White Chocolate Pistachio Matcha Cookies

Matcha powder is made from green tea leaves and has a distinct earthy flavor. Paired with sweet white chocolate and salty pistachios, it creates the most tasty cookie!

The flavor of matcha can be a little much for some, but what I love about these cookies is that the matcha flavor is subtle and not overpowering. Even Nate (who has never had Matcha) said, "These are actually really good cookies!"

Honestly, when I first tried matcha, I thought it tasted like grass lol. But, my palate has expanded since then, and I've been obsessed with matcha lattes for a while now. I especially love to make matcha lattes at home! If you're curious, I have a delicious matcha latte recipe (click here) for you to try! It can be enjoyed iced or hot.

Why you'll love my easy matcha cookie recipe

• You don't need to chill the dough. My recipe doesn't require you to chill the dough in the fridge, so you'll have fresh cookies in about 30 minutes! The dough is quick and simple to mix together, then bake the cookies and enjoy!
• Quick and easy. I like to keep the cookie-making process as simple as possible! You'll start by mixing the dry ingredients, then in a separate bowl mix your wet ingredients. Add your dry to your wet and you're ready to bake!
• Most delicious flavor combination. The combination of matcha, white chocolate, and pistachio is perfection! The sweetness of the white chocolate balances out the earthy flavor of the matcha and the pistachios add just a hint of salty goodness.

Ingredients you'll need

Scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredient list.

• Butter. I like to use salted butter in my cookies to add more flavor.
• Granulated sugar
• Egg
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Matcha powder. You want to use culinary-grade matcha for this recipe. I order mine from Amazon. It's the same matcha powder I use to make my favorite matcha latte!
• White chocolate. I like to chop up 2-3 white chocolate bars for big, pretty chunks of white chocolate, but white chocolate chips will work just the same!
• Pistachios. Buy the roasted, salted pistachios with the shells already removed to save yourself lots of time!

How to make perfectly chewy matcha cookies

Making matcha cookies is quick and simple! Here's an overview of how to make the cookies with some helpful tips!

Scroll down to the recipe card for the full instructions.

• Step 1: Combine the wet ingredients. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together your room-temperature butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This incorporates air into the butter, helping the cookies puff up and giving them a lighter texture.
  • Note: If you don't have an electric mixer, you can use a whisk and some elbow grease! It'll just take a few minutes longer.
• Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and match powder. That's it. Simple.
• Step 3: Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Use an electric mixer to blend until just combined. The dough may seem a little crumbly at this point when using an electric mixer.
  • Note: You can use a rubber spatula to mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients if you don't have an electric mixer.
• Step 4: Add the white chocolate and pistachios. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate and pistachios until combined and the dough comes together.
• Step 5: Bake. I like to use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop. It gives you the perfect size cookie. Space the cookie dough balls out 2-3 inches on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes. I prefer 9 minutes for a softer cookie! When you pull the cookies out of the oven, they will look set around the edges and a little underbaked in the center - this is what you want! The cookies will continue to cook a little outside of the oven from residual heat and will firm up nicely. They'll be soft and chewy on the inside and a little crunchy around the edges. Perfection!

Recommended equipment

This is what I use and recommend when baking cookies, but do what works for you and work with what you've got on hand!

• Mixing bowls. You will need two mixing bowls. One larger bowl for the wet ingredients and one smaller bowl for the dry ingredients.
• Electric mixer. Using a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer makes things a little easier when creaming together the butter and sugar, but you can use a regular whisk and some elbow grease instead if preferred.
• Baking sheet pan. I like to bake just one pan of cookies at a time for even baking.
• Parchment paper. To prevent the cookies from sticking to the sheet pan and burning.
• Cookie scoop. If you don't have a cookie scoop, you NEED to buy one! It works like an ice cream scoop (but smaller) and makes baking so much easier! You can get by without, but I use mine so much and for more than just scooping cookies. I bought a set from Amazon that comes in 3 different sizes.

Frequently asked questions

What is matcha powder?

Matcha is finely ground green tea leaves. It's rich in antioxidants and it's commonly used to make matcha lattes!

What does matcha taste like?

Matcha has a very unique, earthy, grassy, slightly bitter taste. It can be an acquired taste, but when baked into cookies, the flavor is much more mellow. Even my husband, who isn't a matcha fan, said these cookies are "actually really good!"

What kind of matcha should I use?

There are two main matcha tea grades: ceremony grade and culinary grade. I recommend culinary grade for matcha cookies.

Ceremony grade matcha is the highest quality matcha powder and is produced from the youngest tea leaves. Ceremony matcha is meant to be drank solely as a tea mixed with hot water.

Culinary grade matcha isn't necessarily lower quality, but it's made with green tea leaves that aren't quite as young as leaves that are used to make ceremony grade, making it more reasonably priced. Culinary grade matcha is meant to be used for cooking, baking and making lattes.

Compared to ceremony grade, culinary grade matcha is a little more gritty and bitter and its green color isn't as vibrant, hence why it's used for baking and lattes. But, culinary grade matcha actually has more antioxidants than ceremonial grade.

How to chop the pistachios?

I lay the pistachios out on a cutting board and chop them with a large knife. Alternatively, you could put the pistachios in a ziplock bag and crash into small pieces with a rolling pin.

Can I make these cookies without the pistachios?

Yes! You can simply leave out the pistachios. There's no need to adjust any of the other ingredients.

Can I use milk, semi-sweet or dark chocolate?

Yes! I tested this recipe with semi-sweet chocolate too, and I can confirm that they are still delicious!

How do you know when cookies are done baking?

Remove the cookies from the oven when they are set around the edges but still soft, slightly underbaked, and puffy in the center. The cookies will continue to bake outside the oven from residual heat and firm up more as they cool. This will give you cookies that are slightly crunchy around the edges, but have soft and chewy centers - my favorite!

Tips for making the best matcha cookies

• Scoop and level the flour. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then level off the top with a butter knife before adding it to your bowl. Scooping your measuring cup directly into your flour container/bag packs the cup tight with more flour than you need, which will likely result in dry and dense cookies.
• Use room-temperature butter. Room-temperature butter gives the cookies the perfect texture: crispy on the edges and soft in the center. I know it can be hard sometimes to remember to remove your butter from the fridge in advance, so if you're in a pinch, you can soften butter in the microwave but try not to melt it!
• Use a cookie scoop. Cookie scoops are a game-changer!! Using a cookie scoop makes cookie baking so much easier and faster and creates the most perfectly round and beautiful cookies.
• Add extra chocolate and pistachios to the tops of the cookies. Once you pull the cookies from the oven, while they're still hot, tuck extra chocolate into the tops of the warm cookies and sprinkle with more chopped pistachios to make them extra pretty! You can also do this right before the cookies go into the oven.

Variations

• Substitute semi-sweet, milk or dark chocolate. I prefer the look and taste of white chocolate for this recipe, but I also tested it with semi-sweet and I can confirm that the cookies are still delicious, so feel free to substitute any other kind of chocolate.
• Leave out the pistachios. If you simply don't like pistachios or you have a nut allergy, you can leave out the pistachios!

How to store baked cookies

Baked cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

To keep them fresh even longer, you can store baked cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

If the cookies start to get hard, add a slice of sandwich bread to the container with the cookies to soften them back up! The cookies pull moisture from the bread.

How to freeze baked cookies

You can freeze baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

How to freeze cookie dough

1. Scoop the cookie dough into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, making sure to keep them from touching.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerator for 1 hour to firm up the dough so it holds it's shape and the cookies don't stick together.
3. Transfer the dough balls to a freezer bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months.

There's no need to thaw the dough before baking. To bake the cookies, follow the baking instructions below, but add an extra minute or two to the baking time since the dough is frozen.