Add these vegan, gluten-free matcha chocolate chip cookies to your dessert lineup!
Matcha is a rising star, showing up in cafes and kitchens around the world. When combined with dark chocolate chips, it’s a match made in heaven. These vibrant green cookies boast a slightly dense yet delicate texture that simply melts in your mouth. And as a bonus, they bring the gut-healthy benefits of matcha to the table!
What Does Matcha Taste Like?
In its pure form, matcha has a unique taste — slightly grassy with a bit of sweetness and bitterness. But in cookies, it’s different. It offers rich flavor and texture when mixed with the sweet cookie dough. I particularly love the delicate, slightly powdery texture in these matcha chocolate cookies!
How Do Chocolate and Matcha Support Gut Health?
Cocoa in chocolate is a prebiotic, a type of fiber that the good bacteria in your gut feed on. It’s considered a “gut booster” rather than “gut buster” food because it helps the good bugs in your belly flourish.
In the meantime, matcha is both a prebiotic and probiotic, or what we call a synbiotic. Read this article on the compelling benefits these have on gut and overall health.
A recent study notes the higher levels of dietary fibers, carotenoids, and fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin K in matcha green tea, as compared to regular green tea. Two weeks of matcha consumption increased beneficial gut bacteria called Coprococcus and a decrease in a detrimental in the gut microbiota called Fusobacterium.
So, matcha and chocolate lovers can enjoy the taste AND nutrition of these matcha chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients for Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies
Aside from the matcha powder, most ingredients in this matcha cookie recipe can be found in gluten-free pantries. Refer to the recipe card for exact quantities.
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matcha: Choose either culinary or ceremonial grade (refer to next section for differences).
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almond butter: You can sub another nut butter of your choice, or for a nut-free version, consider using tahini.
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maple syrup: Adds sweetness and moisture to the dough.
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ghee or coconut oil (for dairy-free): Use refined coconut oil for a more neutral taste, less coconutty taste.
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vanilla extract: Adds classic vanilla flavor to your matcha cookies.
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gluten-free flour: I use Trader Joe’s Gluten Free All Purpose Flour.
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blanched almond flour: I use Trader Joe’s Blanched Almond Flour.
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tapioca flour or starch: I use Let’s Do Organic Tapioca Starch (flour) from Whole Foods.
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baking powder: Necessary to puff the cookies when baked; It also helps preserve the green color of the matcha.
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baking soda: Also adds lift to the cookies
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salt: As with traditional cookies, there is salt in the dough, but adding sea salt on top of baked cookies can complement the baked chocolate matcha flavor.
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dark chocolate chips or chunks: Use a high cacao content chocolate, as there is evidence that the nutrients and antioxidants in cocoa — particularly flavanols — can help boost beneficial gut bacteria.
Culinary vs Ceremonial Grade Matcha
For baking, I prefer to use ceremonial-grade matcha, as it will retain its vibrant green color better than culinary-grade matcha. The culinary variety might turn your matcha cookies slightly yellow or brown with baking. However, either will do and if you want to save costs, culinary-grade matcha will work just fine!
In terms of nutritional value, Jade Leaf Matcha claims that Ceremonial Matcha contains more caffeine and l-theanine (benefiting energy and focus), while later-harvest Culinary grades have a slightly higher antioxidant catechin content.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine your two flours, tapioca starch/flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and matcha powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a medium to large bowl, whisk or beat the almond butter, ghee (or coconut oil), maple syrup, and vanilla together.
Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir for 15-20 seconds until very well combined. Dough will appear on the wet side, which is normal.
Stir in chocolate chips/chunks until distributed throughout the dough. Reserve a a few pieces to top the cookies.
Using a No. 30 2-Tbsp cookie scoop (if you have one), scoop 12 flat (not rounded) scoops of dough and place them on your prepared baking sheet. If you don’t have a scoop, simply scoop our balls roughly 1.75 – 2 inches in diameter.
Top with reserved chocolate pieces. If you don’t want rounded cookie mounds, you can press the dough down gently. Otherwise, leave them as is!
Bake in preheated oven for 10-14 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Centers will still look a bit underdone as they come out of the oven, but the cookies will continue to cook a bit as they cool.
If desired, sprinkle with sea salt before serving.
The recipe makes roughly 12 cookies.
Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil for dairy-free
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup gluten-free flour
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp blanched almond flour
- 2 Tbsp tapioca flour or starch
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1.5 Tbsp matcha, culinary or ceremonial grade
- 3 oz dark chocolate chips or chunks (70%+ cacao) If chunks are large, chop roughly if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine your two flours, tapioca starch/flour, baking powder, baking soad, salt, and matcha powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In a medium to large bowl, whisk or beat the almond butter, ghee (or coconut oil), maple syrup, and vanilla together.
- Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir for 15-20 seconds until very well combined. Dough will appear on the wet side, which is normal.
- Stir in chocolate chips/chunks until distributed throughout the dough. Reserve a a few pieces to top the cookies.
- Using a #30 2-Tbsp cookie scoop (if you have one), scoop 12 flat (not rounded) scoops of dough and place them on prepared cookie sheet. If you don't have a scoop, simply scoop our balls roughly 1.75 - 2-inches in diameter.
- Top with reserved chocolate pieces. If you don't want rounded cookie mounds, you can press the dough down gently. Otherwise, leave them as is!
- Bake in preheated oven for 10-14 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Centers will still look a bit underdone as they come out of the oven, but the cookies will continue to cook a bit as they cool.
- If desired, sprinkle with sea salt before serving.
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
Can I substitute another nut butter for the almond butter?
Absolutely! Feel free to use peanut, cashew, or other favorite nut butter in the same quantity.
Which gluten-free flour works best?
I have used Trader Joe’s Gluten Free All Purpose Flour for these gluten free matcha cookies and have not experimented with others. If you try a different variety with success or recommend something different, please feel free to add that to the comments!
Does matcha have caffeine? How much?
The caffeine content in matcha can vary depending on the quality of the matcha. However, on average, matcha contains 30-70 milligrams of caffeine per teaspoon (about 2 grams) of matcha powder.
Comparatively, a standard 8-ounce cup of coffee typically contains around 95 milligrams of caffeine, but this can vary depending on the type of coffee bean, brewing method, and serving size.
So, while matcha does contain caffeine, it generally has less caffeine than coffee.
Does the matcha cookie dough need to be chilled?
This cookie dough does not require chilling and can go directly into the oven after mixing.
How can I make this matcha cookie recipe vegan?
To make the cookies vegan, simply replace the ghee with coconut oil.
2 Comments
Had extra Matcha powder and decided to try this. Very tasty, pretty green color. And so glad it’s vegan!!
Perfect with tea. Was looking for a vegan cookie and this fit the bill!! Yum.