Punch up your usual holiday gingerbread cookie with this Chai Ginger Cookie recipe. Chai tea spices, heavy on the ginger, are baked into a soft and chewy molasses cookie base with black tea-infused butter. A vanilla cream glaze takes this cookie to Chai Tea Latte cookie territory. It may become your favourite ginger cookie.
As you know, we have a thing for ginger cookies around here. These chewy triple ginger cookies are a must for Christmas and requested at the office holiday potlucks.ย But this chai ginger cookie may change all of that. If you want an extra special cookie with all the Chai tea flavours - ginger (of course), cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and a little bit of black pepper - laced with the deep tannins of a good black tea -- this is the cookie for you!ย
Ingredients
Black Tea Butter,ย you have to make this. The star of this cookie is this black tea-infused butter. Please take the time to make this. You have to plan ahead, but it is worth the little extra effort. The black tea adds depth to these cookies.
(However,ย you don't have time to make the tea butter, so use 100grams, or 3.5 ounces of unsalted, softened butter in its place. I promise the cookies will still be delicious. )
Spices. Cinnamon. Ginger. Nutmeg. Cardamon. Ginger is the predominant spice here -- these are molasses cookies after all. The other spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon and black pepper bring the Chai flavours.
Black pepper might seem like an odd ingredient, but it adds bite and plays nicely with the black tea. Don't skip it!
Molassesย gives these cookies a soft, chewy texture and is the perfect base for the sweet and heady spices of chai tea.
Vanilla glaze - a simple glaze of icing sugar, milk (or cream) with a touch of vanilla - drizzled just enough to remind you of your favourite chai latte.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Make the tea butter at least an hour before you want to bake. Instructions for making tea butter are below. You can make the tea butter several days ahead of baking time.
- Get ingredients out - eggs and butter should be at room temperature before baking.
- Mix butter, brown sugar and molasses in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and beat until combined.
- In a small bowl, mix together dry ingredients - flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add dry ingredients the sugar mixture in the stand mixer. Mix until just combined and no dry bites remain.
- Chill cookie batter for at least 30 minutes before baking. This ensures the cookies bake uniformly and keep their shape.
- Shape cookies into balls, about 1 tablespoon each, or 22-25 grams each.
- Roll each cookie ball in crystalized sugar, then place on a baking sheet
- Bake 10-12 minutes and cool completely before glazing.
- Make glaze by combining icing sugar and milk (or cream) with a touch of vanilla. Adjust the consistency of the glaze by adding more milk. Go slow, you need less liquid than you think! Start with one tablespoon, stir well and only add more if still necessary so that the glaze drizzles.
- Drizzle glaze on each cookie. Allow glaze to dry and harden before transferring to a storage container.
Tip: I use my kitchen scale to measure each cookie. It sounds fussy, but it helps ensure my cookies are all the same size. Its impossible to be as accurate with a scoop. Same sized cookies will bake evenly on the same tray and look uniform on your cookie platter. You can get an inexpensive digital scale here.
Baking Tips
โช When drizzeling the cookies with vanilla cream glaze, set your wire baking rack over a sheet of parchement paper to catch the drips!
โช Use a inexpensive kitchen scale to measure and weigh each cookie so you know each cookie is the same size.
โช Bake on cookie sheet at a time so that you don't have to worry about rotating cookie sheets between top and bottom racks in the oven. I like lower middle position best in my oven and only bake on sheet at a time.
โช While one cookie sheet is baking, roll and prep the remaining cookie dough so the next batch is ready for baking as soon as the first batch comes out of the oven.
Storage
Cookies will keep on the counter in an air-tight container for about 5 days. I've had good luck with freezing the cookies up to 1 month.
Looking for other great cookie recipes like this? Try these:
๐ Recipe
Chai Spiced Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
Tea Butter
- 100 grams unsalted butter 3.5 oz or about 7 tablespoons
- 2 black tea bags I used a vanilla-scented black tea. Use your favourite good quality. You will open and empty the tea into the melted butter
Cookie dough
- Tea Butter or 7 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 125 grams packed brown sugar about ยฝ cup
- 75 grams molasses about 3 tablespoons
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 240 grams all-purpose flour 2 cups
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- ยผ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ยฝ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- ยผ teaspoon ground cardamon
- ยผ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- organic cane sugar or turbinado sugar for rolling
Vanilla Glaze
- ยพ cup icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
- ยฝ teaspoon vaniila extract
- 1 tablespoon milk more as needed to acheive desired consistency
Instructions
Make Tea Butter
- In a small saucepan, melt butter on low heat. Open two black tea bags and empty dried tea to the melting butter, mixing well. Do not boil or simmer butter, just melt. Transfer tea butter to a small bowl and refrigerate until solid. Plan ahead. It will take about 30 minutes for the butter in the butter solidify. Be sure to remove tea butter from the refrigerator about an hour before baking so that butter softens to room temperature.100 grams unsalted butter, 2 black tea bags
Make Cookie Dough
- Combine soften tea butter, brown sugar and molasses to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until light an fluffy. This will take a few minutes. Add the egg, scraping the bowl inbetween, and beat in the egg.Tea Butter, 125 grams packed brown sugar, 75 grams molasses, 1 large egg
- In a small bowl combine together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg and cardamon. Whisk to combine.240 grams all-purpose flour, ยฝ teaspoon baking soda, ยผ teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ยฝ teaspoon finely ground black pepper, ยผ teaspoon ground cardamon, ยผ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Add dry ingredients to the sugar mixture in the stand mixer and mix on lowe speed until well combined. There should be no dry spots. At this point, chill dough in the refrigerator about a hour before shaping and baking the cookies.
Bake cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchement paper.
- Scoop about tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough, 22-25 grams each, and roll into uniform balls. Roll each ball in the organic can sugar and place on the parchment paper, about 3 inches apart. On a 13x16 inch baking sheet, you can fix 12 cookies.organic cane sugar or turbinado sugar
- Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until edges are slight browned and cookies have puffed- up and cracked as they settle. Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the pan before moving to a cooling rack. Allow cookies to completely cool before adding glaze.
Vanilla glaze
- Combine icing sugar, vanilla and milk in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth and creamy and well combined. You may need to add a bit more milk to get the desired consistency. Be a bit patient before you add too much to be sure the milk is fully incorporated before your add more, glaze will continue to thin as you stir. Drizzle glaze over each cookie. Allow glaze to harden before transfering cookies to an airtight container for storageยพ cup icing sugar (confectioner's sugar), ยฝ teaspoon vaniila extract, 1 tablespoon milk
Comments
No Comments