Matcha Black and White Cookies

These matcha black and white cookies put a Japanese spin on the iconic NYC bakery treat. Instead of the traditional chocolate and vanilla, these soft cakey cookies are frosted with earthy matcha on one side and sweet coconut on the other.

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Recipe

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Matcha Black and White Cookies

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Japanese

Keyword: cookies

Servings: 8 cookies

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Cookies

• 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour (187 grams)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup buttermilk (85 ml)
• 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt (30 grams)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup butter, softened (113 grams)
• ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
• 1 large egg, at room temperature

Frosting

• 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar, divided (293 grams)
• 5 tablespoons coconut milk, divided
• 1 tablespoon matcha powder

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Combine flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, yogurt, and vanilla in another bowl.
• Beat together softened butter with granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and beat until well combined.
• Add the wet ingredients, and mix until well combined. Add the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. The batter should be fairly thick.
• Use an ice cream scooper or a ¼ cup measuring cup and scoop the batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Leave at least 4 inches in between the cookies, giving them room to spread, about 5 cookies per baking sheet. Chill the cookies in the refridgerator for 30 minutes.
• Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden on top and golden brown on the bottom. Let the cookies rest for 5 minutes on the baking tray. Flip the cookies over and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the icing. Divide the powdered sugar into two bowls. Add 2 tablespoons of coconut milk to one bowl for the coconut frosting. Mix until well combined. The icing will be thick but spreadable.
• Whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons coconut milk with matcha powder until matcha is completely dissolved. Add the matcha milk to the other half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined.
• Spread the coconut frosting on one half of each of the cookies. Let sit for 10 minutes, then spread the matcha frosting on the other half. Let sit for 10 minutes. Serve.

Notes

These matcha black and white cookies are slightly thicker than traditional black and white cookies. If you want your cookies to spread more, skip the chilling time.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Make cookie dough

When I gave my friends these matcha black and white cookies to taste, I was surprised to learn none of them had ever had a black and white cookie before. If you have never had the pleasure, I will tell you now that these are no ordinary cookies.

The texture is incredibly soft and delicate because they are cakey cookies! Normally, I like my cookies with a little chew, but these are an exception.

If you take a look at the recipe, you will notice that the batter is very similar to a cake batter. You start by creaming the butter with the sugar, then adding the egg.

When I was at the Culinary Institute of America, my professor constantly stressed how important it was to properly beat butter and sugar for baking. Creaming the two ingredients is what helps the cookies rise and gives them that lovely soft, tender crumb.

Add the wet ingredients, then stir in the dry ingredients just until combined. The batter will be thick, but that's what we're looking for.

Step 2: Bake

Scoop ¼ cup of the batter onto prepared baking sheets, giving them plenty of space in between to spread. A quarter cup seems like a lot, but black and white cookies are known to be large.

Chill the cookies for 30 minutes to prevent them from spreading too much in the oven. You can skip this step if you want your cookies on the thinner side.

On the other hand, if you're making these ahead of time, feel free to chill them for longer.

Bake the cookies just until the tops are light golden brown. Don't worry if the tops of the cookies are bumpy because you're going to ice the bottom of the cookies. Yup, that's right. The bottom of the cookies becomes the top!

When cooling the cookies, I flipped them over so that the bottoms were facing up. This way, they won't get the lines from the wire rack imprinted on them.

Step 3: Frost cookies

While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting. You're going to need two different frostings: matcha and coconut.

Mix half of the powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of coconut milk, setting aside the remaining powdered sugar.

For the matcha frosting, whisk together matcha powder with the remaining milk. We need to first dissolve the matcha to avoid having lumps in the frosting.

Then, pour the matcha milk into the reserved powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. The frostings should be thick but still be able to spread easily. If they are too thin, they will run off the sides of the cookies.

Now here comes the most time-consuming part, decorating the cookies. I'll be honest, these took way longer than expected. Start with the white coconut frosting, spreading it on half of the cookie. Let it dry for about 10 minutes, then spread the matcha frosting on the other side.

Let the matcha frosting set, and then grab a cookie and take a big bite right in the center. Close your eyes and enjoy that soft, tender texture coated in beautiful matcha and coconut frosting. Isn't that glorious?

Matcha black and white cookies are definitely now on my list of best Asian desserts (alongside hojicha roll cake, black sesame banana cake, and yuzu crepes with raspberries, of course). And the list keeps growing...

Make-ahead and storage

• Make-ahead: You can make the cookies ahead of time and chill them overnight in the refridgerator until ready to bake.
• Store: Keep cookies in an airtight container in a cool area for up to 3 days.

More Japanese dessert recipes

Looking for more Japanese dessert ideas? Try these: