Taylor Swift Chai Cookies

Chai cookies drizzled with icing and stacked on a plate.

Warmly spiced Taylor Swift Chai Cookies are absolutely irresistible! The simple dough is flavored with chai spices, then rolled in cinnamon and sugar for a crunchy exterior with a chewy middle. Finish with a drizzle of icing and you’ve got the perfect addition to your holiday cookie tray!

Course cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 8

Chill time 30

Total Time 48

Servings cookies

Calories 135

Author Kim

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter softened
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups (180g) all-purpose flour spooned & leveled
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

For rolling:

1/3 cup (70g) granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

For icing:

1/2 cup (60g) powdered sugar
2-4 teaspoons milk
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

In a large bowl, use a stand mixer or a hand mixer and beat the softened butter and sugar on medium speed until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla extract; mix on high until fully combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed using a rubber spatula.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the edges and bottom of the bowl, as needed. Once there are no more flour streaks, stop mixing. Do not over mix the dough. Then, place the dough in the fridge to chill for 30 to 60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and prepare a few baking sheets with parchment paper, or line with a silicone baking mat.
To roll the cookies: Combine 1/3 cup sugar with the 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon in a small bowl. For each cookie, scoop out about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a ball. Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and place them 3 inches apart on a cookie sheet.
Bake cookies for 8 minutes and no more. The cookies may seem undercooked, but will continue to set after they are removed from the oven.
Allow cookies to cool on the pan for at least 5 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the icing: Whisk all of the ingredients together until no lumps remain. If the glaze is too thick, add more milk, and if the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar until it has reached your desired consistency. Drizzle a small amount over each cookie.

Notes

Storing leftovers. Cookies will stay fresh for up to 7 days, stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Freezing. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. To freeze the cookie dough balls, place in the fridge for 1 hour. Then, place the solid and cold dough balls into a labeled zipped-top bag. Label the bag with the month and the baking temperature and place the bag in the freezer.

Variations

Chai tea leaves. If you'd like to follow the chai cookies recipe that Taylor makes, substitute all of the spices, except the allspice, for 1 bag chai tea leaves. You can buy any bagged chai tea box from the tea aisle at the grocery store. You will open the bag to get the leaves out. They should already be really small and ready to put into the batter. Be sure to still add the salt.

Eggnog frosting. Try an eggnog frosting, like Taylor. If you want just enough to drizzle, like in this recipe, simply substitute the milk for eggnog. However, if you'd like enough frosting to spread over the entire cookie, increase the measurements and use 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 3 tablespoons whole milk or eggnog.

Spread the frosting. If you'd like enough frosting to spread over the chai cookies, instead of drizzling, use the measurements above. These cookies are also delicious without the frosting, so feel free to omit it completely.

Pumpkin pie spice. Want to make a cookie that's not quite so spicy? Substitute all of the spices for 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice or use 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon cloves or allspice.

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