Easy Chai & Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipe | Postcard from My Kitchen | San Diego Lifestyle Photographer

“Sugar and spice and everything nice. That’s what girls are made of…”  (And chai and vanilla sugar cookies).

For a few years I gave up coffee and started drinking chai tea instead.  I was introduced to the aromatic, spicy tea by Trish, my coworker who would later become  one of my best friends. It became a morning ritual: we  would both start our days off making authentic chai tea together using strong black tea, milk, sugar, and a generous pinch of chai masala before tackling the long work day.  She gave me the idea of adding chai masala (a blend of about 5 different spices that flavors our chai) to sugar cookies. The outcome? A delectable cookie with sweet and spicy notes — perfect for holiday baking .  I made these chai and vanilla sugar cookies for a cookie exchange and they were a hit! I love how easy it is since I don’t have to bake from from scratch–instead I use Betty Crocker’s sugar cookie mix. 😉 There’s only 5 main ingredients for this easy recipe!  I want to try different variations of this chai cookie recipe…maybe even add some coffee to the batter for “dirty chai” cookies. 🙂 For now, read on for the super simple recipe and directions on how to make these easy chai & vanilla sugar cookies.

Easy Chai & Vanila Sugar Cookies

Recipe Yields: ~20 medium sized cookies depending on how many you eat before they’re completely cool.  I think I ate about three cookies before the last batch was in the oven. I had to make sure each batch passed “inspection.”

Ingredients:

• 2.5 teaspoons Chai Masala*
• 1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
•  ½ cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 egg

*I bought my chai masala in a local indian grocery store, but it can also be found online.  Once you’re on their website, type in: “Nirav  Tea Masala”.  Or, you can blend your own Chai Masala Spice:

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon dry ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• a pinch of ground cloves
• a pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

1.) Heat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. In a large bowl, stir in cookie mix, chai masala, butter, vanilla, and egg until very soft dough forms.

2.) Shape the dough into 1 ½ inch balls. Place ungreased parchment paper on cookie sheets, then place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart.

3.) Bake 8-10 minutes or until the edges are a light golden brown.

4.) Let the cookies stand for 2 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack or a plate with a spatula.

Happy Holidays! I hope you love these chai and vanilla sugar cookies as much as I do. Be sure to tell me how they turn out!
xoxo,