A few weeks ago I was on a roll with the cookie recipes. I made these delicious chewy chocolate cookies with coffee glaze as a part of a 25 days of cookies countdown. When I made those I also made these Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Bean Glaze and I didn’t know which one I would include in that cookie post. I ended up sharing the chocolate ones because they were ready first, which left me extra time to photograph these pretty babies. On a sidenote, I’m obviously into creating a glaze for all my baked goods this season, don’t mind me – I’m just on a sugar high for the holidays.
Seriously though, these cookies are like a grown up version of everyone’s favorite cookie. The sugar cookie is a classic year round, and adding this chai spice flavoring really takes these over the edge. One of my favorite teas is Vanilla Chai, and these cookies really are the essence of that flavor. I love all of the flecks of vanilla bean in the glaze and the spices that show in the actual cookie too. The pepper and cardamom bring out that chai flavor in addition to the use of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. This recipe uses the same sugar cookie base as my Bing Bong Cookies from my Inside Out Party, I just added the extra spices for that warm vanilla chai flavor.
These are the absolute perfect cookie to enjoy with your favorite coffee or tea!
(Scroll down for recipe measurements and print options)
We’re going to start by combining all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and combining them. Set that bowl aside and cream the butter and sugar in another bowl, then add the eggs and extract. Mix in the dry ingredients, then refrigerate.
Once the dough has been chilled, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a cookie dropper, form the cookies the dip them in sugar.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat, then add the formed cookie dough and flatten sith the bottom of a glass or a flat spatula.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 7-9 minutes. We want the edges golden and the centers soft. Next, remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest on the sheet for a few minutes until they’re slightly cooled, then place on cooling racks until completely cool.
Now it’s time to make the glaze! Add all of the ingredients for the glaze into a small bowl and mix until the glaze is smooth.
Get creative by piping or drizzling the glaze, then add some festive fun using your favorite choice of sprinkles.
Allow the glaze to set before serving.
Enjoy!
- 2½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1½ teaspoon milk
- 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
- 2 vanilla beans, scraped
- Begin by adding the flour, baking powder, salt and spices to a medium bowl and mix together until combined, then set aside. In a separate mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture and mix until the are combined. Cover and refrigerate at least two hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Form the cookie dough with a cookie dropper to keep the sizes uniform, then dip in granulated sugar.
- Place on prepared baking sheet and flatten the cookies just a bit with a flat spatula or the bottom of a clean glass.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 7-9 minutes, until edges are golden. After the cookies are out of the oven for a few minutes, place on cooling racks until they are completely cooled.
- While the cookies are cooling off, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl mix the powdered sugar, milk, cream cheese and vanilla beans until it forms a smooth glaze.
- Drizzle or pipe the glaze onto the cookies, adding festive sprinkles in your color of choice.
- Once the glaze has set they're ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
What’s your favorite holiday cookie?
These are making my mouth water! Dang it! Now I’m gonna be thinking about these sugar cookies until I make them.