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!
Mint Matcha Cookies (Vegan & Paleo)
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?
Perfect timing! I was wanting to make something green for St. Paddy’s day that didn’t call for a lot of different steps…but would still be tasty 😉 Thank you for your easy and amazing recipes!
(I think I will still have to make your Shamrock shake and Andes mints for tomorrow, too!)
PS: Lovin’ your new cookbook!
I wanted to say that I did end up adding some drops of liquid chlorophyll to mine-since my matcha came in tea bags and wasn’t super fine (even after putting through the coffee grinder). They were delicious 😀
I LOVE the combination of matcha and mint, so I would be all over these cookies. Plus, the texture looks absolutely perfect!!
wow wow wow – these look amazing!
Izzy | Pinch of delight
My boys, 7 and 4 loved them! Sometimes holiday treats look very festive, but aren’t that tasty. These were delicious! Thanks for sharing.
These look so yummy. I suppose I’ll have to order some Matcha. I think the Matcha makes for a good excuse for a morning cookie 😉
I opened this recipe at 9:30 on St. Patty’s night. So, what else could I do, but send the hubby to the store for Matcha! The cookies were done at around 10:30 and everyone agreed they were worth the late night calories :).
These sound INCREDIBLE! Can’t wait to try <3
BEST COOKIES EVER!!!! I made these last night sans matcha and they turned out incredible! Just the right amount of sweetness and awesome texture! Definitely a big winner. 🙂
Megan , I read you had reduced the oven temperature from 350 to 250 degrees when cooking with nut flours.
Yes, in my cookbooks I have you bake nut-based treats at 250F (except cashews, which seem to be an exception in the research I’ve seen) to make sure you avoid browning the cookies. You are welcome to do that with these, too, but you’ll need to double the baking time.
These look really tasty!. I like how colored natural. I have to try these!
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!
What’s the purpose of the ACV in the recipe?
It reacts with the baking soda to help the cookies rise.
How long will these last after baking? I’m thinking perfect for road trip this summer.
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.
Made the cookies they are amazing, I was wondering if it works with out the matcha and mint? Thanks
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?
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
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!!
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 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 made these, and they are fabulous! I had a similar recipe without the mint, matcha, and vinegar, and this is a much better consistency and flavor. Thank yoU!
Hi! I love these cookies so much have made them tons of times but now Trying to stay away from coconut oil. If I used butter would it be the same amount? Any other ingredient suggestion to sub with??
I think butter would work the same!
Hi!! I love these cookies and made them so many times!
I plan to incorporate protein into them and as I compute the calories, with the original recipe I ended up with 178 calories per cookie. Can you please tell me how were you able to get 78cal? I maybe doing the math wrong. Thanks
I used honey instead of maple syrup and vanilla extract instead of mint, turned out great!
I just made these and I ended up using coconut flour since I didn’t have any almond flour. Didn’t think it would make a difference, but it was very crumbly and I had a very hard time getting the cookies to stick together. i ended up adding about half a cup of almond-coconut milk and a flax egg to help gain some moisture. I realized that if I used my hands they would stick together a lot better, but still very much a struggle making them into cookies. I ended up making them into bars and I made sure that they were pressed down very firmly. The flavor is good, but I’m unsure about the coconut flour, since it was my first time using it. I would like to try this recipe again using almond flour and see if my results are better.Seems like they turn out well for others.
would these be considered gluten free cookies?
Yes! I tend to make almost all of the recipes on my website gluten-free.
I just made these today and they are HEAVENLY. My absolute new favourite matcha cookie recipe, thank you for sharing! I didn’t have any apple cider vinegar on hand so I substituted it with lemon juice but it still turned out great! Will be making these again and again, perhaps with even more matcha because I love a super strong matcha taste <3
These were great! I added a little bit of crushed pistachios too, which added a nice crunch! Thanks for the recipe!
Oooh good idea!!
I have made these cookies several times before as CCC instead of melting the chips for coating and taste great with chopped walnuts!
I made these today! I didn’t have any chocolate chips so I left them as is, and they were delicious!! I cooked them for 13 minutes, they were soft and chewy inside and a little crunchy on the outside! Kind of reminded me of the cookie part of a French macaron! Will be making again! Yum! Thank you!
We’ve been loving these cookies! Ran out of maple & used turbinado sugar with a small amount (less than a tablespoon) of honey & warm h2o mixed together, just to get the dough to bind. Really tasty with chopped dark chocolate baked inside. Thank you for a sweet and easy recipe!
Hello, can you use something else instead of apple cider vinegar, or just not use it at all?
Can I sub egg whites or maybe Avocado or Olive oil for the coconut oil? I have been advised to avoid coconut oil and other saturated fats like butter. Thank you!
I think avocado or olive oil would be fine, but they might affect the flavor slightly. Since this is a vegan batter, you can taste as you go and adjust the flavor to your liking before you bake them!
Can ACV be replaced with white vinegar?
Can you please provide a coconut flour substitute option? My husband is allergic to almonds unfortunately and I would love to make matcha cookies like this recipe. Thanks in advance!
I would add matcha to this tested coconut flour cookies recipe: https://detoxinista.com/coconut-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies-grain-free/
I would have given this recipe 5 stars because it is quite easy (1-bowl mixing, relatively simple ingredients) and the batter is QUITE tasty; however, I think the oven temperature is incorrect. The first time I made this recipe, I followed the steps exactly as written, baking at 350° for 12 minutes, but to my surprise, they came out tan, and unfortunately had a lingering burnt taste. The second time, I followed Sue’s suggestion in another comment, and reduced the temperature to 250°. I may have been able to bake it for only 12 minutes, but I took it out at 18 minutes, and they turned out much closer to the pictures shown, with a nice tenderness and pure green color. If it is to be baked at 350°, I would recommend checking them at 6 minutes, certainly not waiting 12 minutes.
Can I put chocolate chips in the batter and then bake them?
This is tied with your ginger cookie recipe for my favorite cookie ever! I think this edges out the ginger cookies. I’ve found that I get a more consistent dough if I mix wet and dry separately, then combine them, but that’s probably because I don’t stir it quite enough when I mix everything together at once ;). Thanks Megan!!
Question: I can’t eat coconut anything, so what can I use as a substitute for coconut oil? Thanks
Real butter would be the most similar substitute to coconut oil, but if you need to be dairy-free, another vegan butter might work, too.
I first made these greenies for Halloween, but now they’re a year-round treat. I use my smallest scoop and press them with the back of a spoon. Perfectly sized with tea.
These turned out great! Crisp and just sweet enough with the chocolate coating. Mine are not as green even though I added a bit of extra matcha powder, but the mint flavouring takes over anyway. Perfect fo the holidays with some crushed candy canes on top of the chocolate!
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?
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.
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?
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!
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!
I have made these cookies several times before as CCC instead of melting the chips for coating and taste great with chopped walnuts!
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 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.
Can you use matcha tea instead of matcha powder?
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!!