Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Just like a dirty chai – but BETTER!
Texture: The 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.
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.
How to Make Chai Sugar Cookies
The Sugar
This Chai Sugar Cookies 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 a little softer. Feel free to omit if you don’t have any.
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 less flavor; fresh spices will carry a LOT more flavor. So, just be aware of that and adjust accordingly.
Chai Sugar Cookies Glaze
- The espresso glaze is simply made by combining a splash of espresso with powdered sugar.
- You can also use very strong coffee if you don’t have espresso.
- I just used instant espresso powder + boiling water to make things easy.
- If you’d prefer, you can also omit the glaze entirely. I just like the added flavor and interest it gives these cookies.
- To make picture-perfect glazed cookies, transfer the glaze to a sandwich baggie or small piping bag. Snip a small hole in one corner and use that to pipe the glaze onto the cookies in stripes (as evenly or unevenly as you wish – they’ll look pretty either way!).
- Make sure the glaze is completely set and dry to the touch before stacking these cookies to transport or store.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Sure! Simply double all ingredients listed to make about 46 cookies.
Can I Make Chai Sugar Cookies Ahead?
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 doughs and bake off from the freezer here.
How to Store Chai Sugar Cookies
These Chai Sugar Cookies will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you want to ensure they stay soft, add a little scrap of bread, a tortilla, or an apple wedge to the container, to prevent the cookies from drying out.
Cookie Customization Guide
Want to learn how to make your cookies softer, chewier, cakier, crisper, or whatever else your heart desires?! Download my FREE Cookie Customization Guide here!
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love:
- Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gingerdoodle Cookies
- Soft Batch Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Recipe
Chai Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (270 grams) all-purpose flour
- 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
- 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 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 cooled cookies. Allow the glaze to set.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
This post was originally published in 2018 and has been updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Loved it…even added some chai xmas tea mix into the batter…very good and I love the fact you can mix it up a bit to make your own cookies too!!
these taste really good but mine are a bit dry…i’m not sure what i did wrong? also my glaze is much more runny than in the photos. in orer to get a nice “structural” drizzle, coul i add more sugar?
For the glaze, you would half the recipe, and add more powdered sugar, until right consistency. If you made the full glaze recipe and added more powdered sugar, you would end up with loads. As for dryness, you could add a little more butter, as you mix it, watch the texture, or try a teaspoon of milk. Could be your butter, every brand has a different amount of milk solids, resulting in different results than Tess.
thank you shirley 🙂
Am making this for a kids birthday, do you think if will still be good if i skip the spices. Honey sugar cookies sound so good by themselves
What a wonderful idea! This cookie suits the Canadian fall weather we’ve been having. It was a hit from my family and friends. I altered the recipe a little, adding nutmeg and allspice predominately. And honestly I have never heard of a coffee glaze before (or maybe i’m late to it) but it really hit the spot. I was worried it would be too much. Both with and without the glaze taste awesome! Thank you for this recipe!
these came out so delicious! I made a few changes since I am dairy free > I substituted out the butter for canola oil (about 8 tablespoons) & I used a pre-mix of masala chai spices from the Indian grocery store that I had on hand but it didn’t have cinnamon so I added that. I also only used one whole egg instead of the extra egg yolk. My cookies didn’t flatten much in the baking process but I was totally fine with that since they were still soft and chewy!
but I am going to be making these often + I loved the espresso glaze – such a nice touch!
Can i skip the creaming process?
Texture will not be the same.
delicious and posted on IG thanks for all the testing you do. I only made half of the espresso glaze since I wanted a little less sweet.
Hi!
Where I live ground cloves are nowhere to be found, and I already tried to ground them myself making other recipes but it was like it wasn’t even there. Do you think I can change it to something else but still keeping the taste you got in there? I tried to look for them online but even with the fastest shipping I would not receive them before early January..
Just made these. With zero substitutions (instant coffee instead of espresso) and they are AMAZING! Soft, chewy – totally outstanding. Perfect for the non chocolate people 🙂
Yay! Glad to hear it 🙂
If I was feeling extreeemely lazy… could I just ground up some tea leaves and put that in instead of the spices? I love love looove chai tea!
These cookies look so delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
they look amazing cannot wait to try. Have you baked them without flattening them?