Let the baking extravaganza continue!
The second batch of cookies that I attempted this Christmas season worked a little better than the first, (I chilled them for a little while before popping them in the oven, which prevented spreading like the thumbprints) but when it came time to dredge them in powdered sugar, my lack of patience got the better of me. I threw them in when they were a little too hot and ended up with sort of damp, almost glazed cookies instead of the light and fluffy confectioner sugar coating that I was hoping for.
Hell, they still tasted good. Judging by the fact that I had to put them in the freezer so that I would quit eating them, I'd say they turned out just fine.
These cookies are a great alternative to your standard spice cookie, they are complex and buttery, with a dash (well more than a dash) of sweetness from the sugar coating. I highly recommend adding these to your cookie repertoire.
Chai Spiced Cookies
From Whole Foods via thekitchn.com
makes about 40 cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup powered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream butter and sugar together in large bowl with hand mixer (or in your stand mixer, whatever floats your boat). In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, and salt. Beat the flour mixture and the vanilla into the butter mixture just until combined.
Pinch off teaspoon-sized balls of dough and roll them into spheres, placing them 1 inch apart on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. If your dough is really soft and warm like mine was, pop the pans in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm them up. This will prevent the cookies from spreading at least a little bit. Bake until light golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.
Let the cookies cool for about 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet (this is about the point at which I ended up with sticky gooey balls so BE PATIENT). When they have cooled, but are still slightly warm, toss each cookie in the powdered sugar to coat and place on wire rack to cool completely.
Cookies will keep in an airtight container for 1-2 weeks, or in my case as long as it takes to gobble them all up.
Try to save at least a few to share for the holidays.
3 comments:
Anything you have to put in the freezer to keep from eating/reading/etc etc is good enough for me!! Can't wait to try them.....someday. xoxo
hi!!
have tried twice this morning to bake your chai cookie recipe for my niece...did everything you recommended even chilling the dough, both times ended up with silver dollar-looking flat discs. I have baked for many years. I have made chai cookies before that were an absolute success but failed to find the recipe, I figured how different can yours be from the one I made a couple of years ago???
Thank you
Sorry for the delay!
So the first thing that comes to mind is that you may be over beating your cookies. Meaning, when you cream your butter and sugar together, you want to do it JUST until it is combined. You don't want to beat a lot of air into them, otherwise they will spread. (For example, when you bake a cake you want to beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy to give it that extra rising power) If you do that with cookies, they will want to rise and they can turn into big blobs. I had this problem with some other cookies i made and finally figured out what I was doing wrong. I hope this helps!
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