Chai Sugar Cookies are sugary, spiced, and everything nice! Soft and chewy cookies feature brown sugar and a medley of chai-inspired ingredients to create the very best consistency and warm flavor. Top them with sweet icing and a dusting of cinnamon to really seal the deal!

A bite has been taken out of a cookie stacked on top of another cookie.


Chai Sugar Cookies

If you’re anything like me, I know exactly what you’re thinking right now… Are those the Taylor Swift cookies I keep seeing pop up everywhere? Well, yes! She shared a recipe very similar to this one about a decade ago on Tumblr and I’ve been baking them to perfection ever since. Singer, songwriter, chai cookie connoisseur… Is there anything she can’t do?

After so many years of testing this recipe, I think I’ve finally nailed the most perfect version. Take frosted chai sugar cookies to your next cookie exchange, leave some out for Santa Claus, or just bake a batch while watching Christmas movies with the kids. There’s never a bad time or place to serve warm, cozy, and iced cookies that are this amazing!

The cookies are nice and chewy from the brown sugar and butter. They’re also incredibly soft – the best of both worlds! The warm chai flavor comes from cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. All of those spices come together in a beautiful medley of signature chai flavor that’s downright cozy! Pair them with a dirty chai latte to truly treat yourself.

A large batch of cookies are presented on a wire cooling rack.

How to Make Chai Sugar Cookies

These might just be the easiest Christmas cookies you ever make. Keep on scrolling to the very bottom of this page to see more detailed ingredients and instructions!

  1. Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a baking mat.
  2. Mix the wet ingredients. Use a mixer to make this part nice and quick! In a large bowl, combine butter, sugars, egg and vanilla.
  3. Whisk the dry ingredients. Grab another bowl and whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and chai spices.
  4. Make the dough. Slowly add the flour mixture into the wet ingredient. Beat together just until combined. Try not to over-mix it.
  5. Chill. Pop the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
  6. Bake. Place 1 TBSP of dough onto the baking sheet at a time. Make sure they’re all spread out enough to spread while baking and not touch. Gently press down on each dough ball and sprinkle with some turbinado sugar. Bake for about 8-10 minutes.
  7. Enjoy! Let the cookies cool completely before you frost them.
A stack of chai cookies is garnished with a single star anise.

Why are they called Taylor Swift cookies?

Taylor Swift shared a recipe just like this one on her Tumblr page way back in 2014! Almost 10 years later, we’re still obsessed. Once you make this recipe you’ll see why they’ve stuck around for so long here on the internet.

How To Make the Frosting

The chai flavor in these cookies comes entirely from the cookies themselves. The frosting is super simple – it’s just a combination of powdered sugar and whatever milk you prefer. Add more or less milk to control the consistency of the frosting. Be sure you wait until the cookies are totally cooled to room temp prior to icing, otherwise the icing will melt into the cookies. Oh, and feel free to sprinkle with some cinnamon or chai spice mix!

Storage

You can store chai cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3-4 days. Keep them out of direct sunlight so you don’t risk the icing melting, of course!

Cinnamon sticks and star anise are placed next to cookies.

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A bite has been taken out of a cookie stacked on top of another cookie.

Get the Recipe: Chai Sugar Cookie Recipe

Yield: 24
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Chai Sugar Cookies may be famous because of Taylor Swift but these easy cookies are lightly spiced with warm chai spice and perfect for the winter season. Simply irresistable.
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cp brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

For the frosting:

  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons eggnog or milk

Equipment

  • 1 baking sheet
  • 1 mixer

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350˚f.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat
  • In a large bowl with a mixer, beat the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg and cloves.
  • Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients beating until just combined.
  • Chill the dough for 1 hour.
  • Drop 1 tablespoon of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, press down lightly and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes.
  • Cool completely.
  • While the cookies cool, whisk the ingredients for the frosting until smooth.
  • Frost with the icing with a knife or by dipping the top of the cookies into the frosting.
Calories: 159kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 136mg, Potassium: 28mg, Fiber: 0.5g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 250IU, Vitamin C: 0.05mg, Calcium: 14mg, Iron: 1mg
Author: Kellie
Course: adult snack, Dessert
Cuisine: American