Matcha crinkle cookies are soft, chewy green tea cookies rolled in powdered sugar, so they bake up with white, deeply cracked tops and a bright green inside. One batch makes about 24 cookies from 1 tablespoon of matcha and 1¾ cups of flour. The dough needs at least 2 hours in the fridge, then 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F.
The trick is cold dough and a thick coat of sugar. As the chilled balls spread in the oven, the dry sugar shell splits open and the green shows through the cracks.
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Try the Recipe Converter →I fell for matcha on a trip to Japan, where every morning came with a bowl of tea and a small sweet beside it. These cookies are my way of keeping that pairing at home. I first baked them for Christmas, and the snowy green look has kept them on my holiday tray ever since.
One Batch, Start to Finish
- Makes: about 24 cookies, one rounded tablespoon of dough each
- Prep: 20 minutes, plus at least 2 hours chilling (overnight is fine)
- Bake: 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F (175°C), on parchment, 2 inches apart
- Matcha: 1 tablespoon culinary matcha to 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- Coating: ½ cup powdered sugar for rolling
- Keeps: up to 4 days in an airtight container
Culinary or Ceremonial Matcha for Baking?
Use culinary grade matcha. It is made for cooking, has a stronger flavor that still comes through after the oven, and costs a fraction of ceremonial matcha. Ceremonial grade is meant to be whisked with water and sipped. Its delicate, sweet notes mostly bake away, so it is wasted in a cookie.
Look for a powder that is a fresh, bright green. A dull, yellowish or brownish powder is old or low quality, and it gives you dull cookies with a harsh, grassy bitterness. Store opened matcha airtight in the fridge so it keeps its color.
One tablespoon gives a clear green tea flavor with a gentle bitter edge that the powdered sugar balances. Sift it together with the flour, baking powder and salt. Matcha clumps easily, and an unsifted lump bakes into a dark, bitter speck.
Mixing and Chilling the Green Tea Dough
Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture looks paler and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing each in fully, then the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients on low speed and stop as soon as no dry flour shows. Overmixing builds gluten and gives you tough, puffy cookies.
The dough will be soft and sticky, more like thick frosting than cookie dough. That is normal. Cover it tightly and chill it for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Cold butter is what lets each ball hold its sugar coat and spread slowly, which is where the deep cracks come from. If it is too firm to scoop after a night in the fridge, leave it on the counter for 10 minutes.
Shaping, Rolling and Baking for a Green Inside
Heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment. Scoop a rounded tablespoon of dough, about 25 g, and roll it into a ball. That size gives you the 24 cookies. Roll each ball in powdered sugar until no green shows at all, and set them 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, one tray at a time on the middle rack. They are done when the edges are set, the cookies have spread a little, and wide cracks run across the tops while the centers still look soft. If you made smaller balls, check at 9 minutes.
Do not wait for the edges to brown. Heat dulls matcha, and a cookie baked even 2 minutes too long turns from bright green to olive. Leave them on the tray for 5 minutes to firm up, then move them to a wire rack.
Olive, Gray or Crackless: Matcha Cookie Fixes
- Olive or brownish green: overbaked, or the matcha was old. Pull them at the first sign of set edges, and use light colored baking sheets, since dark pans brown the bottoms faster.
- Powdered sugar melted into a gray film: the dough warmed up or the coat was thin. Keep the bowl in the fridge between trays, and roll each ball in powdered sugar twice.
- Flat cookies with few cracks: the butter was too soft or the dough was not chilled long enough. Give it the full 2 hours.
- Thick, puffy cookies that do not spread: the balls were too big or the dough was overmixed after the flour went in.
- Bitter spots: clumps of matcha. Sift it with the flour next time.
Matcha Crinkle Cookies vs Matcha Snowball Cookies
They look alike on a tray, but they are different cookies. These crinkles are made with eggs and baking powder and rolled in powdered sugar before baking. They spread, crack open, and stay soft and chewy in the middle.
Matcha snowball cookies are usually an eggless butter dough with ground nuts, shaped into small balls and rolled in powdered sugar after baking, often twice. They stay round, with a crumbly, shortbread texture. If you want that style, my chocolate snowball cookies show the method, and you can swap a little of the flour for matcha.
Christmas Trays, Make-Ahead Dough and Storage
The green and white look sets these apart on a Christmas cookie plate. They sit nicely next to gingerbread crinkle cookies and red velvet crinkle cookies, and they go well with a cup of matcha tea, a glass of cold milk, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The dough keeps in the fridge overnight. To get further ahead, freeze the scooped balls without sugar for up to a month, then roll them in powdered sugar straight from the freezer and add 1 to 2 minutes to the bake.
Quick Matcha Cookie Answers
Do matcha crinkle cookies taste bitter?
Only slightly. With 1 tablespoon of culinary matcha and the powdered sugar coat, they taste like sweet green tea with a soft, earthy finish.
Can I add white chocolate chips?
Yes. Fold about ½ cup of white chocolate chips into the dough before chilling. Its creamy sweetness softens the green tea edge, the same pairing as in this matcha banana bread with white chocolate.
Why did my cookies lose their green color?
Usually they baked too long or the matcha was old. Bake only until the edges set, about 10 minutes, and use a bright green culinary matcha.
For more green tea baking, try my matcha latte cookies, vegan matcha cookies or strawberry matcha cupcakes.
Matcha Crinkle Cookies
These matcha crinkle cookies are soft, chewy green tea cookies made with flour, 1 tablespoon of matcha powder, butter, sugar and eggs, rolled in powdered sugar before baking. The recipe makes about 24 cookies with 20 minutes of prep, at least 2 hours of chilling and 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F. Chilling firms the butter, so each ball holds a thick white coat that cracks open in the oven to show the bright green inside. Bake them for Christmas cookie trays, cookie exchanges and holiday gift boxes, or serve them with matcha tea or cold milk. Pull them while the centers are still soft so the green stays vivid, and keep them airtight for up to 4 days.
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar (for rolling)
Instructions
- WHISK DRY INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, matcha powder, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
- CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium speed for 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- ADD EGGS AND VANILLA: Beat in the eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully mixed before adding the next. Stir in the vanilla extract until smooth.
- COMBINE WET AND DRY: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed just until combined. Do not overmix.
- CHILL THE DOUGH: Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Chilling helps the cookies hold their shape and develop a better crinkle texture.
- PREHEAT THE OVEN: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- SHAPE AND ROLL: Scoop about 1 tablespoon of chilled dough and roll into a ball. Roll each dough ball in powdered sugar until fully coated, then place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- BAKE: Bake for 10–12 minutes or until the edges are set and the cookies have spread slightly, revealing deep crinkles across the surface. The centers should remain soft.
- COOL AND SERVE: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve once cooled or store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Use culinary grade matcha and sift it with the flour so no bitter clumps bake into the cookies. If the dough is too firm to scoop after chilling, let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. A rounded tablespoon of dough (about 25 g) per ball gives about 24 cookies. Roll each ball generously in powdered sugar, twice if the coat looks thin, for deep white crinkles. Bake only until the edges are set; overbaking turns the green olive. Keep the dough cold between trays. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze unrolled dough balls for up to 1 month and roll in powdered sugar before baking, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
Nutrition Information
Yield
24Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 172Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 3gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 27mgSodium 55mgCarbohydrates 30gFiber 0gSugar 16gProtein 2g
