Chai Spiced Cookies

🍪 Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Quick to make. 

• Only 15 minutes of chill time. 

• Can be made gluten-free. 

• Lunch box friendly. 

• Can be made with a pre-made chai blend. 

These easy chai spiced cookies or these homemade gingernut biscuits are perfect at the start of your week as they make great lunch box fillers for school and work. 

Can you make these chai cookies using a pre-made chai blend or concentrate?

Although I haven’t tried this myself, if you would like to, I recommend using 1 1/2 tablespoons of your favorite powdered chai blend instead of the individual spices. 

If you would like to add a glaze or icing, try whipping up a quick mixture of icing/confectioners sugar with milk or water and a touch of vanilla extract for delicious vanilla chai cookies. 

To make these into dirty chai cookies, either add a touch of instant powdered coffee into the cookie dough when the spices are added. 

Or make a glaze/icing using the same method as above for the vanilla glaze but instead add instant coffee.  

📋 Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

All purpose flour – is also known as pain flour in Australia. To make these gluten-free chai cookies, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend for baking, using the same quantity, which is 1 1/2 cups (225g). 

Chai spices – if you would like to use a pre-made chai blend, substitute the individual spices for 1 1/2 tablespoons of your powdered chai blend. However, this recipe has not been tested using a pre-made chai blend. 

Unsalted butter – to substitute with salted butter, use the same quantity and do not add the additional 1/4 teaspoon salt to the recipe. 

Brown sugar – not dark brown sugar. Measure your brown sugar by lightly packing it into your measuring cup or weighing it using kitchen scales. 

🥣 Step By Step Instructions (with photos)

How to make these easy chai cookies from scratch in 8 easy steps!

There is a full and detailed recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step one: To a medium-sized mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all the spices. Whisk until well combined. Set aside. 

Step seven: To form cookies, scoop up 2 tablespoons of dough, or weigh out 40g (1.4oz) per cookie and roll it into a smooth ball. Place onto the lined sheet and flatten it down slightly using the palm of your hand into a thick disc.

Step eight: Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the tops look set with slight cracks and the edges are lightly golden. 

💭 Tips For Recipe Success

• Before starting, bring your butter and egg to room temperature. This ensures they emulsify properly with the rest of the ingredients. 

• You will need to bring the dough together using your hands after beating in the flour. 

• Only flatten the cookies, halfway, like a thick disc, not completely flattened. The cookies do spread slightly and puff up. 

• Allow cookies to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes before transferring them to the wire rack. They’re delicate when still warm.

⏲️ Storage Instructions

Store these cookies in an airtight container, at room temperature, for 4-6 days.

To freeze baked chai cookies:

1. Allow them to cool completely. 
2. Place them on a baking sheet, not touching each other, and pop them into the freezer to freeze until solid. 
3. Transfer to a freezer-friendly sealed container, with layers of parchment paper between any layers. Or place them into freezer zip lock bags.
4. Label them with the date and what they are. 
5. Freeze for up to 3 months. 

To thaw baked cookies:

1. Remove them from their container/bag and onto a plate at room temperature for several hours until defrosted. 
2. Or thaw them in the fridge, still in their container/bag, overnight. 
3. Warm them up if desired in the oven or microwave. 

To freeze chai cookie dough:

1. Follow the recipe up to forming the cookies, still chilling the dough for 15 minutes.
2. Form the cookies as per the recipe instructions and place them onto the baking sheet, with a small gap between each cookie disc. 
3. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until solid. 
4. Place the solid cookies in freezer zip-lock bags or into a freezer-friendly sealed container, labeled with the date and recipe name. 
5. Freeze for up to 3 months. 

To bake frozen cookie dough:

1. Remove the cookies from the container/bag and onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving a small gap between each cookie. 
2. Sit them on the counter at room temperature while you pre-heat your oven according to the recipe instructions. 
3. Bake cookies per the recipe method, adding a further 1-2 minutes to the baking time as the cookies were partially frozen. 

💬 Recipe FAQ’s