These Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies are simple to make with just butter, flour, sugar, and tea, they have a little spice and a whole lot of cozy!
Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies
These Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies are one of my most popular recipes here on the blog and once you try them, you’ll know why! You’ll find their buttery, spicy, deliciousness hard to resist and they’re perfect for a cookie swap!
Can you believe another year has pretty much come and gone? Each year in early December, I participate in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.
Basically, a bunch of food bloggers make cookies (no surprise there) and we each get the names of three others to send our cookies to.
And then we get cookies from three other bloggers! Don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom to enter to win $400 in cash and check out 25 of the best Christmas cookies recipes around!
But you know what the best part is, though? Yes, even better than giving and receiving awesome cookies. Is that we all do this for a greater cause.
We team up with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer every year and donate to this amazing charity while spreading tons and tons of cookie joy!
Then we have companies like Land O’Lakes, Dixie Crystals, and OXO who support us along the way! That’s pretty incredible, right? I think so!
It’s pretty much the coolest thing ever and I always get really anxious waiting for my cookies to come and waiting for the reactions from those who received them from me.
This year I actually had two friends who received my cookies: Julie from Bread Booze Bacon and April from Mama Loves Food.
It was funny because when I posted a teaser picture of these cookies on Instagram, they both commented unknowing that some were already on their way to each of their doorsteps!
But anyways, you’re probably here for the good stuff, not all the mumbo-jumbo of how this recipe came to be, right?
The good stuff is these cookies. These crisp and buttery shortbread cookies are laced with vanilla chai tea leaves and then dipped in a vanilla spice icing for the full effect.
Did you know that Chai just means tea, what we often think of as Chai here in the states is actually Masala Chai which originated in India and is made with black tea, Indian spices, milk, and sugar?
We just shortened it up as we often do and now associate Chai with creamy lattes rather than the straight-up tea the word actually means.
Tools You’ll Need For This Recipe:
- Chai tea – I recommend just using the tea from tea bags, just cut the bags open and dump the tea into the butter for mixing. I like these teas because the leaves tend to be smaller and work great for this recipe.
- Rolling pin – You’ll need to roll out your dough before cutting.
- Cookie Cutters – You can make fun shapes or keep it simple with round cookie cutters.
- Parchment paper – It’s important to line your cookie sheet with parchment paper for best results.
- Cookie sheet – For baking the cookies on!
More Delicious Cookie Recipes:
- Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies
- Brown Butter Toffee Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Sticks
- Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
- Butterbeer Pudding Cookies
- Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread
Let’s Connect!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!
Don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there, where you can join our recipe challenges!
Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 bags of Vanilla Chai Tea loose
Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cream butter and confectioners sugar in a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Add in flour, salt, and loose tea leaves. continue to mix until a soft dough forms, the mix will be dry and crumbly at first but will come together.
- Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s ¼ inch thick.
- Cut out cookies using a 2 in round cookie cutter.
- Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 18-20 minutes or until edges are a golden brown and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, whisk together icing ingredients until smooth. Dip half of each cookie in the icing, let excess drip off and run a spoon along the edge to remove any extra, then place on wax paper to set.
Video
Notes
- For a stronger initial flavor, mix the butter and tea leaves together about 6 hours ahead of time to infuse.
- For more, smaller cookies, use a 1 1/2 in round cookie cutter and bake for 12-15 minutes. Will yield around 36 cookies.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
Richa Gupta says
Wow, these cookies look incredibly delicious!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
These shortbread cookies are a must try!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Juliana Martinez D'Aubin says
I am wondering how these cookies keep? And can they be frozen? Thanks!
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Juliana, You should be able to freeze them, although probably only for a couple of weeks.
Kaye says
These are glorious! I mixed the tea leaves rit out of the bag into the butter and let it sit to infuse. We can’tget enough!
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Amanda says
Hello Rebecca,
I couldn’t find vanilla chai tea so I just got chai tea. Could I add some vanilla extract to the cookie mix to equate for the lost vanilla? So excited to make these cookies ?
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Amanda, you could add a very small amount or just add a little extra to the glaze. You could also use vanilla bean paste.
Cori says
Hello!
These look do good! I have a couple chai teas I really like but they don’t have vanilla in them, should I add vanilla extract to the cookie? or have you tried them without the vanilla?
Thanks!
Rebecca Hubbell says
You could add a touch of vanilla or vanilla bean paste!
Linda Kallioj says
Can the cookie dough be frozen rolled up in waxed paper? I am excited to make these cookies and freeze some after for my Dad. I have frozen baked cookies in the past…..just curious about the raw dough in the freezer for a month or how long in the freezer?
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Linda, I don’t see why not, but I’ve never tried it myself. I would make sure to put the cookie dough in a freezer bag after wrapping in wax paper though to prevent freezer burn or loss of flavor.
Jackie says
We loved these cookies and they were so simple to make! Thank you for this great recipe!
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad you enjoyed them, Jackie!
Stine Mari says
I just stumbled over this on Pinterest, and all I can say is YUM. I want it to be Christmas now!
Vidya says
These sound absolutely delightful! I’d like to make these for a party thiys week, but, while I have multiple variations of chai, vanilla is surprisingly not one of them. I’m probably going to use some plain chai, and use a little extra vanilla in the dough 🙂
One of the guests at the party is allergic to gluten, so if I can get some almond flour before then, I may try substituting that for the all-purpose flour. Would you have any suggestions for altering the recipe to work with almond flour? My understanding is that almond flour might require some extra binders, but I’m not sure what the measurements should be.
Rebecca says
Hi Vidya, I don’t normally bake with alternative flours, but I can tell you that almond flour alone will not work. I would recommend finding a 1 for 1 all-purpose gluten-free flour. I know both Bob’s Red Mill and Krustez makes it and both brands works great. If you have vanilla beans or a little vanilla extract, that will help with the flavor.
Vidya says
Thank you!
Renata Barnes says
I just made you recipe for the Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies for the Mercerme.com 2nd Annual Cut-throat Cookie Exchange. I used purple food coloring and a moon shaped cookie cutter, dipped the cookies half way in the icing and added stars to the iced part. They were called “O Night Divine” cookies. I won runner up for best looking cookie!! I used loose tea and was unsure about the measurements of the chai so I googled the the average amount of a tea bag. I was wondering if you thought I should have use a mortar and pestle in the future to make the tea leaves and such a bit smaller and perhaps bring out the taste. I played around with it and want to try it again with a bit more flavorful cookie. Also, did you use clear vanilla extract? The cinnamon turned the glaze a bit brown. I used vanilla beans but perhaps not enough since the vanilla flavor seemed to be overpowered by the cinnamon. Either way it was a great cookie. Please go to the site and l check out my cookie. I would love to get your feedback.
Rebecca says
Hi Renata,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies and congrats on runner-up in your cookie challenge! To answer your questions, yes, you do want your tea leaves to be pretty fine. I’m not sure how big yours were, but the finer the tea leaves, the more flavor they’ll give to the dough. My vanilla extract is not clear, it’s brown and there will be slight tint to the icing. I’m not sure what you mean by using vanilla beans… did you use the paste from within? Did you happen to use a Vietnamese Cinnamon? That kind of cinnamon is very strong, so that’s why I ask.
Brittney says
These cookies are absolutely amazing! The texture is delicately crispy and the flavor is sweet, chai spicy deliciousness. These are probably my new favorite cookies. And they were really quite easy to make. They make an excellent companion to black tea!
Rebecca says
So glad you enjoyed them, Brittney! The shortbread cookies sure are a hit around here!
Suzanna says
I made these with a ginger pear ganache and OMG are they delicious!!!!! slightly fruity and cozy spices and just the tiniest zing of ginger!!!!!!
Rebecca says
That ganache sounds lovely!
Amanda says
Thanks for the recipe! I made them this afternoon and they were so good!
Rebecca says
Yay, I’m so glad you loved them! Shortbreads are such an awesome cookie!
Robin says
I think for the icing you may have meant 2 tbsp of water instead of tsp. I ended up having to add extra water until it wasn’t the consistency of cement..
Rebecca says
Hi Robin, You are right, it is 2 tbsp, just updated! Thanks!
Mandy says
Did you use tea from tea bags? Or purchased loose leaf tea? … if I get vanilla chai tea bags can I use those?
Thanks!
Rebecca says
I used it from tea bags, but you can do either. If you use loose leaf tea, use about 2 tbsp. And yes, I used the vanilla chai that comes in the bags for this recipe.
Selina says
So when you say loose, you just mean cut open the bagged tea bags to use the stuff inside? I have Bigelow Vanilla Chai black tea… is that the right kind?
Rebecca says
Hi Selina,
Yes, just cut the bag open and use the leaves inside. That kind should work fine!
Rebecca
Laura says
My tea is loose leaf, not bagged-how much would that equate to for this recipe?
Rebecca says
1 tbsp at least, but you may want to add a little more for a stronger flavor!
Estee says
Did you refrigerate the dough prior to baking? Worried about it expanding
Rebecca says
No need to refrigerate, they don’t expand much at all!
Stephanie says
These look amazing! I plan to make them soon to have over Christmas. I was just wondering, how long would these last in the freezer? Could I make them now to have in a week?
Rebecca says
Hi Stephanie, these would be fine in the freezer, in fact, they last up to a week outside the freezer after baking. I would just store them in an air-tight container and make sure to take them out 6 hours ahead of time!
April says
these were delicious! thank you!
Rebecca says
So glad you enjoyed them!