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Chewy Chai Sugar Cookies pack a flavor punch with a blend of chai-inspired spices. If you love chai, these are the cookies for you!
I feel like the older I get, the less interested I am in shopping inside actual stores.
You know with other humans, shopping carts and checkout lines?
Lately, I feel like I’ve been heavily relying on Instacart to do my grocery shopping. And every single time the little popup shows me how many hours I’ve saved by having them do my shopping just keeps me ordering allthethings from the app.
I do actually drive to pick up the groceries as opposed to having them delivered, so there’s that.
Don’t even get me started on Amazon Prime. Let’s just say I’m on a first name basis with pretty much every single delivery driver in my town.
Since we have so many deliveries at this time of year, I love to leave a little box on the porch full of snacks, water and Gatorade for the delivery drivers to enjoy on their route.
While I’d love to say I thought of this, I actually got the idea from Kristen at Dine and Dish about 4 years ago and it’s become one of our favorite holiday traditions.
This year, I’m thinking of packaging up homemade cookies to leave for them as well!
I mean, who wouldn’t love to get Peanut Butter Blossoms, Chocolate Chip Cookies, or these Chai Sugar Cookies during the holidays?
What are chai spices?
Have you ever had chai?
“Chai” literally means “tea” in Hindi. In India, chai isn’t just a type of tea…it is tea!
Here in America, chai refers to a spiced, milky black tea. The spices usually include green cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and black pepper. Sometimes other spices such as cloves or star anise are used as well.
I love chai and like to use chai spices to flavor all sorts of baked goods, such as Maple Chai Cinnamon Rolls, chai spiced granola, and Chai Spiced Candied Nuts.
Pretty much anything that would be good with cinnamon would be good with chai spices. I even have a recipe for Chai Spice Blend that you can mix and keep on hand any time you want to add some chai flavor to your recipes.
Chai-spiced sugar cookies
Since I know that chai spices are a great substitute for cinnamon, I was inspired by snickerdoodle cookies to see what might happen if I flavored a chewy sugar cookie dough with chai spices.
Spoiler: The result was amazing.
Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, allspice and black pepper combine to create an incredibly aromatic spice blend that transforms a plain, chewy sugar cookie recipe into a complex and comforting cookie.
Bonus? Chai Sugar Cookies pair perfectly with a piping hot cup of tea.
Make a batch of Chai Sugar Cookies, steep a pot of tea, and curl up to watch some Christmas movies with your loved ones.
They would also be a great cookie to take to a holiday cookie exchange! They are the perfect combination of familiar and new, with their chewy texture and spicy flavor.
I think you’re going to love them.
Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cups white sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice and black pepper. Remove 1/4 cup of the sugar-spice mixture, set aside to reserve for rolling the cookies.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar-spice mixture until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in egg and vanilla extract, combine until fully incorporated.
- Slowly blend in dry ingredients mixing until just combined.
- Using a small scoop (2 teaspoons) roll dough into balls and then into the reserved sugar-spice mixture. Place dough balls on prepared baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.
- Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Let stand on baking sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.
Notes
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These cookies are absolutely one of my favorites, hands down. They are a really beautiful balance between spicy (black pepper) and sweet. I love them with a fresh hot cup of coffee, or as an ice cream sandwich with espresso ice cream! Thank you!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies, Christina! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
I made these and they were great! I will say that the coloring came out much lighter than in these photos, and the spice level was not as strong as I would have liked, they tasted only subtly chai. Next time I will try doubling all the spices.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies, Alana! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
These cookies are so, so very good! I didn’t have cardamom, but decided to make them anyway. I’m so glad I did!
I doubled the spices as recommended by another reader. I have not tried the recipe as written. The cookies were moist, flavorful, and gone in moments!
So glad you enjoyed them, Beth! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. :)
Happy Holidays!
-Jamie
I love chai seasoning too! It makes these cookies so warm and cozy! And can’t live without Instacart! It’s perfect!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Suzy! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
Oh, wow. I need to make these for my kids. My oldest LOVES chai!!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Liz! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
I have made these cookies many times. I would recommend adding an extra egg. I do push down the dough balls slightly before baking. They freeze beautifully.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies, Catherine! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
Just made these, followed the recipe and didn’t make any changes and they turned out great! Exactly like in the picture :) I used an extra large egg and the dough was the perfect consistency. rolling them in sugar makes them glisten & they really look store-bought! The only thing is Next time I would probably put aside a little more than just 1/4 of the sugar/spice mixture, but apart from that wouldn’t change a thing!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies, Camille! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
OMG these are awesome!! I yielded only 2 dozen cookies. Everyone loved them. There was no need to store them for 3 days, they were gone in 2! I plan to make the sugar cookie base and try lavendar…
So happy to hear you loved them, Ellen!
My favorite cookies. The only amendation to this recipe that I’ve made is to coat the bottom of the cookies in chocolate. Yum.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the cookies, Lydia! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
This is an amazing recipe. The cookies are amazing. I did double all the spices, as my family loves big tastes. All three of my kids have sensory processing disorders and love spicy. The dough came together with no problems. These cookies are a big hit with everynody who tastes them. These are my new favorite cookie!
Patty-
I am so glad to hear you enjoyed them! Happy Holidays to you and yours!
-Jamie