Matcha Cookies

Ingredients 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) (please weigh your flour; click the Metric button for weights; or learn how to measure flour with a measuring cup)
• 2½ Tbsp matcha green tea powder (1 Tbsp matcha is 6 g)
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened, at room temperature)
• 1 pinch Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 130 g confectioners’ sugar (1 cup + 2 tsp)
• 2 large egg yolks (at room temperature)
• 1/4 cup good-quality white chocolate baking chips

Instructions 

Before You Start…

1. Please note that this recipe requires a chilling time of 2 hours. Gather all the ingredients. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale; click the “Metric“ button above to convert the measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the method in my post How to Measure Flour: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.

To Make the Dough

1. Combine 2 cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) and 2½ Tbsp matcha green tea powder in a large bowl.
2. Sift the flour and the matcha powder.
3. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat ¾ cup unsalted butter until smooth and creamy. Tip: It’s important to soften the butter ahead of time. Leave the cold butter out on the counter for 1 hour or microwave it in 5-second increments until softened.
4. Add 1 pinch Diamond Crystal kosher salt and blend.
5. Add 130 g confectioners’ sugar (1 cup + 2 tsp) and beat well until soft and light. As you blend, stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl occasionally.
6. Add 2 large egg yolks and mix well until combined.
7. Gradually add the flour and matcha mixture and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
8. Add 1/4 cup good-quality white chocolate baking chips and mix until just incorporated.

To Chill the Dough

1. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a cylinder about 1½ inches (4 cm) in diameter and 7 inches (18 cm) long.
2. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours. Tip: You can place the logs on a bed of uncooked rice while chilling. It’ll keep the dough in a nice cylindrical shape so your cookie slices won’t be flat on one side. To freeze for later: You can also freeze the unbaked logs of dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 months. To bake, let the frozen log sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before slicing and baking. Do not let the dough fully defrost.

To Slice and Bake

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking liner. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap the plastic wrap. Use a sharp knife to slice the dough into rounds about ⅓ inch (7 mm) thick. If the dough is too hard to slice, wait about 5 minutes before slicing. Place the sliced dough on the baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of space between the rounds.
2. Bake the cookies at 350ºF (175ºC) for about 15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies get slightly golden brown.
3. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes; then carefully transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack and let them cool completely before serving.