Subtly sweet matcha cookies that pair beautifully with coffee or tea. Matcha-infused shortbread dough rolled in chopped almonds and baked for a melt-in-your-mouth cookie.

Tea is so relaxing to me. You can’t rush a cup of tea, you just can’t. These cookies are perfect with tea. Like shortbread, soft in the center with crunchy almonds on the edges.  

I take a few minutes with a cup of tea or coffee and a snack, everyday. I aim for that time period right after the day ends, but before I jump into the kitchen to make dinner. You know what I’m referring to, right? I call it the “witching hour” because it’s when everyone is at their limit. To be able to stop and relax for a minute gives me the energy to keep going ’til bedtime.

Sometimes I’ll have a sweet & salty popcorn mix, a two-step mug cake, or some yummy pretzel bites. But today we’re enjoying matcha shortbread cookies!

Ingredients for Matcha Butter Cookies

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed powdered sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon matcha (green tea) powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup sliced almonds, lightly chopped (food processor is easiest)

Directions for Matcha Cookies

• Sift together the all purpose flour, matcha powder and salt.
• With an electric mixer at medium speed, cream the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy.Lower the mixer speed.
• Add in sifted ingredients slowly until dough is formed.Spread almonds out in a rectangular shape, on plastic wrap. (Eyeball it to make sure that the plastic wrap is large enough to wrap around the dough)
• Remove the dough from the mixer, mold into a log shape (about 8″ long), and place on plastic wrap- in the middle of the almonds.
• Roll log in almonds, lightly pressing almonds around to cover all of dough.
• Wrap the log in the plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove the dough from the freezer.

• Unwrap log, slice into ¼″ circles, and lay out on a cookie sheet. You may need to reshape the cookie into circles if cutting flattens the edges.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes.
• Remove the cookies to wire rack and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Recipe Tips

Be sure to sift together the dry ingredients! You can use a sifter or mesh strainer. This step ensures the cookies will have a melt-in-your-mouth texture, perfect for shortbread.

Once rolled in plastic wrap, freeze for no less than 30 minutes. This helps the cookies keep their shape when you slice the dough. Otherwise, you’ll end up with cookie blobs!

You can add different toppings to these cookies if you prefer! Chopped pecans, sea salt, or chocolate chips would all be delicious options.

What Goes Well with Matcha Cookies?

For drinks, I’d pair these cookies with Iced Chocolate Coffee for a refreshing beverage. Or a Cinnamon Spice Latte for a warm up!