These matcha white chocolate cookies are pillowy soft and the perfect balance between sweet and earthy. Made in one bowl in only 30 minutes, they're the best gluten-free dessert for St. Patrick's Day!
St. Patrick's Day is coming up, so I've been having fun in my kitchen experimenting with some green goodies. These matcha white chocolate cookies check all my boxes: they're a beautiful green colour, super simple, and made in just 30 minutes! That's right- no chilling required.
Despite the simplicity, these cookies are still delicious and perfect for when you want something different from your usual chocolate chip cookie. And since they're gluten-free, I love bringing them to get-togethers for my gluten-intolerant or Celiac friends. Trust me, everyone will be begging you for the recipe.
Ingredients
- Butter
- Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Almond flour (not meal)
- Baking powder
- Matcha powder (culinary grade)
- Salt
- White chocolate chunks
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together butter and sugar until smooth. Add in egg and vanilla and whisk again.
Once smooth, add almond flour, baking powder, matcha and salt
Stir to combine.
Add in your white chocolate chunks
Fold in white chocolate with a spatula.
Roll dough into 12 equal sized balls and place on your cooking sheet.
Gently press down on each ball using the palm of your hand, until dough is about ½ an inch thick.
If desired, press additional white chocolate into the tops of each cookie for that classic bakery style look.
Bake for about 12 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are golden brown.
Substitutions and Variations
To make vegan: Use coconut oil instead of butter, flax egg instead of an egg, and dairy-free white chocolate (I use Enjoy Life or Healthy Crunch).
I have not tested this recipe with any flour other than almond flour! If you decide to try please let me know how they turn out- you will likely need to use less flour!
Equipment
Storage
These matcha white chocolate cookies can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
To freeze the dough, roll out the dough into balls and flash freeze on a tray for around an hour to prevent sticking. Once the balls have firmed up and frozen partially, you can transfer them into a freezer-safe bag.
Top Tip
I find these cookies are the perfect balance of matcha and white chocolate, however, I know that some people prefer a stronger matcha flavor. If this is you, add 2 tablespoon of matcha!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, as matcha contains about 35mg of caffeine per ½ tsp. Since we are using 1 tablespoon of matcha powder in this recipe and making about 12 cookies, each cookie will contain approximately 8.75mg of caffeine. This is much less than a typical cup of matcha!
Matcha also contains a unique amino acid called L-theanine, which slows the absorption of caffeine. This means it has less of a "jittery" effect than coffee, which may be important if you're sensitive to caffeine.
There are two kinds of matcha: ceremonial grade and culinary grade. Both types with work, however, ceremonial grade matcha tends to be more expensive and will have a more subtle taste. As we are baking these cookies, I find culinary grade matcha will result in a more flavorful cookie and a slightly cheaper one as well! I use this one.
It depends! I've had success with the Blume matcha coconut blend (try NOURISHEDBYNIC15 for $ off).
Yes you can, the taste will be the same! I just typically like using baker's chocolate and creating my own chocolate chunks as I find it melts better than regular white chocolate chips do.
More Go-To Cookie Recipes
- Soft Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Gluten-Free Vegan Sugar Cookies
- The Best Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
- The Best Gluten-Free Monster Cookies
PS. I love seeing my recipes in action! If you decide to make these matcha white chocolate cookies, don't forget to snap a photo and tag me on Instagram- @nourishedbynic or leave a comment and rating below letting me know how you liked it!
📖 Recipe
Matcha White Chocolate Cookies (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon matcha powder culinary grade
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup white chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together butter and sugar until smooth. Add in egg and vanilla and whisk again.
- Once smooth, add almond flour, baking powder, matcha and salt and stir to combine.
- Add in your white chocolate chunks
- Roll dough into 12 equal sized balls, place on your cooking sheet and gently press down on each ball using the palm of your hand (until dough is about ½ an inch thick). If desired, press additional white chocolate into the tops of each cookie for that classic bakery-style look.
- Bake for about 12 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are golden brown.
Max and Charlie says
We followed the recipe, except we replaced almond flour for gluten free flour and we added 1/4 tsp almond extract. We ended up only adding 1 cup of flour and the cookies turned out pretty dry. They were not very sweet and the vanilla flavor was not present. Also, they were very salty. We had added less salt than the recipe called for. Not sure what happened here, since the other reviews are positive.
Nicole Addison says
Hi Max! I'm sorry this recipe wasn't a hit for you! I do mention in the text above the recipe card that I have not tested this recipe with any flour other than almond flour so unfortunately that is where I'm going to say the recipe ended up being a bit different than intended! Almond flour typically results in a much more moist cookie while also absoring the flavours of added ingredients a bit more!
Shae says
Instead of almond flour I used a combination of tapioca, millet, amaranth and corn in a even ratio. The texture turned out well and they cooked nicely.
I liked the level of sweetness and the matcha flavor shows up, though I might add a bit more in next time.
Erin says
These were so good! I used normal gluten free flour instead of almond flour but I don’t think it made a difference, as they tasted great!