are so delicious and reminiscent of a bakery style cookie. They are earthy, sweet, made with browned butter, and have pools of delicious dark chocolate.
The best part is they require absolutely no chill time and will not spread as they bake!
For more matcha recipes, try my Cherry Matcha Refresher, Matcha Milk Tea, or these Matcha Brownies!
What Is Matcha And Which Do I Use?
Matcha is a vibrant green powder made from grinding down green tea leaves. It has an earthy, smooth, and complex flavor to it. Matcha goes great with a variety of flavors including lemon, chocolate, sesame, vanilla, pineapple, cherry, etc.
For baking, and this recipe, I like to use culinary grade matcha because it tends to have a stronger flavor and color. There is also ceremonial grade matcha that is primarily used for drinking. It is still vibrant but the leaves are harvested earlier giving it a more mild flavor. I use Matcha Love for baking (not sponsored and I make no commission).
A Quick Recipe Video To Watch:
Ingredients In Dark Chocolate Matcha Cookies
This recipe is great because it results in a thick, cakey, bakery style cookie. There is a beautiful balance between sweet, earthy, and chocolatey flavors. Best part, this matcha cookie requires no chilling and will not spread as they bake.
- Browned Butter: Melting and browning the butter gives your cookies a chewy texture and delicious nutty flavor. You can use salted or unsalted, just omit the additional salt if you use salted butter.
- Flour: This recipe uses all purpose flour but gluten free 1:1 flour works just as great!
- Matcha Powder: Make sure you are using culinary grade matcha (not all are created equal). Be sure to sift it too!
- Corn Starch: This is so you do not have to chill your cookie dough prior to baking and what keeps your cookies from spreading as they bake.
- Baking Soda: An essential leavening agent to give your cookies fluffy body.
- Salt: To help give a boost to the various flavors. Omit this if you plan to use salted butter.
- Sugars: This recipe uses a combination of granulated and brown sugars. Using both gives them a soft yet chewy texture.
- Cream Cheese: This gives your cookie a super soft texture while lending some moisture. You can use sour cream or Greek Yogurt in it’s place. It has to be room temperature or the cookie dough will not mix together properly.
- Eggs: Same as the cream cheese, make sure it is at room temperature or the cookie dough will not mix together properly.
- Vanilla Extract: Be sure to use a high quality vanilla that is pure. Imitation vanilla works but it just doesn’t add the same depth of flavor.
- Dark Chocolate: Use a high quality, 87% cocoa, dark chocolate bar. Roughly chop into large chunks for pools of chocolate (like mine).
How To Make Dark Chocolate Matcha Cookies
- Preheat Your Oven and Prep Your Pan– I prefer using a silicon baking mat but parchment paper works just as great.
- Brown the Butter over medium heat, stirring continuously, until it turns nut brown in color (more details in the next section).
- Sift Together Dry Ingredients. All- purpose flour, matcha powder, baking soda, corn starch, and salt. Sifting helps to distribute the matcha powder and keep it from clumping up in your dough.
- Beat Together Wet Ingredients. browned butter, cream cheese, and sugars beat until lightened in color. Then the eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated and fluffy.
- Combine Wet and Dry Mixtures until fully incorporated.
- Fold in Chopped Dark Chocolate. I like to do this part by hand with a spatula, just because.
- Scoop and Form. Take a two tablespoon scoop of dough and form into a round, thick, flat disk. Remember there is no spreading here so what you form is what you get!
- Bake. 10 to 12 minutes at 350° F. The cookie tops should be set and the bottom edges slightly browned in color
- Cool on the cookie sheet for at least ten minutes and then to room temperature. This allows them to firm up to that perfect texture.
How to Make Brown Butter for Cookies
Browned butter is an easy way to add tons of flavor to cookies, especially these matcha cookies. It gives them a rich, nuttiness that pairs well with the matcha and dark chocolate dunks. It is an easy step that adds a ton of flavor… so don’t skip it.
- Add the butter to a medium sized, shallow skillet pan.
- Heat it over medium and stir continuously as it melts. The butter will foam, sputter, and become an amber color. When the sediments become a browned remove it from the heat.
- Immediately pour the browned butter into a heat safe glass container. Allow it to cool before using.
6 Secrets To Perfect Matcha Chocolate Cookies
- Room temperature ingredients always. The browned butter, cream cheese, and eggs all need to be room temperature so the cookie dough mixes up properly.
- Make sure your baking soda is not expired. The baking soda helps to give these cookies a cakey and soft texture. If the baking soda is expired you will have a flat lifeless cookie.
- For uniform cookies, use an ice cream scoop. The ice cream scoop works as a measure so you get the same amount of cookie dough every time.
- Let your cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes. This helps the cookies to firm up and caramelize on the bottom.
- Use dark chocolate that comes in a bar, it is so much better than chips! Feel free to use any dark chocolate you prefer, I used a 70% bar.
- A quick note on butter in 2022. It seems that in the last year, since the pandemic, butter has changed substantially. Actually, a lot of ingredients have lost their quality. I recommend going for a high-quality butter, like Challenge butter or Kerry Gold, or your cookies will become way too flat and dense. This is because butter in 2022 has a higher water content and fillers which butcher the qualities of butter in baking.
How To Freeze And Bake Later
These Matcha Cookies are perfect for making in advance or freezing and baking at a later date. Start by making the dough and portioning it. Place the portions on a baking sheet, throw them into the freezer until they are frozen, and place them in a freezer bag or airtight container. They can be froze for up to three months.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, place them frozen on a prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350° F for ten to fifteen minutes until golden brown. Keep in mind it does take a few minutes longer to bake because they are cold.
Frequently Asked Questions About Matcha Chocolate Cookies
Technically speaking, yes. The amount of matcha powder in this recipe has about 300 milligrams of caffeine. Once you divide that into 16 cookies, it is about 19 milligrams per cookie.
These matcha cookies are best stored in an airtight container on the counter for one week. If stored in the refrigerator they will last up to two weeks. If frozen they will last up to three months. You can reheat them in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds if you want a warm and fresh cookie.
Sometimes cookies can appear more brown for a few reasons. One, you may have used dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar or you eggs may have been a little too orange and bright yellow. The color of our ingredients can easily alter the tone of green in these cookies. Two, the type of matcha powder used could have been the culprit. All matcha powders are made differently and it can yield different colors. Three, if your oven runs warm or has “hot spots” it can cause your cookies to brown quickly or darker than normal.
Short answer is no, you could just use plain ole melted butter. Long answer is, yes. HA! Browned butter takes these cookies to the next level and really gives your cookies the complexity and nuttiness they need. Plus it goes so well with the butterscotch.
Yes, most definitely! The earthy of matcha and the sweet depth of dark chocolate are an absolute match made in heaven. Some will argue saying it overpowers the matcha, but with nearly 2 tablespoons of matcha powder, there is no chance you are missing it.
Yes! White chocolate chips taste great with matcha. You can also try this recipe with milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and even ruby chocolate.
More Cookie Recipes You Might Enjoy:
- Lemon Blueberry Cookies
- Edible Sugar Cookie Dough
- Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies
- Chocolate Filled Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Matcha Cookies
- Red Velvet Oreo Cookies
- Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Brownie Cookie Cheesecake Bars
- Coffee Toffee Chocolate Cookie Bars
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Dark Chocolate Matcha Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 4 ounces unsalted butter - browned
- 2 ounces cream cheese - room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granular sugar
- 2 eggs - room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons matcha powder
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 ounce dark chocolate bar - roughly chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a pan heat butter over medium heat, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes or until it turns nut brown in color.
- Pour into a glass bowl and allow it to come to room temperature. Speed this up by placing in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 °F and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
- In a medium sized bowl, sift together all-purpose flour, matcha powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the browned butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, and white sugar until combined and lightened in color.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract. Beat for 1 to 2 minutes or until the mixture is combined well.
- Add the dry mixture (all-purpose flour, matcha powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt). Fold together until almost all the flour has been incorporated.
- Add the chopped dark chocolate and fold until it is evenly dispersed among the dough.
- Take a scoop of dough (about 2 tablespoons) and flatten it into a round, thick, flat disk. Place on the prepared baking sheet.*These cookies do not spread but still need a little space between them.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops have set and the bottom edges are slightly browned in color.
- Remove from oven and allow the cookies to cool (and continue to cook) on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and allow them to cool to room temperature.
VIDEO
RECIPE NOTES
Storing Information:
- Room temperature: in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Refrigerator: in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
- Freezer: wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
How To Freeze Cookies and Bake Later
Make the dough and pre-portion into cookies. Place them on a baking sheet and throw them into the freezer until they are solid. Place the cookie dough portions into a freezer bag or airtight container. Freeze them for up to three months. When you are ready to bake the matcha cookies, place them frozen on a prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350° F for ten to fifteen minutes until golden brown. Keep in mind it does take a few minutes longer to bake because they are cold.How To Make Cookies Round
If your matcha cookies are a little lopsided after they have baked, try this (immediately once they come out of the oven)! Grab a large round cookie cutter, glass, or anything else. Using a circular motion swirl the cookie around inside your chosen round object to reshape them.Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
I love these cookies and my friends love them, too. I have actually made three batches for our cookie picnic. Thanks Elizabeth! ❤️
Hi Jowena!
I love to hear that you have made this more than once! It is the best compliment a food blogger can receive!
~Elizabeth