Chai-spiced Tea Cookies

I keep two cookie recipes tacked inside my spice cabinet door at all times: good old Toll House, and this one. You just might need this recipe taped inside your cabinet, too, because for one thing, these are the fastest cookies ever. It will give you great courage in life to know that a plate of these fragrant little snow bombs is never more than half an hour away. They are pretty and delightfully good!

Pro tip: Measure all the dry ingredients (which is everything but the butter!) into a ziplock. Then when company pops in, it’s all ready to take a quick spin with the butter and then pop right into the oven. By the time the tea is steeped, the cookies are warm and the kitchen smells heavenly!

This makes a small batch, so I always double the recipe. Sometimes I use my Kitchenaid mixer and other times the food processor. Both work fine and super fast, but just a bowl and a spoon would do the trick, too. 


makes about 25 small cookies

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cloves

¾ tsp ground cardamom

¼ tsp salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

for rolling: ¾ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. 

Beat butter with granulated sugar in a medium bowl. 

Stir in vanilla, spices, salt, and flour.

Scoop teaspoons of dough and roll with hands into small balls.

Place on baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.

Bake until lightly golden; about 14-15 minutes.

Place powdered sugar in a pie plate. 

Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar and cool on a baking rack.