Hey there!
I’ve been making these vegan matcha cookies for three years, and they’ve become my go-to treat when I want something sweet that doesn’t make me feel like I need a nap afterward.
There’s something about the earthy green tea flavor paired with the slight chewiness of a properly baked cookie that just works—especially when you know you’re eating something that’s good for you.
These cookies fit into a healthy lifestyle without tasting like cardboard (which, let’s be honest, is a problem with some health-focused baked goods).
This list will walk you through five straightforward tips that make these cookies turn out right every time, whether you’re new to vegan baking or want to add another recipe to your collection.
Let’s start with the foundation: your matcha powder.
1. Choose High-Quality Matcha Powder
The matcha you use makes or breaks these cookies.
I learned this the hard way after buying a cheap matcha from a random online seller—the cookies came out with a bitter, almost grassy taste that no amount of sweetener could fix. Good culinary-grade matcha gives you smooth, slightly sweet green tea flavor without harsh aftertaste. You don’t need the ceremonial grade (which costs about three times as much), but you do want something that’s bright green, not yellowish or brown.
When I switched to a mid-range culinary matcha from a Japanese brand, the difference was clear—the cookies had a clean, pleasant flavor my friends asked about. Look for matcha that costs between $15-25 for a small tin; it lasts a while since you only need 2 tablespoons per batch.
2. Use the Right Vegan Butter Substitute
While matcha provides the flavor, your fat source creates the texture—and not all plant-based butters behave the same way in cookies.
I’ve tested six different brands, and the stick-form varieties (not the tub spreads) with around 80% fat content work best. Brands like Miyoko’s or Earth Balance sticks give you that proper cookie texture—slightly crisp on the edges with a soft center.
The main benefit here is consistency: these butters cream well with sugar and create the right structure for cookies that hold their shape. I tried coconut oil once when I ran out of vegan butter, and while the cookies tasted fine, they spread too thin and became crispy all over instead of having the nice chewy middle I was after.
Don’t use margarine or reduced-fat spreads—they have too much water content and your cookies will turn out flat and greasy.
3. Add Ground Flaxseed as Your Egg Replacement
Beyond fat, you need a binding agent—and ground flaxseed mixed with water creates what’s called a “flax egg” that does this job perfectly.
Cookies need something to hold them together, and flax does this job while adding fiber and omega-3s (which I appreciate as someone who tries to eat well). The ratio is simple: 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons of water equals one egg.
Let it sit for 5 minutes until it gets thick and gel-like before adding it to your dough.
Here’s what you need to know about using flax eggs effectively:
• Use ground flaxseed, not whole seeds (your body can’t absorb the nutrients from whole flax, and it won’t bind properly)
• Mix the flax and water first, before you start anything else, so it has time to thicken
• Don’t substitute chia seeds unless you want a slightly different texture—they work, but flax is better for cookies
This small step is what keeps your cookies from crumbling apart when you try to pick them up.
4. Refrigerate Your Dough for At Least 30 Minutes
Chilling the dough before baking controls how much your cookies spread in the oven.
When I started making these, I was impatient (shocking, I know) and put the dough straight on the baking sheet. The cookies spread into thin, crispy discs that looked nothing like the thick, soft cookies I wanted.
Here’s why that happened: cold dough spreads more slowly, which means the cookies have time to rise slightly before they start spreading out.
I tested this side by side one afternoon when I had nothing better to do: I baked half the batch immediately and refrigerated the other half for 45 minutes. The refrigerated batch came out looking like bakery cookies—thick, with slightly crackled tops and that perfect texture. The immediate batch looked like green pancakes.
The difference was striking enough that I refrigerate the dough every time, even when I’m in a hurry (I make the dough earlier in the day, or the night before).
Wrap your dough in plastic wrap or put it in a covered bowl so it doesn’t dry out while it chills.
5. Bake at 350°F and Remove Them While They Look Underdone
Once your dough is properly chilled, this final tip about timing and temperature control determines whether you get chewy cookies or hard ones.
Most people overbake cookies because they wait until they look done, but cookies continue baking on the hot pan after you take them out of the oven.
For vegan matcha cookies, remove them when the edges are set but the centers look slightly soft—they’ll firm up as they cool. This approach is what gives you that chewy texture instead of hard, crunchy cookies.
The way this connects with everything else is straightforward: you’ve chosen good matcha, used proper vegan butter, added your flax egg, and chilled your dough—now you need to not ruin all that work by leaving them in the oven too long.
I set my timer for 10 minutes and check them. If the edges look golden and the centers are still a bit shiny, I take them out immediately and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
Removing cookies at the right moment separates good home bakers from great ones.
Wrapping Up
These five tips—using quality matcha, choosing the right vegan butter, making proper flax eggs, chilling your dough, and timing your bake correctly—work together to create matcha cookies that taste as good as they make you feel.
Each step serves a specific purpose, so skipping even one of them changes your results in ways you’ll notice. Start with a single batch using these guidelines, and pay attention to how each step affects your final product.
Which of these tips are you most excited to try first?
