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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?
Would love it if mine were more green like yours but MAN THEY ARE YUMMY!! I added peppermint oil to my melted dark chocolate and I highly recommend that. These are really interesting and the texture is fabulous!! Very happy discovered this recipe!!
Can you use matcha tea instead of matcha powder?
I don’t cook with oil or butter, can I substitute applesauce for oil?
You can definitely experiment with that! I imagine the applesauce will give them more of a muffin texture, rather than a shortbread cookie texture, but I’m sure they’d still be tasty.
Would I be able to use coconut flour??
I’m so excited can’t wait to make some. I love matcha tea..
No, I’m afraid coconut flour won’t work the same. Check out my coconut flour cookie recipe to see the ratios for that ingredient.
I have made these cookies several times before as CCC instead of melting the chips for coating and taste great with chopped walnuts!
Totally delicious! I’ve been omitting the peppermint extract because I’ve been out but last time I added chopped walnuts per commentor and they make such a wonderful addition! This is a recipe I actually crave and even picky people love! Thanks again!
Love this recipe! I made this twice, first one with almond flour and second time with oat flour. The oat flour worked but taste is so much better with almond flour. Also the oat flour was drier so I had to add a tsp of agave syrup and 1.5 tbsp of almond milk. I am also out of mint extract so I subbed vanilla instead. Still an all-around keeper recipe! Thanks so much!
These look great! Would almond extract work in place of the mint? Also, what about adding white chocolate chips?
Hi!
I was just wondering if anyone had made these sans peppermint- did you try this with the almond extract?! How were they, if so?
Anyone else try these without peppermint?
Made them and even the batter is delicious! I opted to use the “Enjoy Life” dark chocolate chips. They are so good! Can’t eat just one.
I replaced the almond flour with a mix of oat and reg flour and this worked great! I add vegan white chocolate chips and cardamom into the batter then baked them and this work great as well.
My favorite tea shop has a drink called the forest dragon, matcha, mint tea and cardamom these mimic it wonderful!
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. Happy baking!
What ratio did you use for the oat/reg flour mix?