These matcha butter cookies are rich and buttery with a pipeable dough. They're dipped in white chocolate and decorated with sprinkles for the holiday season but great for any time of year!
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Notes from the baker
No holiday is complete without a matcha cookie, in my opinion. The vibrant green colour is festive in itself and the perfect canvas for decorating.
I love a good butter cookie or shortbread cookie both for the holidays and just any time of year. The buttery texture is so satisfying and snackable.
I especially love these because you can get some fun designs with the piping tips and make rosettes, wreaths, sticks, or even just little cookie blobs would be so cute. These would make a beautiful and delicious addition to any Christmas cookie box!
Why you'll love this recipe
- Rich and buttery cookies. These matcha butter cookies are crisp yet tender, somewhere in between a sandy biscuit and a soft cookie.
- Strong matcha flavour. Use your favourite matcha powder for the best results!
- Pipeable cookie design. You can make several different cookies out of the same dough by simply changing the piping tip for a different design.
- Easy to make. This is a simple recipe with just a few ingredients needed.
Tools
- Baking sheet - Any baking sheet or baking tray will do to bake your cookies on.
- Electric hand mixer - Since we're working with softened butter, a hand mixer will make it much easier to beat the butter and to cream the butter and sugar together.
- Piping bag - You'll need a piping bag to pipe the cookies out. If you don't have a proper piping bag, you can try using one corner of a ziploc bag but since the dough is thick and you'll have to squeeze pretty hard, ziploc bags can tend to stretch or rip.
- Large open star piping tip - Any large piping tip with a hole big enough for the dough to pass through will work. I'd recommend an open star tip because the hole is bigger.
Ingredient notes
As always, the full recipe card with ingredient amounts and instructions is at the bottom of this post! Keep reading for more details on each ingredient or skip ahead to the recipe.
- All-purpose flour
- Matcha powder - I always recommend using a ceremonial grade matcha powder if you can. Yes, even for baking! The colour is more vibrant green and the flavour is stronger and better. You can also use a high-quality culinary grade matcha powder if you have one that you like. Culinary grade matcha tends to be more brown in colour, especially after baking, so I usually avoid it.
- Salt
- Unsalted butter - Butter is the main component in these butter cookies (obviously!). If you can, use a good quality butter. Make sure it's softened to room temperature before using it to make it easier to mix and pipe.
- Powdered sugar - Powdered sugar makes these cookies a soft and tender texture.
- Vanilla extract
- Heavy cream - Adding just a bit of heavy cream or whole milk will help make the cookie dough easier to pipe. Be careful not to add too much though as it will cause the cookies to spread more and the design won't be as defined. Make sure it's at room temperature otherwise it will cause the butter to harden.
- White chocolate - Finely chop a white chocolate bar to help it melt faster. You can also skip this if you just want plain cookies but I love the sweetness and creaminess it adds to these cookies.
- Sprinkles - Use any sprinkles you like or none at all. I chose to use some holly sprinkles to go with the Christmas wreath theme.
Tips for making the best matcha butter cookies
- Use room temperature ingredients. It's important to use room temperature butter and heavy cream both because it will be easier to beat together and because it will create a softer dough that's easier to pipe.
- Don't add too much heavy cream. Adding heavy cream to the dough will make it softer and easier to pipe but it will also cause the cookies to spread more and lose their shape when baked. It's a fine balance! I found that 2 tablespoons was just right. If you need to add more, add 1 tablespoon at a time or try warming up the dough in your hands instead of adding more liquid.
- Apply firm and steady pressure when piping. The first few cookies will be the hardest to pipe because the dough is still fresh and not warmed up by your hands yet. If you're not happy with how they look, you can just scrape them off the parchment paper and add the dough back to the piping bag.
- Chill the cookies before baking. Chilling the piped cookies before baking will allow the butter firm up and help the cookies hold their defined shape and design better during baking.
Storage
These matcha butter cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
They can be frozen in an airtight container or in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature completely before eating.
Frequently asked questions
Baking by weight is much more accurate than volume. When using US standard cups, ingredients like flour and sugar can easily be overpacked into the cup causing you to add too much of certain ingredients. Recipes with weight measurements are also easier to scale to smaller or bigger batches without dealing with weird fractions. To measure by weight, you simply need a kitchen scale which you can usually pick up for less than $20.
Small measurements are given in tablespoons and teaspoons because most kitchen scales are not accurate under about 10g. Tiny amounts like a ¼ teaspoon may not register accurately unless you have a drug scale. Mixing these measurements is a common practice among other recipe sites and commercial kitchens.
More matcha cookie recipes to try
- Matcha Checkerboard Cookies
- Matcha Crinkle Cookies
- Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
- Matcha Thumbprint Cookies
- Matcha Mochi Cookies
Recipe
Matcha Butter Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon matcha powder, ceremonial grade or high-quality culinary grade
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 230 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 100 g powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream, room temperature
- 100 g white chocolate, finely chopped
- sprinkles, of your choice
Instructions
- Prep: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Flour mixture: In a small mixing bowl, stir together flour, matcha powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Butter mixture: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the butter until very creamy and slightly pale in colour. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- Combine: Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add the heavy cream and mix until combined. The dough will be thick but pipeable. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large piping tip.
- Pipe dough: Pipe the dough onto your lined baking sheet in a ring shape by squeezing the bag firmly. If you don't like how one turns out, you can scrape it up and add it back to the piping bag. The dough will become easier to pipe as it warms up in your hands. Leave about 1-2" in between each cookie for spreading.
- Chill & preheat oven: Chill the entire baking sheet in the fridge for 30 minutes to let the dough firm up which will help the cookies keep their shape better. Preheat the oven to 325°F while you wait.
- Bake: Bake cookies for 15-17 minutes. Bake for longer for more crisp cookies. Let the cookies cool completely before decorating.
- White chocolate: Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 10 second intervals or on the stovetop at very low heat. Dip each cookie into the melted white chocolate, let the excess drip off, and place it on parchment paper to firm up.
- Decorate: Arrange sprinkles on top of the white chocolate before it fully sets. I used some holly sprinkles to create a wreath look but you can do anything you want! Let the white chocolate fully set before serving or packing away.
Notes
- Piping tip: Use a large piping tip that's mostly open in the middle (open star tips work better than closed star tips) so that the thick dough can pass through easily.
- Piping the dough: I found that adding 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to the dough was enough to make it easier to pipe while still maintaining its shape during baking. If your dough is very dry and hard to pipe, you can add another tablespoon of heavy cream. The dough will also become easier to pipe as it warms up in your hands so consider letting it rest at room temperature before trying again. Adding smaller amounts of dough to the piping bag can also make it easier to pipe because you can squeeze the bag harder.
Grace L says
Your cookies are so adorable !! Thanks for sharing recipe. Do you mind share the open star pipe tip model number (or how many sharp corners in your open starts) ? And I love the sprinkles, can you share where you bought / the front pic of the brand / type so I can search the source online?
Anonymous says
Thanks for your recipe & good luck for the future miss Gail.
Madeline says
Hi, I was wondering if you have tested freezing the cookie dough before baking? These look lovely!