I could easily eat the whole batch of these easy vegan matcha cookies with white chocolate and macadamia nuts! They're soft and chewy, have just the right amount of sweetness, and taste absolutely amazing. This recipe is also easy to adapt to be gluten free.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Quick and easy: The dough comes together in less than 10 minutes, plus another 10 minutes to bake, meaning you can be enjoying freshly baked cookies in just about 20 minutes!
- Matcha + white chocolate + macadamia nuts: These cookies are delicious plain, but we love them even more with some macadamia nuts and white chocolate added in. White chocolate adds a bit more sweetness to counterbalance the grassy matcha, and macadamia nuts add a rich, nutty flavor.
- Sweet, but not too sweet: These vegan matcha cookies are perfect for when you need to satisfy your sweet tooth, but don't want to go all out with something super decadent. The earthy flavor of matcha plus the refreshing acidity of lemon makes for a light cookie!
- Vegan and easy to make gluten free: These matcha cookies are eggless and totally dairy free! They're also super easy to make gluten free with a simple swap.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make these vegan matcha cookies:
Ingredient Notes
- Matcha: There are several different varieties of matcha, each coming with slightly different flavor qualities and price points. Culinary matcha is our go-to choice for these cookies and is typically easy to find. Ceremonial grade matcha is more expensive, but tends to have much more flavor (and will retain more green color when baked). It's really up to you and your preferences! Check out this article to learn more about different types of matcha.
- Be sure to use 100% pure matcha, and not a blend that contains other ingredients or additives.
- Flour: To make these vegan matcha cookies gluten free, swap regular all purpose flour with a gluten free alternative. We typically use this 1:1 gluten free flour from Bob's Red Mill.
- Vegan butter: Any variety should work well in this recipe. We typically use Miyoko's (cashew based) or Country Crock.
- We haven't tried this recipe with coconut oil instead of butter, but it should work.
- Applesauce: Applesauce functions as an egg substitute in these vegan matcha cookies. It shouldn't add any kind of apple flavor – it's just there as a binder. We always use unsweetened applesauce.
- We would not recommend swapping applesauce with a flax egg – it will change the texture of the cookies. It also takes more time to prepare.
- Lemon juice and extract: We loved how a small amount of lemon really took the flavor up a notch in these matcha cookies. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is always best. If you don't have any lemon extract, skip it or use a teaspoon of lemon zest instead.
- Cinnamon: Optional, but adds a nice warmth to these cookies.
- Macadamia nuts: Optional, but we love the nuttiness and crunch they add to these cookies. We used salted nuts.
- White chocolate: Also optional, but a great addition for those who prefer a slightly sweeter cookie. We love using Enjoy Life Foods vegan white chocolate – it's also amazing in this vegan cheesecake!
How to make Vegan Matcha Cookies
PREP: Preheat oven to 350˚F / 175˚C.
(1) In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, matcha, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
(2) In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, maple syrup, applesauce, sugar, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon juice.
(3) Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, using an electric mixer, until well combined.
(4) Add in ¾ cup of macadamia nuts (optional).
(5) Portion cookie dough using a cookie scoop and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Use a flat-bottom measuring cup (or water glass) to gently flatten each cookie (they won't spread much in the oven).
(6) Bake for 9-10 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool completely.
(7) Optional: When cooled, drizzle white chocolate over each cookie and top with more macadamia nuts.
Expert Tips
- Make them gluten free: Swap regular all purpose flour with gluten free 1:1 flour.
- Macadamia nuts and white chocolate optional: These vegan matcha cookies are equally delicious plain. We love to take them up a notch with the addition of white chocolate and macadamia nuts, but feel free to leave them out. You can also just use one or the other, or simply add the white chocolate chips straight to the batter instead of drizzling on top.
- Make them with chocolate chips: To make chocolate chip matcha cookies, you'll want to leave out the lemon juice and lemon extract. Then, keep the recipe the same and just add in semisweet or dark chocolate chips to the batter before baking!
- Make ahead and bake from freezer: Make the dough, portion (and flatten), then freeze. You can bake the dough straight from the freezer – they just may need an extra minute or two in the oven. If freezing dough for long periods of time, make sure to store in an airtight container to prevent freezer burn.
- Storage: Store leftover cookies at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Freezer/long-term storage: Freeze leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Defrost overnight, or heat up in the microwave or oven.
FAQs
Yes, the caffeine does not "bake out" of the cookies. This recipe contains about 420 grams total of caffeine from the matcha, which means you'll get about 17-20 grams per cookie. (For comparison, a cup of brewed matcha contains around 70 grams of caffeine, and a cup of coffee contains around 100 grams.)
You can find culinary grade and ceremonial grade matcha at most grocery stores, especially specialty stores like Whole Foods. Alternatively, there are hundreds of authentic Japanese matcha brands available online, as well as on Amazon.
Matcha has a subtly sweet, rich, grassy/vegetal flavor. If using in its pure form (in tea, a latte, or a similar preparation), the flavor is quite strong. When using it in a baked good, the flavor is often tamed by other ingredients as well as the baking process. The flavor also depends on the type of matcha used. Culinary grade matcha is not as strong in flavor as ceremonial grade matcha, for example.
The less oxygen exposure, the better. It's best to store matcha in an airtight container (vacuum sealed would be ideal!). It's also best to store matcha in a cool, dark place, away from heat and humidity.
Depending on the quality of the matcha you used, your cookies may lose the vibrant green color once baked. A higher quality matcha will yield more green cookies, while a lower quality matcha will yield yellow/brown cookies.
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Easy Vegan Matcha Cookies
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 dozen 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
I could easily eat the whole batch of these easy vegan matcha cookies with white chocolate and macadamia nuts! They're soft and chewy, have just the right amount of sweetness, and taste absolutely amazing. This recipe is also easy to adapt to be gluten free.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour (can also use gluten free 1:1 flour)
- 2 tablespoons culinary grade matcha
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup melted vegan butter
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Optional: ¾ cup finely chopped salted macadamia nuts, plus more for topping
- Optional: 8 ounces melted vegan white chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F/175˚C.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, matcha, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, maple syrup, applesauce, sugar, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon juice.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, using an electric mixer, until well combined. Add in ¾ cup of macadamia nuts (optional).
- Portion cookie dough using a cookie scoop and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Use a flat-bottom measuring cup (or water glass) to gently flatten each cookie (they won't spread much in the oven).
- Bake for 9-10 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Optional: When cooled, drizzle white chocolate over each cookie and top with more macadamia nuts.
Notes
Matcha: There are several different varieties of matcha, each coming with slightly different flavor qualities as well as price tags. Culinary matcha is our go-to choice for these cookies and is typically easy to find. Ceremonial grade matcha is more expensive, but tends to have much more flavor (and will retain more green color when baked).
Make them gluten free: Swap regular all purpose flour with gluten free 1:1 flour.
Macadamia nuts and white chocolate optional: We love to take these cookies up a notch with the addition of white chocolate and macadamia nuts, but feel free to leave them out. You can also just use one or the other, or simply add the white chocolate chips straight to the batter instead of drizzling on top.
Make ahead and bake from freezer: Make the dough, portion (and flatten), then freeze. You can bake the dough straight from the freezer – they just may need an extra minute or two in the oven.
Storage: Store leftover cookies at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Freezer/long-term storage: Freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Japanese-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 236
- Sugar: 14.1 g
- Sodium: 88.9 mg
- Fat: 10.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.9 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 3.6 g
Brent Harrison says
Tried these the other day. I love matcha but they weren't over matcha-y. Also using apple sauce instead of the flax egg makes things so much easier.