These Keroppi matcha sugar cookies are earthy, not too sweet, have crisp edges, and a bit of a chew! They're naturally colored because of the matcha powder and are decorated using colored white chocolate. Feel free to swap in dairy-free butter, milk, and white chocolate for a vegan version!
½cupunsalted butter, melted and cooled(1 stick butter/8 tbsp)
¼cupgranulated sugar(50g)
¼cuplight or dark brown sugar, packed(50g)
1tbspmatcha powder
2-4tbspmilk
Decoration for face:
3-4tbspwhite chocolate, melted
oil-based food coloring, see notes(pink, black)
*instead of black white chocolate, you can also use melted milk/dark chocolate
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Instructions
For the cookie dough:
In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (can alternatively use hand mixer or whisk), mix the butter and sugars on medium speed until combined. Scrape bottom of bowl. Add matcha and mix again.
Dump in all of the dry ingredients and mix until combined. If the dough is too crumbly, slowly add 2-4 tbsp of milk until it comes together. The finished dough should be thick. If you want, you can cover the dough and let it rest in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. This will let the flour hydrate and let the butter cool, yielding chewier cookies. But, this step isn't necessary.
Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
Use small cookie dough scoop to gather dough (about 1 ½ tablespoon each). Shape it into ball, then place onto lined baking tray.Place them about 3-4 inches apart. They will not spread much while baking.
Bake for 10-13 minutes. Cookies should look slightly puffy and soft in the center, in addition to retaining their green color. They should not be browned.Be careful to not over bake so they don't get crispy! They will continue cooking when cooling on the pan.tip: for a perfect circular cookie, take a large circular biscuit cutter or something wider than your cookies, like the rim of a large mug. Place the circular cutter on top of your still warm cookie while it is still on the baking sheet. Move the cookie around in the cutter in a circular motion. This pushes the sides of the cookie towards the center, forcing it to mold into a perfect circle.
Let cool on pan for about 5-10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cool completely.
For the frog faces:
*If you don't have piping bags, you can use ziploc bags and cut the tip off of one corner. You can use a toothpick or cookie scribe for the mouth, blush, and pupils.
On a silicone mat, parchment, or wax paper, pipe circles of white chocolate for Keroppi's eyes. Let dry completely, about 5 minutes.Flip the dried chocolate over to the flat side, then use black-dyed white chocolate and a toothpick to add the pupils. You can alternatively use melted milk/dark chocolate.
Use melted chocolate as a glue and stick the eyes on top of the matcha cookie.
Draw on the mouth with black-dyed white chocolate or melted milk/dark chocolate. Add the blush with pink/red-dyed white chocolate.
Enjoy!
Notes
If you don't have oil-based food coloring, your white chocolate may seize when you try to color it. However, you can try mixing in a few drops of a neutral oil (canola, vegetable) after adding in food coloring—this usually turns my seized chocolate back into a smooth mixture!
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
You can swap in vegan butter, milk, and white chocolate if you want to make it vegan!