Chai Sugar Cookies

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1/2 tsp baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 3/4 cups white cane sugar

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened

  • 1 egg

  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

  2. 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.

  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar-spice mixture until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

  4. Beat in egg and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.

  5. Slowly add in dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time, until just combined. Don’t over mix.

  6. Once the dough all comes together, cover bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

  7. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  8. After dough has chilled, form into 1 1/2 inch balls, roll in the reserved sugar-spice mixture, and place on prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.

  9. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are set or, as Molly Yeh says, “the bottoms are just beginning to think about turning brown”. 😆

  10. Let cookies cool for a couple minutes on baking sheet before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.

*Notes:

You can really play with the spice mixture in this recipe. Want to replace the chai spices with pumpkin pie spice, go for it! Is your favorite drink a vanilla chai? Replace one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the seeds of a vanilla bean pod. So many ways to turn a basic sugar cookie into something new!

Ingredients