Go Back
–+ servings
Matcha checkerboard cookies piled on a plate.

Matcha Checkerboard Cookies

Author: Gail Ng
Soft and buttery matcha checkerboard cookies with a stunning checkerboard design that you can easily make yourself!
5 from 14 votes
PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE SAVE RECIPE
Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 52 minutes
Yield 26 cookies
Category Dessert
Cuisine Japanese

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Cookies

  • 300 g all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 230 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 100 g granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon matcha powder, ceremonial-grade

For assembling

  • 1 large egg white

Instructions
 

  • Flour mixture: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Set aside.
    Left: pouring a spoonful of salt into a bowl of flour. Right: stirring flour mixture with a spoon.
  • Butter mixture: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the softened butter until very creamy. Add the granulated sugar and beat until creamy and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat again on low speed until combined.
    Left: an egg yolk in a bowl of creamed butter. Right: beating butter and sugar together with a hand mixer.
  • Combine flour and butter mixtures: Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until just barely combined with some flour patches still remaining.
    Left: pouring flour into wet mixture. Right: mixing cookie dough with a hand mixer.
  • Divide dough: Divide the dough in half and transfer one half to a separate mixing bowl (use the bowl you used for the flour mixture). Finish mixing the dough in one of the bowls just until there are no more flour patches. This will be your plain/vanilla dough. Set aside.
    Left: transferring half of the cookie dough to another bowl. Right: two mixing bowls filled with cookie dough.
  • Matcha dough: To the other dough, sift in matcha powder. Use the hand mixer to mix on low speed until the matcha is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
    Left: sifting matcha powder into a bowl of cookie dough. Right: two bowls of cookie dough, one plain and one matcha flavoured.
  • Shape dough: On your kitchen counter, lay down a sheet of parchment paper. Turn out the matcha dough onto the parchment paper. Use your hands to press it into a rectangular shape. Use a bench scraper or something with a straight edge to square off the sides of the rectangle as best you can.
    Left: hands pressing matcha dough together. Right: two hands shaping dough into a rectangle.
  • Roll out dough: Lay another sheet of parchment paper on top. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about ¼" thick, keeping it in a rectangle shape as best you can. Occasionally, use a bench scraper to straighten the sides.
    Left: hands rolling out dough with a rolling pin. Right: shaping cookie dough into a rectangle with a bench scraper.
  • Chill dough: On a separate sheet of parchment paper, repeat the previous two steps with the plain dough, making both sheets of dough roughly the same size and shape. Transfer both sheets of dough to the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour or until firm.
    left: cookie dough in a pile on parchment paper. Right: shaping dough into a rectangle with a bench scraper.
  • Stack dough: Once chilled, peel one sheet of dough off the parchment paper and lay it directly on top of the other sheet of dough.
    Left: brushing a sheet of dough with egg white. Right: hands laying one sheet of dough on top of another sheet of dough.
  • Stack dough again: Use a knife to cut the stack of dough in half widthwise. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of one half with a thin layer of egg white. Pick up the other half of dough and lay it on top of the egg white layer so that the colours of dough are alternating. Pop this back in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up again.
    Left: cutting a stack of dough in half. Right: hands laying one stack of dough on top of another stack of dough.
  • Cut strips: Use a sharp knife to cut strips of dough that are about ¼" thick. Each long strip should have 4 stripes of alternating colours and you should end up with 12 strips.
    Left: slicing layered dough into strips. Right: strips of striped dough laying on parchment paper.
  • Create checkerboard pattern: Place one strip flat on your surface. Brush the top with a thin layer of egg white. Take another strip and flip it over so that the colours are the opposite of the ones below it. Place the strip down on top of the first strip, lining it up down the length of the strip, and gently press it down to seal together. Repeat until you have a stack of 4 strips. Repeat with the remaining strips. You should end up with 3 "blocks" with 4 strips each. Chill the blocks in the fridge for another 15 minutes to firm up again.
    Left: brushing a block of layered cookie dough with egg white. Right: hand laying a strip of dough on top of a block of dough.
  • Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • Slice cookies: Use a sharp knife to slice each block into ¼" thick cookies. Place the cookies on your lined baking sheet, leaving about ½" in between each cookie. They won't spread much so they can be fairly close together.
    Left: cutting a block of dough into slices. Right: checkerboard cookies lined up on a baking sheet before baking.
  • Bake: Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the bottom edges of the cookies start to lightly brown.
  • Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

  • The thickness of this dough will determine the size of your checkerboard squares. Feel free to roll the dough out to ½" thick and cut the long strips ½" thick if you want bigger squares.

Nutrition

Calories: 126kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 48mg | Potassium: 18mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 260IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
Keywords green tea checkerboard cookies, matcha butter cookies, matcha checkerboard cookies, matcha shortbread cookies
Tried this recipe?Leave a rating & comment to let us know how it was and tag your Instagram posts with @teakandthyme!