This easy Chai Cookies Recipe are soft and chewy, made with a homemade chai spice blend and coated with cinnamon sugar. They'll quickly become a new favorite fall cookie recipe!
2cupsall purpose flourfluffed and levelled* (260 grams)
1teaspooncream of tartar
½teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonground ginger
½teaspoonground cinnamon
⅛teaspoonground cloves
⅛teaspooncardamom
⅛teaspoonground nutmeg
⅛teaspoonallspice
Cinnamon Sugar
2tablespoonsgranulated sugar
1teaspoonground cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugars and oil on high until light and creamy (about 2-3 minutes).
Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat until combined.
Add the flour (be sure to fluff it or weigh it!), cream of tartar, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg and allspice and beat on medium speed until combined, scraping down the sides as necessary.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the Cinnamon Sugar.
Roll the cookie dough into 1" cookie dough balls and roll them in cinnamon sugar. Place 12 of the dough balls on each cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until slightly puffed but not browned, they may have a slight sheen but not be gooey in the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
Notes
Ingredients and Substitutions:
Butter: salted or unsalted butter will work just fine here!
Flour: be sure to fluff or weigh the flour -- this will help you to get thick, chewy cookies that are not thin or dry.
Cream of Tartar: this helps to give the cookies a great chewy texture. You can omit if you must but I really recommend trying it!
Spices: the spice list is long because we are essentially making our own chai spice. You can substitute this with 1½ teaspoons of prepared chai spice mix, or reduce or increase the spices according to your tastes. These cookies have a mild spice flavor, so there is room to add more if you like a really strong chai flavor.
Storage
Storage: Once your cookies have cooled to room temperature, store them in an airtight container or in a Ziploc bag on the counter for up to 7 days.
Freeze Cookies: Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, store them in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper between each layer to keep them from sticking together. Defrost at room temperature when you're ready to serve them again.
Freeze Cookie Dough Balls: Make the cookies up to the point of baking them, and freeze the unbaked cookie dough balls. Simply flash-freeze the cookie dough balls on a lined baking sheet, then put them in a freezer-bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. You can then bake them fresh from frozen, adding on a couple of minutes to the baking time!