Chai Shortbread Cookies
Introducing Chai Shortbread Cookies! Warming chai spices get wrapped up in buttery shortbread then dusted with powdered sugar.
These chai shortbread cookies are not new, but I made them soooo long ago it was time for a reshoot and revisit of the recipe techniques. Not much has changed, they are still as delicious as ever, I just made one little tweak to make things a little less messy. Let’s make them!
Not only do these shortbread cookies taste festive and delicious, they also make the house smell better than any holiday scented candle ever could. These would be great for any holiday cookie swap plans you might have. Just sayin’.
For the chai element in these cookies I used the chai latte mix from Trader Joe’s. If you don’t have access to a Trader Joes or don’t want to use this mix you can also use actual chai tea (from a bag or loose leaf) ground up in the same amount the recipe calls for.
Ingredients for Chai Shortbread Cookies
- unsalted butter
- brown sugar
- vanilla
- salt
- all-purpose flour
- chai latte mix or finely ground chai tea
- powdered sugar
First, use a pastry blender to blend butter and brown sugar until it’s a bit creamy.
Then add flour, chai mix and salt and blend again until a dough begins to form. It will take a few minutes to reach a dough-like consistency but it will happen, just keep working the dough with the pastry blender until it looks like the third photo in the row below.
Once you get those sheet-like chunks of dough coming through the pastry blender, you should be able to smush the dough into a smooth clump.
When you can grab a clump of dough and squeeze it into a smooth shape like the photo above, you’re ready to roll! Next, roll the dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. A cookies scoop works great for this, you’ll have perfectly even cookies! If you don’t use this cookie scoop, use 1.5 tbsp of dough per cookie.
Bake until they are golden around the edges, about 20-25 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool for 15 minutes, then dust with powdered sugar using a mesh strainer. My original recipe called for rolling the cookies in powdered sugar while warm to coat. You can still do this if you’d like but they cookies taste the same and it’s much less messy and quicker too!
Shortbread is best when cooled, try to let the cookies rest for at least 30 minutes before enjoying!
Other chai recipes you’ll love
Iced Dirty Chai Latte with Brown Sugar Syrup
PrintChai Shortbread Cookies
Warming chai spices wrapped up in buttery shortbread get dusted with the most delicious snow— powdered sugar.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 18 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp chai drink mix or finely ground chai tea
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Cut the (cold) butter into cubes and place in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender to combine the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until creamy.
- Add the flour, salt and chai and continue blending until a dough forms that you can press together with your hands.
- Use a 1 1/2 tbsp cookie scoop to measure enough dough for one cookie. Roll the dough in your hands to form a ball and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Place each dough ball about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
- After removing the cookies from the oven, allow them to cool for 15 minutes, then dust with powdered sugar using a mesh strainer. Allow cookies to cool at least an additional 15 minutes before eating.
- Enjoy!
