Chai Shortbread Cookies
Dec 13, 2017, Updated May 07, 2023
Shortbread Cookies spiced with chai spices and flavors!
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Spiced, buttery and festive Chai Shortbread Cookies!
Cookie season! Isn’t it everyones favorite? What are you guys baking this year? One of my favorite cookies to bake during Christmas are shortbread cookies and this time around I gave a twist by adding chai spices to them. These Chai Shortbread Cookies aren’t your regular shortbread, they are spiced with cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and black pepper which makes them so much more flavorful.
I haven’t baked much this year because I have been terribly busy with a big surprise that’s coming your way early next year. I can’t wait to share the news with you guys very soon, so stay tuned! Anyway back to the cookies, so like I said I haven’t got the time to really get into the kitchen and bake up a storm but I do wanted to share few easy cookie recipes with you guys before the year is over. These Chai Shortbread Cookies are just that – easy, festive & delicious!
The first time I baked these cookies – I used half the amount of spices listed in the ingredients list below. They sure were good but I really wanted them to be full of chai flavors and so for the next batch, I doubled the spices and voila I found my perfect cookies. Let me warn you guys though, these cookies have a lot of spices going on, so if you aren’t a fan simply half the amount of spices, it would still be very good.
These Chai Shortbread Cookies are spiced with
✓ cardamom
✓ cinnamon
✓ cloves
✓ ginger
✓ black pepper
✓ a dash of vanilla
Other than these spices, I also used some loose black tea leaves to bring out the chai flavors. Basically, I just ground the tea leaves with the spices in my coffee grinder and then use in the recipe. I like using powdered sugar for my shortbread cookies because it gives them a more smooth texture but granulated sugar would work just fine. To make the cookies look more festive, I rolled them in raw/turbinado sugar but that’s completely optional.
I enjoyed these chai shortbread cookies with a cup of chai (of course!). They go equally well with coffee or hot chocolate. Making the dough is really easy and then you can either chill it for few hours then slice and bake or roll up the dough, cut out shapes and bake them. I prefer chilling the dough for few hours because I like the ease of slicing the cookies and baking them, saves me time.
These Chai Shortbread Cookies would make a wonderful gift for your friends & family. Just tie them up in cute little treat bags and gift them to your loved ones. Hope you guys enjoy this little twist to the classic shortbread and give it a try this festive season!
Method
To a coffee grinder add loose black tea leaves along with the following spices – ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger and ground black pepper. Grind for few pulses till everything is well combined & uniform and set aside.
Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer or using your hand mixer, beat together butter and powdered sugar till smooth and creamy.
Add in the prepared chai spice mix, vanilla extract and combine.
Add the flour and mix to combine. The dough should come together on its own as you continue to combine the flour using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer. If it doesn’t come together, just use your hands to form a dough.
Divide dough into 2 equal parts and make logs, 7 to 8 inches long. Wrap them in a plastic sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or overnight.
Once chilled, take the logs out of the fridge, roll into raw sugar (optional) and cut into slices. I cut each log into 12 cookies. Pre heat oven to 350 F degrees.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper) around 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 F degrees for 15-17 minutes. Remove from oven, let them sit in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.
* Prep time doesn’t include the chilling time of 3-4 hours. You may also bake these cookies right away. Just roll dough, cut into shapes and bake.
* Adjust spice levels to taste. These cookies are heavily spiced, cut spices into half if you aren’t a fan of these spices.
Chai Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Chai spice mix
- 2 teaspoons loose black tea leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cookies
- 1.5 sticks unsalted butter 12 tablespoons, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup +1 tablespoons powdered sugar 75 grams
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour 195 grams
turbinado sugar, to roll the cookies
Instructions
- To a coffee grinder add loose black tea leaves along with the following spices - ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger and ground black pepper.
- Grind for few pulses till everything is well combined & uniform and set aside.
- Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer or using your hand mixer, beat together butter and powdered sugar till smooth and creamy.
- Add in the prepared chai spice mix, vanilla extract and combine.
- Add the flour and mix to combine. The dough should come together on its own as you continue to combine the flour using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer. If it doesn't come together, just use your hands to form a dough.
- Divide dough into 2 equal parts and make logs, 7 to 8 inches long. Wrap them in a plastic sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or overnight.
- Once chilled, take the logs out of the fridge, roll into raw sugar (optional) and cut into slices. I cut each log into 12 cookies.
- Pre heat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Place the cookies on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper) around 2 inches apart.
- Bake at 350 F degrees for 15-17 minutes. Remove from oven, let them sit in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Chai Shortbread
