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These bright green Matcha Crinkle Cookies are ooey gooey and coated in powdered sugar. With eye-catching crinkles and sweet, earthy flavors, they’re a must-have in the holiday cookie box! Vegan.
Craving a matcha latte? Treat yourself to a Vegan Matcha Crinkle Cookie instead! These soft and sweet cookies are gooey on the inside, coated in powdered sugar on the outside, and have an eye-catching bright green color. Your holiday cookie tray won’t be complete without them!
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An Extra Festive Holiday Cookie
‘Tis the season for festive cookies! From these Vegan Gingerbread Cookies to these Vegan Snickerdoodles, there are all kinds of traditional vegan Christmas cookie recipes on my blog. But if you’re like me and like to stray from tradition now and then, you’ll love these Vegan Matcha Crinkle Cookies.
Crinkle cookies show up on almost every holiday cookie tray. They’re chewy and chocolatey, coated in powdered sugar, and have crinkles and cracks to help them stand out from the rest. These cookies are so flexible and fun to customize (have you tried my Lemon Crinkle Cookies yet?) that I knew a version made with matcha green tea powder had to be just as tasty as the classic. And I was right!
My matcha crinkle cookies are soft, fudgy, and sweet, with just a hint of earthiness from the tea. Their gorgeous green color is nothing short of eye-catching and extra festive. And the best part? They require less than 9 simple ingredients!
Ingredients for Matcha Crinkle Cookies
These vegan matcha crinkle cookies are made with less than 10 baking staples, plus matcha green tea powder for flavor and color:
- Powdered Sugar: dusting crinkle cookies with powdered sugar helps those cracks and crinkles stand out.
- Oil: opt for a neutral oil – like vegetable, canola, or avocado – for the gooiest cookies. Melted vegan butter also works but it will make the cookies slightly drier.
- Milk: any unsweetened non-dairy milk will work well. Soy milk was my pick for this recipe.
- Flour: all-purpose flour is all you need for tender and chewy cookies.
- Matcha: matcha powder is made from dried and ground green tea leaves. The quality of your matcha is super important here, as it will affect the flavor and color of your cookies. For the most vibrant green color and best flavor, use ceremonial-grade matcha (preferably purchased from an Asian store or company). Or, use culinary-grade matcha to stick to your budget.
- Baking Powder: the leavening agent that helps the cookies rise in the oven.
How to Make Matcha Crinkle Cookies
- Combine the wet ingredients in a large bowl. Place a sieve over the bowl and add the flour, matcha, and baking powder to the sieve. Whisk together, then sift the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Add the salt and mix until combined.
- Scoop the cookie dough into 12 balls and form them into smooth spheres. Dunk each one in the powdered sugar, then transfer them to a prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies until they’re domed, puffy, and set around the edges. Drop the baking sheet on the counter to slightly deflate the cookies. Set aside to cool.
- Serve the cooled cookies right away or store them for later.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- The quality of your matcha is everything: Matcha comes in 3 different grades—culinary, daily, and ceremonial—each one with a different color, taste, texture, and preferred use. Ceremonial-grade matcha is the highest grade and the best option for this cookie recipe because of its vibrant green color and very subtle earthy flavor. Culinary-grade matcha is second best and a more budget-friendly option, although your cookies won’t be quite as bright. Save the daily-grade matcha for your lattes—its bold flavor isn’t a great match for baking.
- Measure the dry ingredients with a baking scale: This is the best measurement method because it will always prevent you from adding too much flour or matcha to the dough (yielding tough, dry, and/or bitter-tasting cookies). If you don’t have a baking scale, stick with the scoop and level method: scoop the flour into the measuring cup and level the excess off the top with the back of a knife.
- Don’t be shy with the powdered sugar! Dunk those cookie dough balls in the powdered sugar until they’re covered in a thick layer. I even like to press a little extra sugar on the tops and sides of the cookies before baking to prevent the sugar from melting and to help those cracks stand out.
Serving Suggestions
Just like a classic matcha latte, I’d encourage you to indulge in one or two vegan matcha cookies whenever you need an afternoon pick-me-up or a sweet dessert. Pair them with an ice-cold glass of milk or a mug of tea or coffee to really treat yourself—you deserve it!
Their eye-catching green color and thick layer of powdered sugar make these crinkle cookies practically pop right out of Christmas cookie boxes, too. They make wonderful edible gifts for the holidays and are always a hit during the Christmas cookie exchange.
If you’re looking for more delicious drink-inspired vegan cookies, you’ll also love these Vegan Chai Sugar Cookies, these Vegan Golden Milk Shortbread Cookies, these Chocolate Chai Shortbread Cookies, and these Hot Cocoa Cookies!
How to Store Vegan Crinkle Cookies
The baked and cooled cookies will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container on the kitchen counter. Freezing is not recommended because the powdered sugar can easily become freezer burnt.
However, the unbaked cookie dough spheres (without the powdered sugar coating) do freeze well. Flash-freeze the spheres on a baking sheet until they’re solid, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 1 month.
Before baking, dunk the frozen cookie dough spheres in powdered sugar and place them on a prepared baking sheet. Bake them right away and add 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten-Free Option: I have not tested it but swapping the all-purpose flour with gluten-free all-purpose flour should work well.
- Add White Chocolate Chips: Fold 1/4 cup of vegan-friendly white chocolate chips into the dough at the end if you’d like a little more sweetness.
Recipe FAQs
The cookies won’t crinkle if the dough is either too dry or too wet. Properly measure the ingredients with a baking scale and coat the cookies with lots of powdered sugar to make sure the cracks show.
Generously coating the cookie dough spheres with a thick layer of powdered sugar should be all it takes to prevent it from melting.
Chilling the dough isn’t necessary unless you live in a warm climate or your kitchen is particularly warm.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Matcha Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar for rolling the cookies
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup neutral oil or melted butter or coconut oil*
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened plant milk I used soy milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon matcha*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Sprinkle the powdered sugar onto a plate or small bowl with a wide bottom and set aside.
- Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl add the granulated sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla. Use a spatula to mix well until combined.
- Dry Ingredients: Add a sieve over the same bowl of the wet ingredients and add the flour, matcha, and baking powder to the sieve. Use a dry spatula to mix the dry ingredients together and sift them into the wet ingredients as you stir. Add the salt and use a spatula to gently mix everything together until well combined. (See the recipe notes if you are making the dough in advance).
- Form the Cookies: Set a medium plate off to the side. Use a 2 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to divide the dough into 12 even balls. Use clean hands to roll each dough ball into a smooth sphere; set each sphere on the plate and repeat with the remaining dough.
- Dust in Sugar: Roll each cookie dough ball into the plate of powdered sugar, coating generously. Transfer the cookie to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
- Bake: Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 12 to 13 minutes; the cookies will look domed and puffy, but the bottom edge should be set. Drop the baking sheet on the counter to deflate the cookies slightly, then let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for an additional 10 minutes where they will deflate further.
- Cool: Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack; let them cool completely.
- Serve & Store: Enjoy immediately, or store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
- Oil vs Butter: I prefer to use oil for this recipe for the best gooey cookie texture. You can also use melted unsalted butter, but the cookies will be slightly drier.
- Matcha: The quality of your matcha will affect the end color of your cookies, and the color change after baking will vary between brands. You can make these cookies with a culinary grade matcha to save on cost, or use a ceremonial matcha for a brighter color.
- Make-Ahead: The cookie dough can be made up to 3 days in advance before baking. Follow the recipe to the end of step 3, then wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to bake. Let the dough come to room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes before proceeding with step 4 of the recipe
I was looking for a simple but special cookie recipe to bring as a hostess gift for a dinner I am attending tomorrow. This recipe is perfect, I LOVE how these turned out! I am looking forward to experimenting with this recipe for other flavor versions. Thanks again!
So happy to hear that Samantha! I’d love to know what other variations you end up trying!
I made these, but when they finished baking, the were very flat and chewy and the powdered sugar all but disappeared. They did not look like yours at all! I want to try them again, but what did I do wrong? I used homemade almond milk, maybe that was the problem?
Hi Lisa! I recommend using more powdered sugar than you think you need to coat each cookie – a lot of it will fade during the baking process otherwise! There are a lot of variables that could contribute to the flatter cookies – but to be safe, you could add an extra 2 tbsp of flour to the dough next time so they don’t spread as much
I love matcha tea and was happy to try these. Easy, simple, delicious and pretty! I chose to skip the powdered sugar. I bringing the cookies to a holiday cookie exchange party! Thanks!
sounds delish and I’m so glad you liked them!
Super yum! Even my non-vegan family loved it!
I’m so glad!
These are so good! Can you make the dough ahead of time and freeze it?
absolutely!!
Why are you gatekeeping all the measurement and temperature of oven! Like how do you expects a recipe to work if I’m have to eye ball everything
I’m not sure what you mean, the whole recipe is here!
Only 2 tbsp of plant milk? That looked like way more in the video. My dough is dry and crumbly
Hi Michelle, yes the recipe only calls for 2 tbsp of milk. If your dough is too dry, add additional milk in 1 tbsp increments! I also recommend spooning and leveling your flour or using the gram measurements when measuring it, as it may be why the cookie dough came out dry
Try scrolling further, the recipe is at the bottom..