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These Mint Matcha Cookies are quick & easy to make, and have the prettiest green color! They make a fun treat for St. Patrick’s Day, and the flavor reminds me of a Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie.
Baking with Matcha Powder
These cookies get their green hue from powdered Matcha, a green tea that is loaded with more antioxidants than any other tea. It has 60 times more antioxidants than spinach!
More Benefits of Matcha:
- It may help to protect the liver by reducing liver enzyme levels. (source) Drinking green tea has also been linked to a lower risk of liver disease. (source)
- Matcha may help improve brain function, and help with attention and reaction times. (source)
- This green tea powder may help promote heart health. Green tea has been shown to lower the “bad” LDL cholesterol, which is considered a risk factor for heart disease. (source)
- Green tea may help aid in weight loss, possibly due to the combination of antioxidants and caffeine. (source)
This powdered green tea isn’t only for matcha lattes. You can use it for adding a fun green color in baking! Just 2 teaspoons gives you this bright, vibrant green color when using a light colored flour. (I’m using blanched almond flour here, for maximum green color.)
Do Matcha Cookies have Caffeine?
Yes, matcha contains roughly 35mg of caffeine per 1/2 teaspoon. This recipe calls for 2 teaspoons and makes roughly 16 cookies. So, each cookie contains just under 9mg of caffeine if you follow this recipe.
If you need a cookie with less caffeine, you can cut the matcha in half for a lighter green color.
What Does Matcha Taste Like?
Matcha has a relatively strong flavor compared to other varieties of green tea, because the powder is made up of whole leaves that have been ground into a powder. The flavor reminds me of grass.
Because the strong grass-like flavor of matcha can be a little overwhelming, I find that it pairs really well with mint. Adding a touch of peppermint extract to this cookie dough makes the batter downright addictive!
My kids have given these cookies their enthusiastic approval.
Because this batter is vegan, feel free to taste it as you go and adjust the flavors to your taste. With an egg-free and grain-free baking, the dough may look crumbly at first, but it should come together to create a shortbread cookie-like batter. Just keep stirring!
Just like my Almond Flour Cookies, these won’t spread much on their own, so make sure you flatten them into cookie shapes before baking. I like to get my fingers wet, so that they won’t stick to the dough.
These cookies also don’t become too brown from baking. I’m holding up the bottom of a cookie in the photo above, so you can see that the bottom isn’t brown. You want the cookies to become drier in the oven, and then as they cool they will firm up. So let them cool completely before handling them!
For an impressive (and delicious) presentation, try dipping the cooled cookies in melted dark chocolate. If there is any chocolate leftover in the bowl, I like to drizzle the extra on top!
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour* (don't use almond meal for the best color)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons matcha powder
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together the almond flour, maple syrup, oil, salt, matcha, peppermint, baking soda, and vinegar. The batter should be smooth and slightly sticky.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop the dough onto a lined baking sheet, making roughly 16 cookies. Press the mounds with your finger tips to flatten and shape them into circle cookie shapes. (Get your fingertips wet to help prevent the dough from sticking to your hands as you flatten them.)
- Bake the cookies until dry around the edges, about 12 minutes. (They won't be golden or brown in color.) Cool completely before decorating with the melted chocolate. (I sometimes place the cookies in the freezer for 20 minutes or so to speed the process.)
- To melt the chocolate, place the chocolate chips in a double boiler and heat until melted, stirring occasionally. Remove the chocolate from the heat once it’s smooth.
- Dip each cooled cookie halfway into the melted chocolate. I tip the cookie forward, so that mostly the front half of the cookie gets dipped. (I don’t care about the back of the cookies as much.) Place the cookies in the freezer for about 5 minutes to set the chocolate, then remove them again and use the tines of a fork to drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over them, for a decorative look.
- Let the chocolate harden at room temperature, then serve. Leftover cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, but they will get softer if you keep them in an airtight container. For a firmer cookie that lasts longer, store these in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is for 1 cookie, without the optional chocolate since that can vary by brand.
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it! And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear how those work for you, too. We can all benefit from your experience.
Reader Feedback: Are you making a green treat for St. Patrick’s Day?
I love these cookies! I was recently advised to switch from maple syrup and honey and dates as my sweeteners to coconut sugar and stevia… so I subbed coconut sugar in these, and added a little almond milk to make up for the lack of sticky moisture, and I used peppermint essential oil since that’s what I had on hand, and they turned out great! Thanks for all the great recipes!
Just whipped these up and, hello new go-to cookie!! WOW! The mix of matcha and mint is perfectly balanced & complimented beautifully by the chocolate, the texture is perfect, and it’s a cookie you can whip up in a jiffy. Well done!
I’m gonna make it tomorrow!! But I don’t have maple syrup, so I’m wondering if honey would work??
Sure! The honey flavor will be much more pronounced, though, so you might want to use a little less.
Thank you! I made it yesterday and it turned out to be good. Thanks for the lovely recipe!!
I’m trying to stop drinking coffee. What do you drink in the morning? Do you have any recommendations for caffeine replacements? Thanks!
I drink mudwtr in the mornings, it still has a bit of caffeine from tea I believe but it’s 1/7 of the amount in coffee! https://mudwtr.com
Excellent cookies, but I ran into a small problem. My dough was crumbly and didn’t spoon very well into my cookie sheet. Any tips would be appreciated 🙂
If your dough is crumbly next time, I’d try adding 1 tablespoon of liquid to help! You could use 1 tablespoon of maple syrup for a sweeter cookie, or try 1 more tablespoon of coconut oil, or even water, to help them come together.
Thanks. Will try again today.
Hi, I had the same problem with mine. Just tried it today. My “dough” stayed dry and crumbly. Did you end up having success with adding oil or water?
Made the cookies they are amazing, I was wondering if it works with out the matcha and mint? Thanks
has anyone used coconut flour? Want to make these for work and thinking of nut allergies…
Perhaps you could add matcha to my Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies: https://detoxinista.com/2013/08/coconut-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies-grain-free/
Love these cookies and I tried with coconut flour as well and I definitely liked the almond flour more but they still were good just more grainy and tasted more of coconut.
I used coconut flour and my dough did not bind. I’m wondering what went wrong?
Coconut flour is not an equal swap for other GF flours. It’s much drier and will result in dry, crumbly dough.
How long will these last after baking? I’m thinking perfect for road trip this summer.
What’s the purpose of the ACV in the recipe?
It reacts with the baking soda to help the cookies rise.
This recipe was AMAZING!!! Oh my goodness!! We are in love with these cookies! The green color and the peppermint taste were excellent!! I will definitely be making this recipe again and again!! Thank you for continuing to make excellent healthier cleaner desserts! I love your website and this is the only website that I go to when I want to find a healthier cleaner dessert recipe. Thank you Megan!