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Have you ever had a warm cup of pumpkin pie? You heard me. Or read me. Have you? That’s how Chai was described to me. A warm cup of pumpkin pie…just minus the pumpkin. All spicy, warm and delicious. And that’s exactly how it tasted. From the first sip, I was hooked and so was my Mother. After that, anything that contained the word “Chai” had us. So as this baking season emerged from its summertime slumber, I knew I wanted to play around with those flavors and what I could do with it leading into the colder months. Once my mind started wandering towards Christmas time, I knew that Chai cookies had to be on the list. I was excited for this year’s agenda as I wasn’t tied to any countries this time around as I was to the Pandemic Passport, which I have no ill will towards. But I knew I could create things that I wanted to create. And a warm, spicy sugar cookie was high on my list.

Photo courtesy of Oregon Chai

So what is Chai? Chai, also known as Masala Chai, is a tea based drink made by steeping black tea in milk and water with a blend of spices and aromatic herbs. With its origins beginning in South Asia, you can now find the drink globally in many coffee houses and tea rooms. You are able to find Chai tea bags in almost all grocery stores or you can grab a Chai Tea Latte at almost any cafe. Chai Tea Latte’s are often a concentrated Chai mix combined with steamed milk. Often they are also available Iced. So what flavors are actually in Chai? Well the usual suspects often include cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, all spice and star anise. Sometimes you can find peppercorns and fennel mixed in depending on the blend. Combined, they remind you of a spice cookie, or of course, pumpkin pie.

Beings that most of these spices emerge around this time of year and do pack a punch, they can be added to any vanilla based item such as ice cream, custards or… cookies! This recipe came to me in a very simple way and is quite easy to make as well. No rest time, no massive prep time and no complications. You don’t even need to decorate them if you don’t want to!

Grab your room temperature butter and sugar and cream that together in your mixer. Then add in your eggs, vanilla extract and lemon zest.

In a separate bowl, add your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt and chai spice. The chai spice can be created in a separate bowl and then stored for later use since you are only using part of it in the recipe. Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Don’t overmix!

Roll each cookie into a 1 inch ball and set on a parchment lined sheet tray. Repeat until all the dough is used.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until cookies begin to brown around the edges. Feel free to bake longer if you like a more well done cookie. My Aunt Clare used to love hers burnt so you do you.

Allow these to cool and grab your white chocolate chips or vanilla baking chips. You are going to melt these over a double boiler. Some people will tell you to do them in the microwave and prefer to do them that way. Again, if that works for you, you do you. I’ve never had much success doing that since white chocolate is so temperamental. Bring about two cups of water to a boil and place your chips in a small bowl. Slowly stir until they are completely melted.

Now here you can create a cornet bag to put your chocolate into or simply place it in a Ziplock bag and cut the very tip of a corner. Place your warm melted chocolate in and slowly drizzle across your cooled cookies. You can decide how much chocolate you’d like to put on. I went with just a hint of it and some sprinkles. Feel free to add any other flourishes that you may like. Sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, a dash of more chai spice.

And that’s it! These with a mug of hot chocolate would be the perfect item to warm a cold night or snow day. And if you haven’t tried Chai, you need to. It warms you from the inside out, which we all need around this time of year.

Soft Chai Sugar Cookies with White Chocolate Drizzle

Makes 24 cookies

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1½ cups granulated sugar plus more for sprinkling
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon chai spice*
  • 1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Chai Spice Recipe

  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon ginger

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Individually add the eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest and mix well.

Whisk the dry ingredients together and add them to the wet ingredients. Mix until combined.

Make 1″ dough balls and sprinkle with sugar. Place them evenly around a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350°F for 8-12 minutes (or until the bottoms are lightly tan).

Place two cups of water in small pot and bring to a boil. Place white chocolate chips in a small bowl and place over boiling water. Stir until melted.

Place melted chocolate in a cornet bag or Ziplock bag. Cut the tip and decorate cookies with drizzle lines. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.