Matcha Checkerboard Cookies

Up close of someone lifting up a checkerboard cookie from a stack of cookies

Matcha Checkerboard Cookies

Deck the halls with these festive, delicious, and aesthetic matcha checkerboard cookies! These matcha checkerboard cookies are sweet, earthy, beautiful, and perfect for gifting this holiday season.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian Fusion

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 14

Total Time 1 29

Servings dozen

Calories 184kcal

Author Takes Two Eggs

Ingredients

2 ½ cup (350 g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon (6 g) baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup (130 g) powdered sugar sifted
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk save egg white for below
1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
3 teaspoon (6 g) matcha powder

Egg white "glue"

1 egg white from above
1 tablespoon water

Instructions

Whisk the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined.
Cream the butter. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat the butter on high until soft and creamy. Then sift in the powdered sugar and granulated sugar and beat on high until creamed about 2 minutes. Then add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Continue beating at high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again to combine for about 2 minutes.
Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low to combine. The dough will be thick and sticky.
Divide the dough. Divide the dough in half. Wrap 1/2 half of the dough with plastic wrap into a 6-inch long x 2-inch thick rectangle block.
Make matcha dough. For the other half of the dough, sift in the matcha powder into the mixing bowl. Beat the dough on low speed until combined. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap into a 6-inch long x 2-inch thick rectangle block.
Chill in the refrigerator. Chill both doughs in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Roll out the dough and cut it into strips. Using two levelers, roll out each dough into rectangles about 5 inches wide x 8 inches long and 1/2 inch thick. Use a ruler to mark 1/2 inch across the dough and then slice into 1/2 inch strips. You should yield about 10 strips for each dough. (2 strips will be leftover)
Make the "glue". In a small bowl whisk together the water and egg white. Set aside.
Assemble. Alternate the dough strips and brush the sides of the dough with glue to hold the dough in place. Continue to top each with a row of alternating flavored dough strips and then again with another row of alternating dough strips remembering to brush the glue on the edges. For example, in the first row, I put 1 vanilla strip, 1 matcha strip, and 1 vanilla strip. Then the second row, I placed 1 matcha strip, 1 vanilla strip, and 1 matcha strip. In the third row, I placed 1 vanilla strip, 1 matcha, and 1 vanilla. As you place the dough slightly press the dough together to get rid of any gaps or air bubbles.
Wrap and chill. Carefully wrap the block of dough and chill for an additional 2 hours.
Prepare the oven and baking sheet. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
Slice and bake. Slice the block about 1/2-inch thick. Arrange the cookies 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 13-14 minutes or until very lightly browned on the edges.
Cool. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Use room-temperature butter. Using room-temperature butter will allow you to cream the butter much easier than cold butter.
Measure your dry ingredients with a scale. I will say this for every bake. The most accurate method of measuring ingredients is with a scale. That will yield the exact flavor that I have envisioned. If you don't have a scale, fluff your flour with a spoon, carefully drop it into your measuring cup and level it off. Do NOT pack the flour into the measuring cup.
Use a trusted Matcha powder. Since matcha is the star of this dish, make sure to use high-quality matcha powder for the best results. There are tons of matcha powders out there and some are made with lower quality than others. I've used brands such as Matchabar, Junbi, and Matcha Bloom and they all have high-quality grade matcha.
Make sure to chill the dough! Chilling the dough allows the butter to solidify making the dough easier to mold and roll out.
Use a leveler and ruler! You can honestly use any two rods that have equal widths and that do not roll around when you use your rolling pin. You can buy fondant/baking levelers or you can do what I did and go to Home Depot and buy two wooden rods that are about 1/4 inch thick and use those instead. This along with a ruler measuring equal widths across the dough will guarantee your edges to be crisp and even.
Don’t overbake: Your cookies are done when the edges are very slightly brown along the edges.

Storage Instructions

You can store these matcha checkerboard cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Alternatively, you can freeze these cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.

Nutrition