Matcha Latte Cookies

By Eric Kim

Updated October 16, 2025

  • Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist:Samantha Seneviratne.
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
45 minutes plus cooling
Prep Time
25 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(2,079)
Comments
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This is a matcha latte in cookie form. Atop the chewy, Grinch-green cookie sits a cloud of ermine icing, an old-fashioned boiled-milk frosting (like the kind you might find in midcentury American baking and grocery-store cupcakes), whose sugared lightness balances out the more intense, bittersweet base. Out of the oven, these cookies might look puffy, but as they cool on their pans, they will continue to cook and deflate, becoming their truest chewiest selves. If you want to skip the frosting, a little powdered sugar is a lovely, snowy finish.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 20 cookies

FOR THE COOKIES

  • 1 ½ cups/185 grams all-purpose flour

  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 ½ tablespoons matcha powder

  • 1 ½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract

  • ½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

  • ¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar

  • ¼ packed cup/50 grams light brown sugar

  • ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt (such as Morton)

  • 1 large egg, at room temperature

  • Nonpareil sprinkles (optional)

FOR THE FROSTING (OPTIONAL)

  • ¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar

  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • Small pinch of coarse kosher salt

  • 1 cup/237 milliliters whole milk

  • 1 cup/227 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

26 grams carbs; 47 milligrams cholesterol; 247 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 15 grams fat; 95 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein; 18 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the cookies: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. In a large bowl, stir the matcha and vanilla into a paste using a wooden spoon or flexible spatula. Add the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt, then beat until pale green and fluffy. Switch to a whisk and beat in the egg until smooth.

  2. Step 2

    Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and fold until just combined. Refrigerate the dough, uncovered, while the oven heats.

  3. Step 3

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.

  4. Step 4

    Using a #40 (1 ½-tablespoon) cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop out 1 ½-inch rounds and place them a couple of inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake until puffed and no longer wet-looking on top, about 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on the pan. (Unfrosted cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.)

  5. Step 5

    If you’d like, make the frosting when you’re ready to serve the cookies: In a medium saucepan off the heat, whisk together the granulated sugar, flour and salt. Whisk in the milk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to bubble, about 4 minutes, then continue whisking the mixture as it boils until thick like pudding, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer this hot mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

  6. Step 6

    Beat on high speed until the bowl feels cool to the touch. It may take up to 10 minutes. With the mixer on medium-high speed, add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until smooth before each addition. When all of the butter has been incorporated, add the vanilla, then raise the speed to high and beat until very fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.

  7. Step 7

    Using a butter knife or spoon, frost each cooled cookie and top with sprinkles if you’d like. Serve immediately.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
2,079 user ratings
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Comments

Wes

I made these to soften the blow of how bad Real Housewives of Potomac has gotten, so that I could eat them while I watch. They are so, so good but I think the recipe calls for too much frosting, which would normally be fine, but you can't really save it. So, I got rid of it (kind of like how I wish RHOP would get rid of Gizelle and Robyn)!

TJP

Just made these and they are delicious. I didn’t have peanut butter on hand so used tahini, which was subtle, delicious and my guess is that it works better with matcha anyway. A winner!

Nina

as a lazy person, making ermine frosting was too much for me. to add some sweetness, i chopped up a 100g bar of white chocolate and mixed it in with the flour. it balances the great base flavour and allows the cookies to keep longer!

baddie

I have made these multiple times and they are always a crowd pleaser! The matcha taste is subtle but there, and I like to add white chocolate chips instead of the frosting. The only thing is that i like to bake these for 9 min instead of 12 because i find that if i make the cookies mini(which i usually do) they get too crispy. LOVEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JuanFoodio

dangerously delicious!! I will decrease the PB a smidge next time though as it overpowered the matcha.

Lizzie

Incredible recipe! Only note is to half all measurements in the frosting recipe. As written, the recipe yields about double the frosting needed for one batch of cookies.

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