Raspberry Matcha Cheesecake Cookies are thick, fudgy matcha cookies swirled with tangy cream cheese frosting and a bright, jammy raspberry drizzle.

I came to matcha late. Like, embarrassingly late. I spent years watching people talk about their matcha lattes with the kind of devotion usually reserved for religion, and I remained completely unbothered. And then I tried it. Once. And that was it. Now I am one of those people. I have no further comment on this. What I will say is that my obsession led me directly to make these Raspberry Matcha Cheesecake Cookies, to a cookie that is part cheesecake, part jam tart, part matcha ceremony, and entirely worth making on a Tuesday afternoon when you have nowhere to be.

If you are new around here, you might also love my Birthday Cake Cookies, my Chocolate S'more Cookies, and my Raspberry Cheesecake - all equally dramatic, all deeply worth your time.

The color alone is worth it. That dough is a deep, vivid green that looks like it came out of a professional kitchen. Spoiler: it did. Yours.
Three components, zero regrets. The raspberry jam, matcha cookie, and cream cheese frosting each do their own thing and somehow agree completely when they are stacked together.
Texture that actually holds up. These cookies are pressed thin right out of the oven, which gives you crisp edges, a chewy center, and a surface that can actually support frosting without sliding off. Structural integrity matters.
The jam is homemade and it is easy. You are not canning anything. You are making a small batch of quick raspberry jam that takes about 20 minutes and tastes like summer.
They make 10 cookies. Not too many, but also enough to share and eat them on the counter for a few days!

Ingredient Overview

Here is what you are working with and why each piece matters.

Culinary-grade matcha powder: Please use culinary-grade here, not ceremonial. Jade Leaf is what I use and I think it hits the right balance of flavor and color without costing you a small fortune.
Fresh or frozen raspberries: Either works beautifully for the jam. Frozen can actually be better because they break down faster and are available year-round, which is a quiet win.
Cornstarch in the cookie dough: This is not a mistake. A small amount of cornstarch keeps the cookies tender and gives them that slightly underbaked, chewy center even after they are fully set.
One egg plus one egg yolk: The extra yolk adds richness and helps the cookies stay fudgy rather than cakey. Do not skip it.
Cream cheese and butter in the frosting: Both need to be fully softened. Not a little soft. All the way soft. Room temperature means room temperature.
Lemon juice and zest in the jam: This is the secret. The acid wakes up the raspberries and adds a brightness that keeps the jam from tasting flat.
All purpose flour: Remember to spoon and level your flour so your cookies don't have too much flour and dry out!

How to Make Raspberry Matcha Cheesecake Cookies

This recipe has three components - jam, cookie, frosting - but each one is straightforward and can be made in stages. Here is the general flow.

Start with the jam. Cook raspberries down with sugar, lemon, and a cornstarch slurry until thick and glossy. It chills while you do everything else, so make this first.
Make the cookie dough. Cream butter and sugars, add eggs and vanilla, then fold in the dry ingredients including the matcha. The dough will be a satisfying deep green and should come together smoothly.
Scoop and bake. These are large cookies - a 4-tablespoon scoop per cookie. Give them room on the pan. Bake until the edges are set and the centers still look a little underdone.
Press immediately. Right out of the oven, press each cookie flat with a spatula. This is not optional. This is the move.
Make the frosting while they cool. Beat butter and cream cheese until very smooth, add powdered sugar and vanilla, and whip until fluffy.
Assemble. Frost the cooled cookies, then drizzle the chilled jam on top using a piping bag. Do not rush this step. The cookie base must be completely cool, or the frosting will slide right off and that is a sad ending to a good cookie.

What Are Common Mistakes?

Over-measuring the flour. This is the big one. If you scoop flour directly from the bag with your measuring cup, you are almost certainly using too much. Spoon it into the cup and level it off, or better yet, weigh it. Too much flour will make your cookies dry, crumbly, and honestly a little sad.
Frosting warm cookies. I know it is tempting. The cookies smell incredible and you want to be done. But warm cookies will melt the frosting into a puddle and the whole thing will look like it gave up. Let them cool completely.
Skipping the pressing step. If you don't press the cookies flat right after baking, they will stay puffed and round and the frosting will have nothing to grip. Press them while they're hot.
Not chilling the jam long enough. The jam needs at least an hour in the fridge to thicken properly. A warm jam will bleed into the frosting and while it will still taste good, it will not look the way you want it to.
Under-beating the frosting. Two minutes on medium, scrape, two more minutes, then add sugar, then beat again. If you rush this you will get a dense frosting instead of a light, fluffy one. The extra few minutes are worth it.

Frequently Asked Questions

A few things people tend to ask before they start baking.

Can I use store-bought raspberry jam? You can. A good quality jam with real fruit will work fine. The homemade version has a brighter, fresher flavor, but if you are short on time, this is a reasonable shortcut.
My dough is sticky - is that normal? Yes. This dough is a bit soft and that is intentional. Do not add more flour. Scoop directly and bake.
Can I make these ahead of time? The jam can be made up to a week in advance and stored in the fridge. The cookie dough can be scooped and frozen. Bake from frozen, adding a couple of extra minutes. Frosted cookies can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

What Kind of Matcha Do You Use for Baking?

For baking, culinary-grade matcha is your best friend. Ceremonial-grade is meant to be whisked into water and consumed on its own, and while it is delicious, the nuance gets a little lost once you mix it into a butter-and-sugar dough. Culinary-grade is blended specifically to hold up in recipes, giving you that deep green color and earthy, slightly sweet flavor even after heat. The brand I reach for consistently is Jade Leaf - it is widely available, reasonably priced, and reliable in color and flavor. If your baked goods are coming out a dull olive green rather than a vibrant green, your matcha is likely old or low quality. Fresh matcha makes a real difference here, both in taste and in the way the cookies look.

Storing and Freezing - Raspberry Matcha Cheesecake Cookies

Storing: Once assembled, these Raspberry Matcha Cheesecake Cookies should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese frosting. They will keep well for up to 3 days. If you want to store unfrosted cookies, they can sit at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days as well. The jam keeps separately in the fridge for up to a week, so you can assemble as you go if you prefer.

Freezing: The baked, unfrosted cookies freeze beautifully. Let them cool completely, stack them with parchment between each layer, and freeze in an airtight bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature, then frost and drizzle with jam just before serving. I do not recommend freezing the frosted, assembled cookies - the frosting texture changes after thawing and the jam can weep a little, neither of which is ideal. Freeze the components separately and assemble fresh. Worth the extra step.

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