Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Just like a dirty chai – but BETTER!
Texture: These cookies are ultra thick & soft.
Ease: Simple 30-minute recipe.
Pros: Quick & fun twist on the classic sugar cookie that’s perfect for fall and holiday baking. Your house will smell AMAZING after baking.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? Absolutely.
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These Chai Sugar Cookies are the perfect quick, easy, cozy afternoon bake when it’s chilly outside.
I remember the first time I ever tasted chai as a teenager. I was amazed.
It was like the flavors of autumn but even more interesting and slightly exotic.
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And that was just an iced chai from the Starbucks at the mall.
These cookies are infused with all the chai spices you know and love. I even topped them with an espresso glaze, so I guess technically these are dirty chai cookies.
Whatever you want to call them, they make the perfect afternoon pick-me-up all season long and will make your home smell better than every fall candle from Bath & Body Works.
Whether you enjoy these cookies as a cozy fall baking treat, an easy Friendsgiving dessert, or a unique Christmas cookie, they’re bound to be a hit!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Chai Sugar Cookies
Measure Your Flour Correctly!
I highly recommend weighing your flour with a digital kitchen scale. If you add too much flour, your cookies won’t spread at all and will be dry instead of soft and chewy. If you don’t have a scale, use the spoon and level method.
The Sugar
This recipe calls for granulated sugar (white sugar) with a splash of honey. That liquid sweetener helps to create slightly puffy and soft cookies because of the extra moisture it adds. You can omit the honey if you don’t have any, but your cookies won’t be as soft and fluffy.
Cornstarch
There’s just a touch of cornstarch to help make these cookies softer and more tender. Feel free to omit if you don’t have any, but your cookies won’t be quite as soft and tender.
Eggs
I use an extra egg yolk in this recipe for an extra dose of richness, moisture, and chewiness.
The Spices
I used pretty traditional chai spices, but feel free to experiment with the spices and amounts. Check your spices to ensure they’re not expired. Even if they’re not expired, give them a sniff and make sure they’re still very aromatic – otherwise, your cookies may be bland. Older spices carry much less flavor than fresh spices, so just be aware of that and adjust accordingly.
Chai Sugar Cookie Glaze
- The espresso glaze is simply made by combining a splash of espresso with powdered sugar.
- I just used instant espresso powder + boiling water to make things easy.
- You can also use very strong coffee.
- To make pretty cookies, transfer the glaze to a sandwich baggie or small piping bag. Snip a small hole (smaller than you might think!) in one corner and pipe the glaze on top of the cookies in stripes.
- Make sure the glaze is completely set and dry to the touch before stacking these cookies to transport or store.
Can I Skip the Glaze?
Sure! I like the added flavor and the pretty appearance, but feel free to skip it if preferred.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Sure! Simply double all ingredients listed to make about 46 cookies – no other modifications needed.
Can I Make Chai Sugar Cookies Ahead of Time?
Yes! I prefer to make the dough, portion it out, and freeze it inside an airtight container to bake it off whenever the craving strikes! Learn how to freeze cookie dough and bake from frozen here.
How to Store Chai Sugar Cookies
These cookies will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To ensure they stay soft, add a tortilla to the container to prevent the cookies from drying out.
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love:
Chai Sugar Cookies
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Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (270 grams) all-purpose flour,
measured correctly - 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 large egg, at cool room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at cool room temperature
For the glaze:
- 1 1/4 cups (156 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons espresso or strong coffee*
Instructions
Make the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, ginger, and cloves.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and honey. On low speed, gradually add in the flour mixture until just combined.
- Divide the dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls using a medium spring-loaded scoop and drop onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Gently flatten dough with the smooth side of a spatula.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are just set and slightly golden brown. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
Make the glaze:
- In a small bowl, use a small whisk or a fork to combine the powdered sugar and espresso until a thick but pourable glaze forms. Drizzle all over the cooled cookies. Allow the glaze to set completely before storing or transporting.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
This post was originally published in 2018 and has been updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
I was a little disappointed. I have made quite a few of your recipes and they always turn out great.
These cookies were small and not spread and i thought dry. I would do more spice next time. Not sure if I did not do something correct. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
These cookies are my entire personality now. AND I made these with gluten free flour for my husband with a 1:1 ratio (King Arthur Baking Measure for Measure Flour) and they were AMAZING. Seriously easy and delicious cookies.
Love that, Bailey! So glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for sharing that your substitution worked perfectly 🙂
I love chai, so I am excited to try these! What do you recommend for the glaze for those of us who don’t like coffee?
You can simply omit the glaze or swap the espresso out with milk and a splash of vanilla 🙂 I’d start out with 1 tablespoon of milk and add more as needed for your desired consistency. You could also try a white chocolate drizzle, like in our Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies here!
Sorry forgot to give 5 stars! 😊✨
I made these tonight. I didn’t have the cardamom and allspice so went a tad bit more on the other spices and added in about half a teaspoon Mexican vanilla and oh my word they’re so good! I didn’t even do the glaze either. I dipped a couple of them in a cup of hot tea and it was soo good! Definitely a new favorite!
Can the honey be substituted for vanilla bean paste instead? To give them a vanilla chai flavor?
We haven’t tried that, but the honey actually does more than simply sweeten these cookies. It assists the granulated sugar in making the cookies soft and fluffy! You’re welcome to add vanilla bean paste to the cookies as well, but I’d add it in addition to the honey, and not as a substitute. Let us know how it turns out!
I had used vanilla bean paste and they came out great and were nice and soft! 🙂 I did not add honey.
Glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Deliciously soft and sweet. They eat almost more like soft ginger bread but with a more mixed spice flavor. We ate them warm and un-iced and they were delicious.
They came out perfect and were easy and fun to bake. Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe!
Ooo they look amazing, Kirsten!
These cookies are a staple in my house now. Ever since the first time I made them they’ve been a hit. They’re still delicious cookies but have a depth of flavor other sugary cookies don’t.
These were very delicious, I love the spice flavor. I added a little blood orange olive oil to add a touch of citrus flavor. I also ran out of powdered sugar so I rolled the cookies in the chai spice mix instead of using the glaze. I also added used 1/4 brown sugar and reduced the granulated sugar (I like a deeper flavor). Simple yet delicious results.
I was gifted chai spice. Can I use it instead? How much?
Hi Leslie! We haven’t tried these cookies with chai spice instead of the listed spices, and it really depends on your gifted spice as to how much you’ll need. Some chai spices contain different types of spices, and all in different ratios, so it might take a little tinkering – but you could try using 5 teaspoons (ie the total of the spices listed in the recipe) and experiment from there. Let us know how it goes 🙂
The spice was very mild. Still very good. Next time I’ll add a full 2TLB.
I made these cookies and followed the recipe but i found the dough to be so dry! I’m not sure where it went wrong but i had to add a few tablespoons of water.
Hi Cynthia! I’m sorry to hear that these cookies didn’t turn out as they should. How do you measure your ingredients? By volume (using cups), or by weight (using a digital kitchen scale)? When measuring by volume, it’s so easy to mis-measure ingredients (particularly flour) and throw off the entire chemistry of a recipe – resulting in dry or hard cookies. Check out Tessa’s article here, where she talks about how to best measure ingredients to ensure accuracy every time. I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂