Our gluten free matcha sugar cookies make the perfect cookie for spring! Our recipe is also dairy free and egg free, and they are crisp on the edges and chewy in the middle.
If you’re looking for a fun way to brighten up a plain sugar cookie and make it perfect for spring, make a batch of our matcha sugar cookies!
These matcha cookies are gluten free, vegan (so dairy free and egg free), and are crisp on the edges and chewy in the middle. They have a nice hint of matcha green tea that adds a beautiful and completely natural green color as well.
You can tailor the amount of matcha powder in this recipe as well. Using our recipe as a baseline, you can add more or less matcha powder to suit your tastes and change the depth of green color in these cookies.
Why we love these matcha cookies
These cookies are a variation of our matcha white chocolate chip cookies and are a bit easier to make because they don’t have white chocolate chips.
So if you have a hard time finding dairy free white chocolate chips that don’t cost a ton (not always easy where I live), this recipe is a great option if you still want allergy-friendly matcha cookies.
You can also add some dried strawberries or dried blueberries to these cookies for a fun variation!
How to make gluten free dairy free matcha sugar cookies
Here is an overview of the steps to make these cookies, the full recipe card is at the end of the post.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the room temperature dairy free butter, vanilla, and baking soda until mixed and creamy.
- Add the gluten free all purpose baking mix and the culinary-grade matcha powder and mix until combined.
- You can adjust the amount of matcha powder if you like. If you prefer a milder matcha taste, you can use 1 teaspoon instead.
- Mix in the sorghum flour and dairy free milk until a thick dough forms. We add the flours in separate parts to make mixing easier since the dough will be thick.
- You can have a little fun with these by mixing in chopped dried strawberries, dried blueberries, etc. to add a little bit of fruit flavor to your cookies.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar.
- Place the cookie dough balls on the cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart. Don’t worry about pressing these down, they will spread on their own.
- Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, allow to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight bag or container for up to 4 days, or you can freeze these.
After I originally developed this recipe and took photos, King Arthur Flour changed their baking mix formula and these now spread a bit more than what is shown in the photos (more on the formula change below).
Here’s a photo of the cookie dough from our white chocolate chip matcha cookies. The dough for these sugar cookies will be the same thickness and texture, just without the mini white chocolate chips.
For these matcha cookies, we used culinary-grade matcha vs ceremonial grade because it’s more affordable, and since it’s being baked into a cookie, you won’t notice the flavor difference as much between culinary and ceremonial matcha.
In a matcha drink, you’ll be able to taste the difference between matcha grades: ceremonial matcha is sweeter and less bitter. But you won’t notice the difference as much in a cookie, so you can save a little money here and pick the culinary grade matcha to bake with.
A note on the gluten free flour/baking mix
For this recipe, we used the King Arthur gluten free all purpose baking mix. This baking mix already has salt and baking soda added to it, so we only added a little bit of the baking soda to this recipe and no additional salt, however if you are using a gluten free flour or baking blend that does not have salt added, you can add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the cookie dough.
The King Arthur baking mix also already has xanthan gum in the mix, which acts as the binder in this recipe in place of eggs. If you are using a different gluten free flour blend, make sure that it has xanthan gum included (or another binder) so your cookies stay together.
After I originally developed this recipe and took photos, King Arthur Flour changed its gluten-free all-purpose baking mix formula slightly. All of our cookie recipes still work with the new baking mix formula, they seem to spread a bit more the change.
If you’re new to using the King Arthur gluten free all purpose baking mix, you probably won’t notice anything with the change. But if you have been using it for a while, you may notice a difference that the results are slightly grittier with the formula change, but still turn out great.
Check out the rest of our allergy friendly cookie recipes!
Gluten Free Matcha Sugar Cookies (Vegan)
Ingredients
- ½ cup dairy free/vegan butter, softened/room temp (we like the avocado oil or olive oil Country Crock Plant Butter sticks)
- 1 cup unbleached cane sugar (I use Zulka)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup King Arthur gluten free all-purpose baking mix
- 1 to 2 teaspoons culinary grade matcha powder (depending on your preference)
- ¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons Authentic Foods superfine sorghum flour
- ¼ cup dairy free milk (such as rice, oat, almond, etc.)
- Additional sugar for rolling cookies
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the dairy free butter, sugar, vanilla, and baking soda.
- Add the gluten free baking mix and the matcha powder and mix thoroughly with a hand mixer.
- Add the sorghum flour and dairy free milk and mix again until a thick dough forms that holds together and isn't sticky. You should be able to easily roll the dough into balls.
- Roll the cookie dough into 1-inch sized balls and then roll the balls in sugar.
- Place the cookie balls on the prepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. No need to press these down, they will spread on their own.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes.
- Allow to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or freeze them.
Nutrition
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Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie which she founded in 2011. Sarah is based in Wyoming and has been managing food allergies for herself and her 2 children for over 20 years. Sarah was also a certified personal trainer for 12 years, as well as a group fitness instructor, health coach, running coach, and fitness nutrition specialist.