One of my very favorite recipes is my sugar cookies. It is a huge hit with my family and something that is requested all the time. I have so many great variations on them, and now we have one more. These chai sugar cookies come together just like the original with the addition of some chai tea. It’s a simple variation, but one that you will absolutely fall in love with.
Chai Spices
Chai involves black tea leaves along with spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black peppercorn. The result is a cozy, aromatic flavor that is delicious in tea, lattes, and these cookies! We add chai flavor to these sugar cookies by adding all of the contents of one chai tea bag into the dough.
Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then cut open the chai tea bag and dump the contents into the flour mixture. Discard the bag and stir to combine. Cream butter and sugar. In a bowl with a hand mixer or a stand mixer, mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three to six minutes. Mix in the eggs and the vanilla until well combined. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low, then turn up the mixer to high just long enough that you don’t see streaks of flour. Be sure to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl. Form the dough into cookies. Use a cookie scoop and roll the dough into one-inch sized balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture, then place them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies just begin to turn golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool before enjoying.
Make sure your butter is softened. You want it to be soft enough to dent with your finger, but not soft enough to push all the way through. Let it sit on the counter to come to room temperature, cutting it up into small pieces to speed this up. Do not warm it up in the microwave. Make sure your baking powder is fresh. To make sure it’s active, mix a little bit with some water. It should bubble up right away; if it doesn’t, toss it and get new baking powder. Measure your flour correctly. This tip is so important, it gets its own section below. Don’t rush the creaming. You want the butter and sugar to cream together for a full three minutes. This beats air into the sugar which results in fluffy cookies. Use a cookie scoop. This makes quick work of uniform dough balls that bake evenly and comes in handy in so many cookie recipes.
Give the flour a light whisk in the container it’s stored in. Use a spoon to scoop the flour from its container into a dry measuring cup. Use a flat edge like a spatula or butter knife to level off the excess flour. Repeat as needed for more flour.
Freezing Cookie Dough Balls
You can also freeze the cookie dough balls if you want to bake them fresh later. Line a parchment-lined baking sheet with dough balls and put in the freezer for a few hours. Transfer the frozen dough balls to a freezer-safe bag or container and keep them in the freezer for up to three months. The dough balls can be baked right from frozen. Bake them in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
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If you make this chai sugar cookie recipe or any of my others, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave me a comment and let me know how you enjoyed it.
