Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies

This week, I had narrowed down my cookie choices to two vastly different cookies. I like to have options, and I had the ingredients on hand to make either of them, so I figured I would go with what I felt like making at the time. In this case, I ended up making these as they better fit the time that I had to bake! I got home a little later than expected and then felt like chilling on the couch for a bit. That didn’t leave a lot of time, so I opted for these which are fairly quick to make.

This cookie reminds me a lot of a snickerdoodle; it’s a sugar/butter cookie that is shaped into balls and rolled in a sugar-spice mix. You first make a chai spice mix and mix it with sugar. You beat that with the butter and save some to roll the cookies in. I imagine that you can use any variety of spices, but I think you need the cinnamon and ginger. The original recipe called for cardamom, but I don’t really care for it, so I substituted Chinese five spice. Don’t be afraid of the pepper, it adds a lot!

These cookies were easy to mix, but I found it a little difficult to get all of the sugar and the flour mixture mixed in all the way. When shaping the cookies, I noted that the dough in the bottom of the pan was a little sandy, as everything wasn’t mixed together completely. They are soft when they come out of the oven, so don’t be tempted to bake them longer. I prefer them soft in the middle! The spice mix is really nice in these cookies, and the flavor is infused throughout the entire cookie. They aren’t super sweet, which lets the spice flavor shine through.

Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate medium bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, five spice powder, allspice and black pepper. Remove 1/4 cup of the sugar-spice mixture and set aside.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar-spice mixture on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and stir until combined. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until combined.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4 inch balls. Roll the balls in the reserved sugar-spice mixture. Place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set. The cookies will continue to set as they cool, so do not over bake. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from My Baking Addiction