Vegan Matcha Cookies

If you’re a fan of the bitter-sweet, earthy taste of matcha in your sweets, these vegan matcha cookies are a must-try. They’re light and crisp, and go perfectly with a cup of tea.

The Taste and Texture of Vegan Matcha Cookies

These thin, crisp cookies are known as shortbread or sable cookies, as well as simply butter cookies. In this recipe, I swapped butter for soft coconut oil and the result is just as crunchy and delicious as ever.

Here’s what you’ll love most about these vegan matcha cookies:

• Made with 100% plant-based ingredients
• Under 150 calories per cookie
• Extra crisp and just sweet enough
• Super easy to make with no cookie cutter needed

What Is Matcha?

Essentially, matcha is green tea that’s been grown a bit differently, which is why it has a unique nutritional profile. Unlike green tea, matcha contains the nutrients from the entire tea leaf, which results in a greater amount of caffeine and antioxidants.

Here are the top health benefits of matcha:

• High in antioxidants
• Provides vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc and magnesium
• Is rich in fire, chlorophyll and vitamins
• Boosts metabolism, due to its high caffeine content

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make These Healthy Matcha Cookies

All-purpose flour - if you’re measuring in cups, make sure to use the “spoon and level” method: using a spoon, scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then use the back of a knife to level off the top of the measuring cup.

Matcha green tea powder - using high-quality matcha powder is essential for making amazing matcha cookies. If you already have a favourite brand that you use for cooking or homemade matcha lattes, go with that. If you don’t, I recommend trying out this matcha powder.

Coconut oil - for this recipe, it’s best to use refined coconut oil. Non-refined coconut oil has a strong coconut flavour, which can be delicious in some recipes, but for these matcha cookies it’s best to let the matcha flavour fully shine by using flavourless, refined coconut oil. Make sure to use slightly softened oil, not melted or solid oil. If you store coconut oil in the fridge, make sure you keep the jar at room temperature for a few hours before starting this recipe.

Powdered sugar - use powdered sugar, also known as confectioners sugar, which is the finest type of sugar you can use. It’s essentially white, granulated sugar that has been ground into a fine powder. So if you don’t have any at hand, you can easily use a coffee grinder to make some.

Salt - adding salt to sweet recipes helps to bring out the flavours, and it really does make a difference. Use finely ground sea salt, and measure it precisely.

Flax meal - flax eggs are the ultimate vegan egg replacer that will work in almost any recipe. To substitute one chicken egg, mix one tablespoon of flax meal with two and a half tablespoons of lukewarm water, and let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes. If this is your first time making flax eggs, you can read my quick tutorial on how to make flax eggs here.

If you’re not keen on making these matcha cookies vegan, you can replace the two flax eggs with chicken eggs. I haven’t tried it for this particular recipe, but it should work.

How to Make Vegan Matcha Cookies

Step One - Mix Flour and Matcha

Sift the flour and matcha green tea powder in a large bowl.

Step Two - Prepare Flax Egg

In a small bowl, mix together the flax meal and water. Whisk until smooth and let it sit for a few minutes until it thickens slightly.

Step Three - Make the Dough

Beat coconut oil, powdered sugar and salt until soft and creamy. Make the dough: Add the flax eggs to the coconut oil mixture, and mix well until combined. Gradually add the flour and matcha green tea powder mix and blend until the dough is smooth.

Step Four - Shape Two Logs

Cut the dough in half and shape into 2 cylinders, about 1.5 inches (4 cm) diameter, 7" (18 cm) long.

Step Five - Chill the Dough

Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 2 hours, or overnight. To make sure the cookies are a nice round shape, place the logs on a bed of rice while chilling. It’ll keep the dough in a nice cylindrical shape, so your cookie slices won’t be flat on one side.

Chilling the dough is an essential step in this recipe. If you fail to chill the logs for at least 2 hours, the cookies won’t hold their shape.

Step Six - Cut and Bake the Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking liner. Remove the dough from the plastic wrap, and with a sharp knife, slice the dough into ⅓ inches (7 mm)-thick rounds. Place them on the baking sheet, leaving about 1” (2.5 cm) between rounds.

Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until the edge of the cookies starts to get slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes; then carefully transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

How Long Do These Keep?

If you pack the cookies in an airtight container, they will keep for at least 4 days.

You can also freeze the unbaked logs of dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 months. Let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before cutting and baking. Do not let the dough fully defrost.

More Matcha Recipes

If you love baking with matcha, make sure to check out these matcha muffins, matcha overnight oats or matcha cheesecake with blueberries.

Looking for a Different Vegan Cookie?

Get more vegan baking inspiration from my complete list of vegan cookie recipes. Top recommendation include these vegan lemon cookies, vegan coconut cookies, steel-cut oats cookies, and these vegan and gluten-free snickerdoodles.