My soft, chewy, melt-in-your-mouth chai sugar cookies are so delicious, and always a hit! The butter is melted with chai spices to bloom their flavor, and the cookie dough balls are rolled in chai-infused sugar right before baking. Simple, easy, and perfect for the Fall!
Love these cookies? Try out my jasmine sugar cookies!
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🍪 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s perfect for chai lovers! The cookie dough uses an entire tablespoon of chai spice mix, and the dough balls are rolled in chai sugar right before baking!
- The cookies are soft, yet chewy… which is my ideal texture!
- You won’t need any special equipment. Simply melt the butter with the spices, mix everything in one bowl with a silicone spatula, scoop, roll, and bake!
Looking for more easy cookie recipes? Try out my basic sugar cookies, cute lemon sugar cookies, and mini chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients
To make chai cookies from scratch, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- They key ingredient here is chai spice. Feel free to use my homemade mix or buy it from a store!
- Melted unsalted butter makes the cookie dough really easy to mix by hand.
- I like to use a mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar to create the perfect balance of flavor and chew.
- Adding in both baking powder and baking soda gives us the exact texture and rise we’re aiming for!
- You can use either vanilla extract or vanilla paste (1:1) in this recipe.
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
💡 Baking Tips
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- If chilling the dough for longer than 30 minutes, I pre-scoop cookie dough into balls, closely line them on a parchment tray, and chill them. When it’s time to bake, I break off the dough balls, roll them in sugar, and bake. Pre-scooping is easier on my hands and wrists than working with chilled, firmer dough.
- For rounder cookies, place a large circular cutter or mug on top of a freshly baked, warm cookie. Move it around in a circular motion until your cookie is perfectly round! This step is totally optional and purely for plating purposes! 🙂
How to Make Chewy Chai Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Combine butter and chai spice. Fully melt in a pan or in the microwave at 15-second intervals. Transfer to mixing bowl and let chai-infused butter cool to room temperature.
Step 2: Stir sugars until combined, then mix in egg and vanilla.
Step 3: Add in dry ingredients and mix until no dry spots remain. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days. Use a cookie scoop (2-3 tablespoon capacity) to gather dough, then roll into chai sugar. Place cookie dough balls on lined baking sheet about 3 inches apart.
Step 4: Bake at 325°F/162°C for 10-13 minutes or until the edges are set and lightly golden. Remove from the oven let cookies sit on baking tray for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to fully cool.
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
Storage
- Room temperature: Store cooled chai cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. You can also freeze cookie dough balls for up to 3 months and bake from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
- Reheating instructions: Allow frozen (already baked) cookies to thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Or, reheat in the microwave at 10-second intervals.
❤️ More Recipes You’ll Love
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Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
📖 Recipe & Video
Chai Sugar Cookies
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Equipment
- 1 small bowl or plate for rolling dough in sugar
- 1 medium mixing bowl for dry ingredients
- 1 large mixing bowl for mixing dough
- 1 Medium cookie scoop 2-3 tablespoon capacity
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) fine sea salt or fine sea salt
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon (6 g) chai spice feel free to use store-bought!
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) light or dark brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon (13 g) vanilla extract or paste
- 1 (1) egg room temperature
For rolling:
- 4 tablespoons (48 g) granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoons (3 g) chai spice feel free to use store-bought!
Instructions
For the cookie dough:
- Add ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon (6 g) chai spice into a saucepan and heat until melted. Alternatively, melt in a microwave-safe bowl in 15-second intervals. Let fully cool.
- In a large bowl, use silicone spatula to mix melted chai-infused butter, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, and ¼ cup (55 g) light or dark brown sugar until combined.
- Mix in 1 egg and 1 tablespoon (13 g) vanilla until smooth.
- Add in all of the dry ingredients: 1 ½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking powder, ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda, and ½ teaspoon (3 g) fine sea salt. Mix until no dry spots remain.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, or up to 2 days.
Scoop & bake cookies:
- Preheat oven to 325°F/162°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl or plate, mix 4 tablespoons (48 g) granulated sugar and ½ tablespoons (3 g) chai spice.
- Use cookie dough scoop to gather dough (2-3 tablespoons). Roll into chai-infused sugar and place on lined baking tray, spacing cookies about 3-4 inches apart.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden brown and set. Cool cookies on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!TIP: For rounder cookies, place a large circular cutter or mug on top of a freshly baked, warm cookie. Move it around in a circular motion until your cookie is perfectly round! This step is totally optional and purely for plating purposes! 🙂
Notes
- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
- Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. You can also freeze cookie dough balls for up to 3 months and bake from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
- Reheating instructions: Allow frozen (already baked) cookies to thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Or, reheat in the microwave at 10-second intervals.
