Cinnamon and Vanilla Chai Cookies

Each bite of these Spiced Chai Cookies is a moment of cosy bliss! Using Whittard Cinnamon and Vanilla Chai Loose Tea to infuse brown butter gives these cookies a warm and comforting flavour. The combination of aromatic spices, chewy edges, a gooey middle and melted white chocolate chunks, creates a unique and delicious treat that can be enjoyed with a hot cuppa.

This post is kindly sponsored by Whittard of Chelsea.

Ingredients For Spiced Chai Cookies

To make these delicious cookies, you will need:

• Unsalted Butter: The butter is first melted and browned to release a nutty, caramel aroma before being combined with the other ingredients. It completely transforms the cookie dough and is an extra step that’s worth taking!
• Whittard Cinnamon & Vanilla Chai Loose Leaf Tea: These tea leaves infuse the brown butter and bring the magic of chai – the cosy warmth of cinnamon, the floral notes of vanilla and hints of other spices making your chai cookies sing. It’s like a cosy hug in every bite!
• Light Brown Sugar: Brown sugar adds a hint of molasses to your recipe, resulting in a subtle caramelised flavour. It also gives the cookies an extra moist and gooey texture inside.
• White Caster Sugar: Contributes sweetness and gives the cookies chewy edges.
• 1 Whole Egg and 1 Egg Yolk: Using eggs at room temperature helps them incorporate into the recipe more easily, and adding an extra yolk adds extra richness to the recipe.
• Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavour with a subtle vanilla aroma. Try and use vanilla extract rather than essence if you can for an all-natural strong flavour.
• Self-Raising Flour: Binds the ingredients together, gives the cookies structure, and a thicker texture from the raising agent in the flour.
• Salt: A pinch of salt helps to balance the flavours and enhances the white chocolate flavour.
• White Chocolate Chunks: Adds sweetness and a creamy texture, complementing the other ingredients perfectly. Plus is a cookie a cookie without chocolate chunks!?

Why Use Browned Butter in this Chai Cookie Recipe?

Browned butter is butter that has been melted and cooked until its milk solids turn brown. Using browned butter in a recipe adds a depth of flavour, with a rich, nutty taste which works perfectly with the chai spices of the loose leaf tea. It’s an extra step, but one definitely worth taking!

To get the cosy chai flavours into the cookie dough, I added the tea leaves to the browned butter to infuse and then strained the mixture to remove the tea leaves. This means we get the flavours of the chai, but none of the extra liquid from the tea which helps the cookies to stay nice and thick!

How to Make a Simple Chai Glaze

This chai glaze couldn’t be easier to make – it’s only 3 ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to make, but adds an extra cosy cuddle of chai flavour to the cookies. You can drizzle the chai glaze onto the cookies with a spoon, pipe it onto the cookies for a super neat finish or you could even dunk the cookies in the glaze to coat them instead – it’s up to you!

Quick Recipe Success Tips

• Brown the butter: when making the brown butter watch it closely as it can easily burn and have a bitter taste. It helps to use a stainless steel saucepan so you can see the colour of the butter, as soon as it looks golden and has small brown flecks, remove from the heat.
• Chill the cookie dough: Chilling the rolled chai cookies before baking allows the butter to firm back up, and means the cookies won’t lose their shape as much when they bake. It stops them spreading out too much, meaning you’ll have a thick, indulgent cookie rather than a thinner one. It can be hard to wait while the dough is chilling but it’s 100% worth it!
• Underbake the cookies for the best texture: For gooey, soft chai cookies, it’s best to take them out of the oven when they still look underbaked. They will continue to cook as they cool down on the baking tray, so be careful not to overbake them!

Spiced Chai Cookies

The perfect form of self care this January – bake these delicious chai cookies which offer a delightful twist on traditional cookies, infusing them with the comforting flavours of chai. The combination of aromatic spices and white chocolate creates a unique and flavourful treat that can be enjoyed with a cup of tea – enjoy a moment of cosy bliss in every bite!

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Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 10 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 1 hour hour

Total: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients

For the chai cookie dough

• 160 grams unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons Whittard Cinnamon & Vanilla Chai Loose Leaf Tea
• 150 grams light brown sugar
• 100 grams white caster sugar
• 1 whole egg room temperature
• 1 egg yolk room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 280 grams self-raising flour
• 0.5 teaspoon salt
• 150 grams white chocolate

For the chai glaze

• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon Whittard Cinnamon & Vanilla Chai Loose Leaf Tea
• 40 grams icing sugar

Instructions

To make the chai cookie dough:

• Start by browning the butter. Measure the butter into a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted.
• Add the Whittard Cinnamon & Vanilla Chai Loose Leaf Tea. Continue to heat for another 4-5 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until the melted butter is foamy on top, a golden amber colour beneath and has a nutty aroma. Be careful not to overheat as otherwise the butter with burn and turn bitter.
• Strain the chai-infused brown butter through a sieve into a mixing bowl and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
  
• Now, mix in the brown and white sugars until well combined.
• Mix in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract.
• Fold in the flour and salt until the mixture comes together to make a thick cookie dough.
• Chop the white chocolate into smallish chunks and fold into the dough.
  
• Scoop up heaped tablespoons of cookie dough and roll into balls, placing them on a lined baking tray as you go. You should be able to make 12 cookies from this recipe.
  
• Cover the cookies with foil and place in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) and line two large baking trays with baking paper.
• Place 4-5 cookies on each baking tray, leaving at least 8cm of space between each, so the cookies have room to spread a little.
• Bake for 10 minutes until golden and firm around the edges. The middle should look pale and underbaked. Leave to cool on the baking tray while you make the chai glaze.
  

To make the chai glaze:

• Pour the milk into a mug and add the Whittard Cinnamon & Vanilla Chai Loose Leaf Tea. Heat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds until steamy and piping hot. Stir the milk then place in the fridge to cool for 5 minutes.
• Strain the infused milk into a mixing bowl and add the icing sugar. Mix together until you have a smooth icing. If the icing is too thick, mix in a drop more milk.
• Either pipe or drizzle the glaze on top of the cookies and allow to set.
  
• Meanwhile make yourself a warm cup of chai tea, then tuck in and enjoy!

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