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These must-try vanilla chai spiced sugar cookies are perfect with warm tea on a cozy day. Enjoy chewy cookies with delicious fall spices in 30 minutes!
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Spend a delightful cozy day with vanilla chai sugar cookies and tea. This is also a quick and easy recipe that you can modify into Taylor Swift’s chai cookies that went viral on Tiktok.
Enjoy the best chai sugar cookies freshly baked at home just like how Taylor Swift makes them by adding icing.
Pair these chewy spiced chai cookies with cinnamon eggnog icing and experience Christmas whenever.
What Are Vanilla Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies?
Vanilla chai sugar cookies are chewy sugar cookies made even better with chai spices.
The delightful combination of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamom creates a comforting flavor reminiscent of cozy fall afternoons.
Pair these freshly baked chai spiced sugar cookies with your favorite tea, and you’ll wonder why you’re settling with store-bought cookies.
If you love India’s chai, you’ll definitely enjoy these spiced chai cookies. We’ve also created the recipe with vanilla, so the only things missing are your favorite fuzzy blanket and a warm fireplace.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You’ve probably seen Taylor Swift’s Tumblr recipe for her chai sugar cookies that went viral. But what if instead of only using butter, you add cream cheese and mix the chai spices yourself?
The result is leveled-up vanilla chai sugar cookies for cozy fall flavors regardless of the season!
Try this chai spiced sugar cookie recipe, or you’ll miss out on these:
- Easy and Quick Homemade Recipe: No one would believe this impressive chai spice cookie recipe only has a cook time of 30 minutes! Simply follow the ingredient measurements, and you’ll get the best chewy and flavorful cookies, even as a newbie baker.
- Versatile Chai Sugar Cookies: These vanilla chai sugar cookies are also incredibly versatile. You can pair them with any glaze, icing, or coating that suits your sweet tooth craving.
- Perfect Flavors for Every Taste Bud: Sugar cookies are usually ignored as they’re just sweet, and not everyone enjoys sugary things. But with these spiced chai cookies, you’ll get the right sweetness on chewy cookies with complex flavors from the chai spices.
What Do Vanilla Chai Sugar Cookies Taste Like?
Vanilla chai spiced sugar cookies has all the comforting flavors and aromas of your favorite chai tea.
Imagine a sweet, chewy golden brown sugar cookie with a fragrant and delicious chai spice blend.
Each comforting bite is best enjoyed with a cup of tea. You can also take these easy chai spiced sugar cookies to the next level by rolling them in spiced sugar or topping them with cinnamon eggnog icing like Taylor Swift.
Are Chai Sugar Cookies Healthy?
The delicious chai spice blend in these vanilla chai sugar cookies is packed with health benefits.
Cardamom has antioxidant activities, cinnamon has anti-inflammatory properties, ginger promotes digestive health, and research found some potential health benefits from cloves.
However, like any other dessert, you should enjoy these delicious chai spiced sugar cookies moderately. It’s never a good idea to overconsume sugary treats because of health risks.
On the bright side, homemade cookies will be free from additives and preservatives.
You can also find substitutes for the ingredients in this chewy sugar cookie recipe if you have allergies or following a specific diet.
What Are The Benefits Of Spiced Chai Cookies?
It doesn’t have to be fall or winter to enjoy the cozy flavors of chai tea. Instead of the usual plain and boring sugar cookies, add chai spices and take your homemade cookies to the next level.
These chai spiced sugar cookies are versatile to pair with any favorite icing recipe for your cookie exchange.
Why not make a quick cinnamon eggnog icing for these warm and comforting treats like Taylor Swift’s? You’ll also love how this recipe is incredibly quick and easy to make, so it’s possible to enjoy freshly baked cookies in the morning.
Ingredients For Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies
- All-purpose flour – Measure your flour perfectly to get the best chai sugar cookies, even on the first try.
- Baking powder – Baking powder is important to ensure your chai sugar cookies are deliciously chewy.
- Baking soda – Baking soda leavens the cookie dough to create soft vanilla chai sugar cookies.
- Ground cinnamon – A must-have spice for the chai blend with a bonus aroma to announce that it’s cookie season. The smell of cinnamon on freshly baked cookies will have everyone checking out the kitchen.
- Salt – Salt balances the flavors in this chai spice cookie recipe and is also helpful for the chai cookie dough’s gluten structure.
- Black pepper – Add a spicy bite to your chai spice blend with the right amount of black pepper.
- Ground cloves – Cloves are packed with health benefits while also adding a depth of flavor to these cozy chai spiced sugar cookies.
- Ground ginger – Aromatic and comforting spice that balances chai sugar cookies’ sweetness.
- Ground cardamom – Your chai spice blend for these sugar cookies won’t be complete without the fruity flavor of cardamom.
- Cream cheese– Instead of just butter, incorporate cream cheese in your chai spiced sugar cookies and notice the richer taste, which pairs well with tea.
- Granulated sugar – Use granulated sugar for these soft and chewy vanilla chai spiced sugar cookies.
- Unsalted butter – Always use unsalted butter for these chai spiced sugar cookies to let the natural flavors of the heartwarming chai spice blend come through.
- Milk – Instead of water to improve the dough consistency, use a bit of milk for more flavor.
- Egg – Egg is essential for getting the height of your homemade chai sugar cookies.
- Vegetable oil – An important ingredient to get moist vanilla chai sugar cookies.
- Vanilla extract – Enhance the sweetness and spices of the chai spiced sugar cookies with some vanilla extract. Some people even drizzle vanilla icing on their chai tea cookies.
Tools Needed To Prepare Chai Spice Cookie Recipe
- Mixing bowls for incorporating the chai spice cookie recipe ingredients
- Measuring spoons for measuring everything perfectly
- Hand mixer for getting the best dough consistency
- Rubber spatula for working the ingredients in the bowl
- Whisk for combining the ingredients for the spiced chai cookies without overmixing them
- Cookie scoop for portioning the dough and getting equal-sized cookies
- Half sheet baking tray for baking the delicious chai spiced sugar cookies
- Parchment paper for lining the baking tray
- Silicone baking mat for lining the baking tray
- Cooling rack for cooling the cookies before serving or storage
Ingredient Additions & Substitutions For Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies
Star anise
Star anise is a delicious spice to add to these chai sugar cookies to contrast the sugar. You only need a pinch in the cookie dough.
Maple syrup
Want a quick and easy way to sweeten your chai spiced sugar cookies? You can drizzle them with some maple syrup after cooling.
Honey
Make these vanilla chai sugar cookies softer and fluffier with some honey. There’s no need to replace the sugar in this delicious cookie recipe, as a splash of honey is enough for added moisture.
How to Make Vanilla Chai Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Tools you need:
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Hand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- Whisk
- Cookie scoop
- Half sheet baking tray
- Parchment paper
- Silicone baking mat
- Cooling rack
Instructions:
STEP 1: Gather all the ingredients for the chai spiced sugar cookies and preheat the oven to 350°F.
STEP 2: Mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, pepper, ground cloves, ginger, and cardamom in a large bowl.
STEP 3: In a separate medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar. Stir in the melted butter.
STEP 4: Add the milk, egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture. Combine thoroughly.
STEP 5: Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Make sure everything is incorporated to make the vanilla chai sugar cookie dough.
STEP 6: Scoop the cookies into a baking tray lined with a baking mat or parchment paper. Each scoop is about 1 ½ tbsp of chai spiced sugar cookie dough.
STEP 7: Leave 3 ½ inches of space between each cookie as they’ll spread in the oven.
STEP 8: Flatten each scoop with the bottom of a glass. You can flatten the dough to ¼ inch or thicker if you prefer chewy cookies.
STEP 9: The baking time is 11 to 12 minutes. Once the edges are golden brown, let the soft cookies sit on the baking sheet for 2 minutes.
STEP 10: Transfer the cookies to wire racks and cool completely.
What To Serve With Chai Tea Sugar Cookies
Your ultimate comforting warm beverage is the best pair to these homemade chai sugar cookies!
You can dunk your favorite sugar cookie in oolong tea while relaxing in the afternoon or enjoy them with freshly brewed coffee in the morning as cookies for breakfast.
Another delicious option is copying Taylor Swift’s viral chai cookies topped with icing made from eggnog and cinnamon.
And if you’re looking to switch up your breakfast game, try this delicious and nutritious protein powder chia pudding, the perfect pairing to our mouthwatering chai-spiced sugar cookies.
If you’re getting bored of your drinks at home, save yourself a trip to the cafe and try these easy recipes:
- Best Homemade Pumpkin Spice Vietnamese Iced Coffee
- Ultimate Copycat Starbucks Caramel Brulee Latte
- Tasty Mint Chocolate Irish Cream Liquor
Tips About Making Spiced Chai Cookies
Try these 30-minuted chai spiced sugar cookies at home and get perfectly chewy, sweet, and flavorful desserts with these tips:
- Refrain from scooping the flour from the bag with a measuring cup. The secret to accurate and perfect flour measurement is by weighing it or spooning it into the measuring cup.
- Make a quick spiced sugar by mixing sugar and chai spices. Then, coat the dough balls before baking to enjoy additional chai flavor to your cookies.
- Freeze the dough balls for one hour and flatten them with a glass base. This will help you get the Instagram-worthy “broken edges” look on your vanilla chai sugar cookies.
How To Store Vanilla Chai Sugar Cookies
You can make the chai spiced sugar cookie dough in advance, or store baked leftovers. Here are some guidelines to remember:
Fridge: To save time, do the cookie dough in advance and refrigerate it overnight. Then, let it thaw at room temperature before scooping and baking as usual.
Freezer: If you want to store your baked vanilla chai spiced sugar cookies for longer, wrap cookies individually in plastic. Arrange them in an airtight container for freezing and consume them within two months.
Reheating: Allow the frozen chai spiced sugar cookies to thaw at room temperature outside their wrappings. Then, reheat for 5 minutes in the oven at around 302°F.
Does Chai Pair With Cookies?
The complex spices in a warm cup of chai are perfect with cookies. The richness of chocolate chip cookies is especially delectable with spicy and sweet chai.
How Can I Spice Up My Sugar Cookies?
Good old sugar cookies can level up with spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger, like in this chai spice cookie recipe. You can also use a packet of chai tea in the batter of your favorite comforting cookie recipe.
Does Chai Taste Like Gingerbread?
Chai can taste like gingerbread to some people because of the warm spices and sweet taste. This delicious flavor combination is also attributed to the phrase “taste like Christmas,” so chai and gingerbread are awesome cookies for the holiday cookie exchange.
FAQ About Vanilla Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies
Do you put sugar on sugar cookies before or after cooking?
You can roll the sugar cookie dough balls in sugar before baking. But for added flavor and texture, mix spices with sugar and sprinkle them over the baked sugar cookies.
Should sugar cookies be soft or crispy?
Sugar cookies should be soft and chewy with slightly crisp edges.
Does vanilla taste good with chai?
Vanilla tastes good with chai because it’s rich and creamy, complementing the warm spices
Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies
These must-try vanilla chai spiced sugar cookies are perfect with warm tea on a cozy day. Enjoy chewy cookies with delicious fall spices in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients for the chai spiced sugar cookies and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, pepper, ground cloves, ginger, and cardamom in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar. Stir in the melted butter.
- Add the milk, egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture. Combine thoroughly.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Make sure everything is incorporated to make the vanilla chai sugar cookie dough.
- Scoop the cookies into a baking tray lined with a baking mat or parchment paper. Each scoop is about 1 ½ tbsp of chai spiced sugar cookie dough.
- Leave 3 ½ inches of space between each cookie as they’ll spread in the oven.
- Flatten each scoop with the bottom of a glass. You can flatten the dough to ¼ inch or thicker if you prefer chewy cookies.
- Bake for 11 to 12 minutes. Once the edges are golden brown, let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 2 minutes.
- Transfer the cookies to wire racks and cool completely.
Notes
- To get the perfect flour measurement, weigh your flour instead of scooping the flour from the bag with a measuring cup.
- Get more delicious chai flavor on these sugar cookies by rolling the dough balls in a mixture of chai spice and sugar before baking.
- To achieve the Instagram-worthy “broken edges” on your vanilla chai sugar cookies, you can refrigerate the dough balls for an hour before flattening them.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 207Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 142mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 0gSugar: 17gProtein: 2g
* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for the most accurate results.
Conclusion
Whether you want to try eggnog icing with chai spiced sugar cookies like Taylor Swift’s, or you’re just looking for the perfect partner for your tea, this recipe is for you.
It’s finished in 30 minutes, and you can enjoy the cozy fall flavors regardless of the time of the year.
You can even make the dough for freshly baked holiday cookies in advance to satisfy your cravings whenever!
Want more comforting and indulgent cookie recipes? You have to try these yummy treats and discover the perfect cookie for your cravings: