Chai Snickerdoodles
Chai snickerdoodles are a twist on a traditional snickerdoodle and are made with chai tea spices and a little expresso powder. My first experience of eating a snickerdoodle was in kindergarten and they are still one of my all-time favorites. I still remember the tangy, cinnamon taste! I love the addition of chai spices: cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper, and expresso powder are mixed into the cookies and the sugar coating. These cookies have a soft and thick texture which I worked to perfect. I found chilling the dough for about 30 minutes made the cookies really puff up. No more flat snickerdoodles!
Ingredients needed to make Chai Snickerdoodles:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, cold (not room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour, sifted (396 gm)
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cardamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of black pepper
- 1/2 tsp expresso powder
Cinnamon mixture:
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cardamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of black pepper
- 1/2 tsp expresso powder
How to make Chai Snickerdoodles:
- Cream softened butter, shortening and the sugar together in large bowl, scraping the sides if necessary. Beat only 1-2 minutes to avoid overmixing.
- Add the cold eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition, then mix in the vanilla.
- Sift the flour and then add the cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and spices and sift together into a medium size bowl. This aerates the flour so it’s nice and fluffy and evenly distributes the spices.
- Add flour mixture 1/3 at a time and mix into the wet ingredients. Mix only until everything is incorporated.
- Take dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. You could make the dough the night before and refrigerate.
- While dough is chilling mix the sugar and spice mixture together in a small bowl for the cookie coating.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- After dough is chilled, break off pieces of dough and form into balls (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter). You can also use a medium size cookie scoop. Roll the balls generously into the sugar mixture to coat.
- Place 2 ” apart on a prepared baking sheet. I like to use a silicon baking sheet. You can also bake on parchment paper or spray the cookie sheet lightly with no stick spray.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from oven when cookies are slightly underbaked. They should start cracking on the top when done.
- Remove cookies and let them sit on the baking sheet to cool for about 3 minutes, then place on a cooling rack. If cookies are very puffy you can flatten them slightly with the spatula. Let cookies completely cool before removing from the rack.
BAKING HINTS:
- Make sure your leavening ingredients (cream of tartar and baking soda) are fresh.
- Use butter at the right temperature so it’s not too hard or too soft. Butter should indent slightly when you press your finger into it.
- Chill your cookie dough so the butter doesn’t melt too fast. This causes cookies to spread. Using part shortening with the butter creates a tender, crumbly texture and helps cookies stay puffy.
- Baking the cookies at a higher temperature causes the exterior of the cookie to set faster and prevents it from spreading.
- Sifting the flour results in a lighter, fluffier cookie.
- Using cold eggs helps keep the butter from melting faster in the baking process.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. Let edges set and center be slightly gooey if you want more chewiness.
- Purchase a silicone baking mat for cookies.
NOTES:
- Cookies will keep in an airtight container for 5-7 days.
- These cookies freeze well in an airtight container for up to three months. Just place in freezer safe container or ziplock bag with a layer of parchment paper or wax paper in between the cookies.
Other yummy cookie recipes to try:
Chai Snickerdoodles
Chai snickerdoodles are a twist on a traditional snickerdoodle and are made with chai tea spices and a little expresso powder.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, cold (not room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour, sifted (396 grams)
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cardamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- pinch nutmeg
- pinch black pepper
- 1/2 tsp expresso powder
Cinnamon Mixture:
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cardamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- pinch nutmeg
- pinch black pepper
- 1/2 tsp expresso powder
Instructions
- Cream softened butter, shortening and the sugar together in large bowl, scraping the sides if necessary. Beat only 1-2 minutes to avoid overmixing.
- Add the cold eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition, then mix in the vanilla.
- Sift the flour and then add the cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and spices and sift together into a medium size bowl. This aerates the flour so it's nice and fluffy and evenly distributes the spices.
- Add flour mixture 1/3 at a time and mix into the wet ingredients. Mix only until everything is incorporated.
- Take dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. You could make the dough the night before and refrigerate.
- While dough is chilling mix the sugar and spice mixture together in a small bowl for the cookie coating.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- After dough is chilled, break off pieces of dough and form into balls (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter). You can also use a medium size cookie scoop. Roll the balls generously into the sugar mixture to coat.
- Place 2 " apart on a prepared baking sheet. I like to use a silicon baking sheet. You can also bake on parchment paper or spray the cookie sheet lightly with no stick spray.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from oven when cookies are slightly underbaked. They should start cracking on the top when done.
- Remove cookies and let them sit on the baking sheet to cool for about 3 minutes, then place on a cooling rack. If cookies are very puffy you can flatten them slightly with the spatula. Let cookies completely cool before removing from the rack.
- BAKING HINTS: *Make sure your leavening ingredients (cream of tartar and baking soda) are fresh. *Use butter at the right temperature so it's not too hard or too soft. Butter should indent slightly when you press your finger into it. *Chill your cookie dough so the butter doesn't melt too fast. This causes cookies to spread. Using part shortening with the butter creates a tender, crumbly texture and helps cookies stay puffy. *Baking the cookies at a higher temperature causes the exterior of the cookie to set faster and prevents it from spreading. *Sifting the flour results in a lighter, fluffier cookie. *Using cold eggs helps keep the butter from melting faster in the baking process. *Don't overbake the cookies. Let edges set and center be slightly gooey if you want more chewiness. *Purchase a silicone baking mat for cookies. NOTES: *Cookies will keep in an airtight container for 5-7 days. *These cookies freeze well in an airtight container for up to three months. Just place in freezer safe container or ziplock bag with a layer of parchment paper or wax paper in between the cookies.
Nutrition
Calories: 120kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!