These chai cookies are bursting with warm, aromatic spices and bake up extra soft and chewy. Chai cookies are the perfect Christmas cookie but taste amazing any time of year!
These soft, thick, and chewy chai cookies are definitely one of my top 3 favorite cookies. The warm spices in the cookie dough and in the chai sugar add so much depth to the flavor of these cookies.
For more irresistible cookie recipes, check out our Kitchen Sink Cookies, Cookies and Cream Cookies, and Pecan Sandies next!
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Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe
Chai Sugar (for rolling the cookies)
- Granulated sugar
- Chai spices (Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, cardamom, black pepper)
Chai Cookies
- All-purpose flour. For tender, chewy cookies. Use good-quality flour for the best texture.
- Baking powder and baking soda. To help the cookies rise.
- Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, cardamom, black pepper. These are our chai spices and are what make these cookies so delicious!
- Salt. To enhance the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Unsalted butter. For moist, chewy cookies. Soften your butter to room temperature by leaving it out on the counter for at least an hour.
- Brown sugar. For caramel-like sweetness and moisture.
- Granulated sugar. For additional sweetness.
- Egg. To bind the ingredients.
- Vanilla extract. For flavor and depth. Use good-quality vanilla for the best flavor!
How To Make This Recipe
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, cardamom, black pepper, and salt, whisk until combined, and set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, cardamom, black pepper, and salt, whisk until combined, and set aside.
- Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium-high (6-8 on a stand mixer) for 3 to 4 minutes until light and creamy. Add both sugars and mix for an additional 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium until thoroughly combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the butter mixture and mix until no more streaks of dry flour are visible. Start on low speed (2-3) then gradually increase to high (7-9). Do not overmix the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour up to overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set it aside.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop out 2 tablespoon-sized dough balls, roll them into neat balls with your palms, toss them in the chai sugar, and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies in batches on a middle oven rack for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
What Is Chai Spice?
Chai spice is an earthy, flavorful mixture of spices commonly used in masala chai, which literally translates to "spiced tea" as masala means "spice" and chai means "tea". However, chai spice can be used in an array of different recipes, baked goods being my favorite!
The exact spices used can vary from recipe to recipe and depend largely on the preferences of whoever is creating the blend. The most common and traditional mixture of spices includes cardamom, black peppercorn, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg, and star anise.
My friend Shweta of Masala & Chai has an amazing recipe for an authentic chai spice blend using fresh ground spices. For these cookies, we use a mixture of pre-ground spices that yields a perfectly spicy, warm blend.
Are These Like Sugar Cookies?
Yes, these cookies are very similar to chewy sugar cookies. The chai spices are what set these cookies apart from regular sugar cookies.
Sugar cookies range in texture from firm and sturdy, such as roll-out sugar cookies, to soft and chewy, depending on the ratio of flour to fat in the dough.
More FAQs
If your cookies turn out hard or tough the dough was probably overmixed. Overmixing the dough activates the gluten in the flour, causing your cookies to turn out tough. Only mix until no more dry flour is visible.
Absolutely! The best way to freeze this cookie dough is to portion out the individual cookies, place them on a baking sheet, and place the baking sheet in the freezer. Once the cookies are frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag and store them for up to 6 months.
Chai cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Tips For The Best Chai Cookies
- Weigh your flour properly. Use the spoon and level method or a kitchen scale. Too much flour can result in dense, dry cookies.
- Use softened butter. Cold butter will take forever to cream and butter that is too warm causes the cookies to spread too much while baking.
- Slightly underbake the cookies. Yep, you read that right. The trick to getting soft, chewy cookies with gooey centers is to underbake them slightly. They will continue to set while cooling and the centers remain gooey.
- Use a glass to get perfectly round cookies. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, take a glass that is larger than the cookies and place it over the cookie and swirl it around in a circular motion. The cookies will hit the side of the glass creating a perfectly round shape.
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📖 Recipe
Chai Cookies (Soft and Chewy!)
Ingredients
Chai Sugar (for rolling cookies in)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Chai Cookies
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (315g), weighed or spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar dark or light
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, allspice, and black pepper for the chai sugar in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, cardamom, black pepper, and salt, whisk until combined, and set aside.
- Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium-high (6-8 on a stand mixer) for 3 to 4 minutes until light and creamy. Add both sugars and mix for an additional 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium until thoroughly combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the butter mixture and mix until no more streaks of dry flour are visible. Start on low speed (2-3) then gradually increase to high (7-9). Do not overmix the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour up to overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set it aside.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop out 2 tablespoon-sized dough balls, roll them into neat balls with your palms, toss them in the chai sugar, and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies in batches on a middle oven rack for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Weigh your flour properly. Use the spoon and level method or a kitchen scale. Too much flour can result in dense, dry cookies.
- Chai cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
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