Bright, bold, and bursting with flavor! These matcha ube cookies swirl together green tea and purple yam for a unique twist on a classic sugar cookie.
Inspired by Sarah Kieffer’s famous neapolitan cookies I sought out to pair two of my favorite sugar cookies flavor together. Matcha and ube go together like peanut butter and jelly!
I already had these two popular ube sugar cookie recipe and matcha sugar cookie recipe. Let’s combine them to create one show-stopping, vibrant, highly flavored treat!
Ingredients
These are your standard chewy sugar cookies enhanced with matcha powder and ube extract. For best results, I highly recommend measuring listed ingredients by weight. This ensures consistent results! Use this how to measure flour guide if you prefer to measure by volume.
You will need:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Butter: add kosher salt if using unsalted butter, omit the salt if using salted butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs: recipe calls for one large egg and one large yolk.
- Matcha Powder
- Ube Extract
Matcha powder is a key ingredient! The color of your matcha dough is dependent on the quality of your matcha powder. Higher quality matcha results in a richer, more vibrant green color. I used this brand for this recipe. Regardless of whether the matcha is labeled as ceremonial, barista, or culinary grade, pay attention to the color!
Ube extract is an important ingredient. It provides that iconic ube flavor and color. There are two main brands of ube extract that you can easily find online and in stores. I prefer this Butterfly brand (available at Amazon or Asian supermarkets). It is is more concentrated in flavor and color than the McCormick brand.
Want more ube? These ube sugar cookies are made with ube powder, ube extract, and coconut milk.
Instructions
Use a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or an electric hand mixer) to cream together butter and sugar. Once smooth, add in eggs. Then, add in dry ingredients. Mix just until dough forms. Don’t over-mix!
There are two ways to combine the flavored cookie dough:
- Take equal portions of matcha and ube dough, press them together, and roll into a ball for a half-and-half or yin yang appearance.
- Further divide the two portions of dough into smaller pieces, randomly mix them together and roll into a ball to produce a marbled effect with swirls of matcha and ube.
Helpful Tips & Common Questions
1. You can prepare the dough ahead of time. Keep it well covered in the fridge for up to two days. Roll in sugar and bake as usual.
2. Or, you can freeze the assembled dough balls in an airtight container for up to two months. Roll frozen balls in sugar and bake frozen. Add 1-2 minutes to baking time.
It sounds like you over-baked the cookies. When it comes to sugar cookies, err on the side of under-baked. This will ensure the cookies stay soft and chewy.
Place a thermometer in the center rack of your oven to ensure proper temps. Don’t rely on your tier to tell you when the cookies are done. Check with your eyes.Bake just until the edges are set and the center is puffed up.
A kitchen scale and a portion scooper (ice cream scoop) will ensure consistent results! You’ll have an equal amount of ube dough and matcha dough. Each cookie will be the same size.
Go buy some ube extract or find a different ube cookie recipe.
Matcha Ube Cookies
Ingredients
- 355 g all-purpose flour, (2 ¾ cup)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 227 g unsalted butter, (1 cup) softened, room temp
- 350 g granulated sugar, (1 ¾ cup)
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 1 large egg yolk, room temp
- 5 g matcha powder, (2 teaspoons)
- 2 teaspoon ube extract*
- granulated sugar, as needed for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using an electric hand mixer), cream together butter and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add in egg and egg yolk. Continue to mix until well combined. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry mixture to mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until dough comes together. Do not overmix.
- Divide dough into two equal portions. Mix sifted matcha powder into one portion. Mix ube extract into second portion.
- Use a #50 scoop (slightly larger than a tablespoon) to portion out matcha dough. Each portion will be roughly 25 grams. Repeat with ube dough.
- Press together one matcha portion with one ube portion. Form into a ball, then roll in granulated sugar. Repeat until you have used up all the dough.
- Place 6 cookies on each baking sheet. Bake cookies one sheet at a time in the center rack of oven*. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until just the edges are set and the cookie has puffed up in the center. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire rack to completely cool. *Cool baking sheet before adding next batch of cookie dough.
Notes
- The color of your matcha dough is dependent on the quality of your matcha powder. Higher quality matcha results in a richer, more vibrant green color.
- Butterfly and McCormick make the two most popular ube flavor extract. I highly recommend using Butterfly because it is more concentrated in flavor and color.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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