Chewy Chai-Spiced Sugar Cookies

When a cookie craving hits, this is Lisa’s go-to recipe. She riffed on the traditional snickerdoodle to capture the warm, slightly spicy flavors of chai tea, which she loves. The exact yield depends on how big you choose to make the cookies—and how much of the delicious dough you snack on during the process!

Yield

2 to 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 egg at room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, allspice, black pepper, and cloves. Remove 1/4 cup of the sugar–spice mixture and set aside 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 2 minutes.

Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, mixing until fully incorporated. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in the reserved sugar–spice mixture. Place dough balls about 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet.

Bake until puffed, golden, and the surface starts to crack, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and let stand on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks
to cool.


https://www.jamesbeard.org/recipes/chewy-chai-spiced-sugar-cookies