Chai Spiced Shortbread Cookies

Name: Chai Spice Shortbread Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 42 min
Ingredients: 1 heaping tablespoon of orange zest (~1 medium orange); 1/3 cup (67 grams) of granulated sugar; 1/2 cup (113 grams) of unsalted butter, room temperature; 1/8 teaspoon of kosher salt; 1 1/4 cup (151 grams) of all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom; 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon of star anise, crushed in a grinder (can be left out if you don't have); 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger; 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves; 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg; Optional glaze, see notes

Sometimes the perfect treats are the ones that sneak up on you. These delicate chai shortbread cookies don’t punch you in the face at first…they’re subtle, packed with warm spices and melt on your tongue, and then you don’t realize how obsessed you are until you’re shoving the third one in your mouth.

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The first time I made these, it was on a whim with company coming over, and I’d also just tried out a new pineapple curd recipe. We ended up all standing at my kitchen island scooping out pineapple curd with these cookies, stuffing our faces with wild abandon.

And while that combo is delightful, it’s a bit less practical for serving. These cookies are totally delish on their own, but can be dressed up a bit with a glaze if you have the inclination. I’ve done two different options and provide both in the recipe notes.

You can use any cookie cutters you want, but this is the set I have and I’m obsessed with the T-rex ones! This one has even more shapes but not (as far as I can tell) the dinosaurs, or you can go all-in on dinos. Let’s be honest, T-rex cookies will win any cookie fight…

I do strongly prefer to weigh my ingredients vs. measure by volume, and I think you get a better result, just FYI. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 F.

Place sugar and orange zest in a mixer bowl. Smash the sugar and zest with the back of a spoon until the sugar becomes moist and fragrant.

Add softened butter to the bowl. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the flour, cardamom, cinnamon, anise, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix until JUST combined…don’t overmix or it will become tough!

It will still be a bit crumbly but you can use your hands to squeeze it together into a roughly round or oval shape on a piece of parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment paper on top and roll to about ~1/3in thick.

Freeze the dough (still between the parchment) for 10-15 minutes.

Use whatever cookie cutters you feel like to cut out cookies.

It doesn’t matter a ton what size of cookies they are, I just strongly recommend having cookies of roughly the same size on the same baking sheet or some will burn before the others are done.

Re-roll scraps and repeat process, handling as little as possible.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes but start keeping a very close eye at 10 minutes—they catch and burn fast!

Let cookies cool on the sheet for 5-10 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack.

Your chai-spiced shortbread will be absolutely amazing on its own, and often I prefer it that way.

But if you want to fancy them up a bit, you can glaze or dip the cookies. I’ve done two different approaches, which I outline in the notes. One was a thin powdered sugar spiced glaze, and the other was melted caramelized chocolate.

You can store the chai shortbread cookies in an airtight container on the counter for a few days. Though I’ll be honest, they definitely did not last that long in my house!

Adapted slightly from I Bake, He Shoots

Other delicious shortbread (& similar) cookie recipes you’ll love:

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Chai Spice Shortbread Cookies

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 42 minutes

These delicious chai spice shortbread cookies are melt-in-your-mouth perfection. They're easy to make, packed with warm spices and a hint of orange, and a lovely afternoon treat!

Ingredients

1 heaping tablespoon of orange zest (~1 medium orange)
1/3 cup (67 grams) of granulated sugar
1/2 cup (113 grams) of unsalted butter, room temperature
1/8 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 1/4 cup (151 grams) of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of star anise, crushed in a grinder (can be left out if you don't have)
1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
Optional glaze, see notes

Instructions

I do strongly prefer to weigh my ingredients vs. measure by volume, and I think you get a better result, just FYI. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 F.

Place sugar and orange zest in a mixer bowl. Smash the sugar and zest with the back of a spoon until the sugar becomes moist and fragrant.

Add softened butter to the bowl. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the flour, cardamom, cinnamon, anise, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix until JUST combined...don't overmix or it will become tough!

Freeze the dough (still between the parchment) for 10-15 minutes.

Use whatever cookie cutters you feel like to cut out cookies (I've linked my faves below) and gently transfer to your prepared baking sheet (the dough is very delicate). It doesn't matter a ton what size of cookies they are, I just strongly recommend having cookies of roughly the same size on the same baking sheet or some will burn before the others are done. Re-roll scraps and repeat process, handling as little as possible.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes but start keeping a very close eye at 10 minutes---they catch and burn fast!

Let cookies cool on the sheet for 5-10 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack.

You can glaze or dip the cookies if desired (see notes on the two different ones I've done). They're absolutely delicious without a glaze though. Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter.

Notes

If you want to do a glaze or dip, I've done two different ones. One was a more traditional...combine 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar, a pinch of cardamom, a pinch if cinnamon, and 4 teaspoons of water (or milk) in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Dip each cookie and wipe the excess on the edge of the bowl. Place cookies on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Place sheet pan in the refrigerator until the glaze is firm.
The other dip I did was melting some caramelized white chocolate (which I'd previously made and had in hte fridge), and dipped the cookies in that. Drizzled or piped would have been nice but I was too lazy. It was maybe a tiny bit sweet for me, but delicious and the flavors were the perfect pairing with the chai spices and hint of orange!