Matcha is such an interesting flavor! It starts out slightly bitter and then BOOM! Earthy and sweet flavors give us that smooth and rich finish. Is matcha gluten-free? Yep! It's a great ingredient to use in gluten-free baking because it's made from green tea leaves which are naturally gluten-free. Let's use this earthy ingredient to make some quick and easy gluten-free matcha cookies!
I love using matcha at my cottage bakery because of its rich green color. I use it often to create dye-free green buttercream, which I use to pipe leaves on my edible flowers.
These cookies would be a great naturally green dessert for St-Patrick's day, but can absolutely be enjoyed all year round! If you're looking for other cookie ideas, check out my gluten-free oatmeal cream pies!
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Ingredients
The star of the show is matcha, which is also known as green tea powder. There's lots of different brands available, I use Sen Cha, which I found at my local Costco.
- Gluten-free all-purpose flour (Not all blends are created equal, please click through for recommendations on DIY blends and appropriate brands)
- Sugar: both granulated and brown sugar are used
- Matcha powder - is matcha gluten-free? Yes! Green tea leaves are gluten-free.
- White chocolate chips
- Butter
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon juice
- Eggs
- Corn starch
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
I love baking cookies, because it's typically a lot quicker than baking cakes or cupcakes! Once I weighed all my ingredients, it took me less than 10 minutes to make the dough for these gluten-free matcha cookies!
Making the Dough
Start by mixing together softened butter, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract. I actually mixed everything directly with my clean hands, which I found therapeutic. Then add the egg and incorporate. Finally add all the dry ingredients and mix the dough until it is green, and homogeneous.
Don't forget the white chocolate chips for extra sweetness! Mix them well so they're evenly dispersed in the dough. Then, refrigerate the dough in an airtight container for 30 minutes or up two days; this is for the fats to harden and the gluten-free flour to absorb moisture. It will make your cookies spread less and be thicker.
Baking the Cookies
When the gluten-free matcha cookie dough has been refrigerated for close to 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 F. I like my cookies to be the same size, and so I always weigh my dough. This recipe makes 12 cookies of about 60 grams each.
I tared my kitchen scale to 0, and took balls of dough until the scale read -60 grams. Perfect! I shaped them into spheres on a baking tray with lots of space in between and baked in the oven for ~14 minutes. Even if the cookies may SEEM crumbly coming out of the oven, do not be tempted to overbake! They will harden as they cool and get to the appropriate texture. Cool fully on a rack before enjoying this easy treat!
Hint: If you want to make smaller cookies, you sure can! My best tip is to weigh your entire amount of dough, and divide it by the amount of cookies you'd like to bake. Voila!
Substitutions
Allergens for this recipe are: milk, eggs, soy. I have a few recommendations if you're trying to avoid any of the above.
- Soy-free - that's an easy sub, though expensive. The soy comes from the lecithin found in virtually all white chocolate chips, except the Pascha brand (non-affiliate).
- Dairy-free - use your vegan butter of choice, preferably one high in saturated fats like Miyoko's vegan butter.
- Egg-free - I have not tried this recipe without eggs. Eggs serve as a binder for the gluten-free dough. If you try a flax or chia egg, please report your findings!
Variations
ALL the flavor from this recipe comes from the matcha powder. I have a feeling we can adapt this recipe with a lot of different flavors by replacing with other powders. Ideas below, please let me know if you try them!
- Freeze-dried fruit powder - we can try strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, peach and other fruit powders! I would replace half the weight of white chocolate chips with small chunks of fresh fruits as well.
- Instant coffee - that's another flavorful caffeinated take on this recipe!
Pst, another interesting Asian flavor dessert is my gluten-free ube cake!
Equipment
You just need two baking trays lined with parchment paper.
Storage
These gluten-free matcha cookies are shelf-stable! Store them in a Ziploc bag or air-tight container on the counter for up to 3 days. If you still have leftovers by then, wrap the cookies in plastic, and store them in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 1 month. When you're ready, thaw them at room temperature and enjoy!
Top tip
You can make these cookies ahead of time! Cookie dough can safely stay in the fridge for 48 hours, so you can time freshly made cookies for what works best with your busy schedule! You could also put the cookie dough in a freezer bag and thaw it within a month when you're ready to bake.
FAQ
Yes! It's made from green tea leaves, which do not contain gluten. I have yet to find a matcha packaging that's certified gluten-free, which is kind of how milk, or sugar, are typically not products certified gluten-free. I understand the peace of mind that comes with a gluten-free promise though. On their website, Golde states their matcha is gluten-free, which may be a brand worth looking into.
You need to use a hydrocolloid, which is a gluten replacer. Please (please please please!) click through my recommended gluten-free flour blends and use an appropriate blend for this recipe.
Yep! It's best to leave it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, which will let the gluten-free flours absorb liquids, and also the fats harden. This is great for baking, because it's going to reduce how much the cookies spread. I don't know about you, but I like my cookies thick.
Gluten-Free Matcha Cookies
Equipment
- 2 Baking Trays lined with parchment paper
Ingredients
- 144 grams butter non-salted, room temperature
- 85 grams brown sugar
- 100 grams sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg room temperature
- 210 grams gluten-free flour please click through for recommendations on appropriate flours
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 30 grams corn starch
- 10 grams matcha powder
- 140 grams white chocolate chips
Instructions
Making the Dough
- In a bowl, combine the room temperature butter, sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
- Mix together with a fork or hand until well combined. It shouldn't be creamed like for a cake, but rather a heterogeneous ball of butter/sugar.
- Add the egg, and fully incorporate.
- Add the dry ingredients (from gluten-free flour to matcha powder on the above list), and mix together until a green heterogeneous ball of dough is formed.
- Add the white chocolate chips, and mix until evenly dispered in the dough.
- Refrigerate the dough in an airtight container for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 °F (177 °C)
Baking the Cookies
- Divide the dough into 12 equal portions (about 60 grams each).
- Roll the dough into a ball and place on a baking tray, leaving at least 2 inches between cookies (I used 2 baking trays)
- Place in the middle of the preheated oven and bake 13-14 minutes.
- Fully cool on a rack before enjoying!
Liza
I made a batch of these cookies over the weekend and everyone loved them. I'm going to make another batch for St. Patrick's Day since they're such a great shade of green!
Naelle @ GlutenFreeDIYers
Awesome! I'm baking them again for St. Patrick's Day too!
Abby
I found this recipe LITERALLY a week ago and since then I’ve made it three times. I added frozen raspberries and topped with a drizzle from raspberry preserves and it’s been a big hit among friends and family! Thank you so much!
Quick question: Can these can be frozen before baking? If so, for up to how long?
Naelle @ GlutenFreeDIYers
That's great! Raspberry drizzle sounds like it'd be a really good combo! I've never tried freezing the dough, but I think it's possible. I would freeze 3 months max.
Justine
These were so easy to make, but even better is they were super yummy!
Charah
I love Matcha! And seeing this recipe excites me! Thank you
Naelle @ GlutenFreeDIYers
Me too! Matcha is really tasty, plus all the health benefits too!
Jacqueline
What a gorgeous colour! They look lush! Perfect with a cuppa.
Holly
I bought some matcha because I wanted to try some healthy teas.
YUCK! I hated it in tea form ? so I went looking for alternative uses for what I had purchased. I was really excited to find your recipe. It was fantastic in these cookies. Matcha is definitely not cheap, so I was happy to find a way to use it up.
Naelle @ GlutenFreeDIYers
Yes it's a very strong earthy flavor! Nothing a little bit of sugar can't fix though, haha!
Charah
Matcha is one of my favorite, I will definitely try this recipe. thank you for sharing
MacKenzie
These cookies are amazing. I doubled the batch and my entire family loved them
Gabby
Yum! These are so good! Gluten free cookie success can be really difficult to achieve sometimes but these were perfection.
Gianne
The subtle matcha flavor combined with the gluten-free goodness made these cookies a hit with everyone who tried them—I'll be baking another batch soon!
Sarah
Okay, I've never once left a comment on a recipe before, but this was so good I had to give you your dues. I tried the recipe according to US standard measurements, but next time I'll try using metric. I also threw in some semi-sweet chocolate chips, and it makes for a fun surprise in every other bite or so. (There's a very real chance that this batch won't last til tomorrow.) It really is the perfect blend of earthy and sweet, with that slight matcha bitterness that I love. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Naelle @ GlutenFreeDIYers
Awesome! Thanks for sharing :)