Tis the season for sugar, spice, and all things cookies! With brown butter and chai spice, these cozy snickerdoodles are my dream holiday cookie. Brown butter takes pillowy snickerdoodles rolled in sparkling chai spice sugar to a new level of deliciousness.
Perfectly soft and chewy, it simply doesn’t get much better than a steaming mug of chai tea and a snickerdoodle. These are great for gifting, too – wrap up a few cookies in a cello bag or festive box, add ribbon and a gift tag, and you’re all set!
Yield:
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PinIngredients
Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For rolling
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Cook butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it foams, turns clear, and then turns a deep brown, about 6 minutes. Pour browned butter into a glass measuring cup and chill in the freezer until solidified, about 45 minutes to an hour.
- Whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat solidified brown butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until creamy; beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture; beat just until incorporated. Cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (If cookie dough has chilled overnight, let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg in a food processor and pulse for 1 minutes. Transfer chai sugar to a shallow bowl. Scoop 1 1/2-inch balls of dough and dredge in chai sugar twice; place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake, rotating pans halfway through, for 11 to 12 minutes, until edges and tops are set. Cool for 4 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Nutrition
- Calories: 138
- Carbohydrates: 18
P.S. I baked these cookies as part of a blogger holiday cookie exchange! To satisfy your cookie cravings, you’ll find plenty more inspiration from the fab group of bloggers below, and be sure to join in the fun on Instagram! (find us via #holidaycookieparty2016)
Holiday Cookie Exchange 2016
Wife Mama Foodie | Gluten Free Icebox Cookie
Now Forager | Vanilla Bean Marshmallow & Pink Peppercorn Shortbread Cookies
DisplacedHousewife | Chocolate Peppermint Crinkles
Tutti Dolci | Brown Butter Chai Snickerdoodles
The Daley Plate | Romany Creams
Fig & Bleu | Cornmeal & Cherry Shortbreads
Cloudy Kitchen | Anzac Biscuits
The Beach House Kitchen | Double Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies
Vanilla and Bean | Cocoa Nibby Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Chez LaRae | White Rollout Cookies
Husbands That Cook | Apple Cider Snickerdoodles
Rainy Day Bites | Melody Cookies
Bakeritablog | Brown Butter Shortbreads With Dark Chocolate
The Jam Lab | Thandai Shortbread Cookies
Katie Clova | Espresso Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
Food Fashion Party | Stuffed Shortbread Cookies
21 comments
i get a bit bored by plain snickerdoodles now, but i make them so often because they’re people pleasers. this sounds perfect for when i want to play around a bit but still keep them picky eater friendly (;
These are absolutely gorgeous Laura!!! I’m obsessed with chai spices and I just love snickerdoodles!!! The perfect combination! xoxo
Snickerdoodles and chai spices = the perfect combination Laura! Awesome way to take the classic to the next level! Can’t wait to try!
Isn’t brown butter the best thing ever? I’m in love! Especially paired with chai spices…this sounds phenomenal. Definitely must try these! Wish I could try EVERYONE’s cookies!
Lovely! and you will never ever go wrong when you start with brown butter 🙂
Love these Laura! The combination of flavours is totally on point! A classic never goes out of style … especially with bright and delicious upgrades.
Oh wow, so many delicious cookies, so little time!!
I love the chai spice sugar, and that you made such a fun twist on the snickerdoodle cookie! They are my husbands fav cookie! I love your pics Laura! Fabulous! So happy that we all did this together! 🙂
Love these Snickerdoodles, Laura! All spiced up and with brown butter…perfect for holiday gift-giving! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
I love classic snickerdoodles! These look incredible!
You had me at ‘chai’.
Way to kick these up a notch. Make that TWO notches! Delish!
These chai snickerdoodles are so rich and deliciously flavored- especially with that browned butter 🙂
Snickerdoodles are a family favorite! Adding chai spices and brown butter make them even better!
Just the thought of snickerdoodles makes my mouth water – but with brown butter, oh my goodness! Delicious!
Wow you just made snickerdoodles even better Laura!!! 😀 Got to try these!
Bring on the cookies! These sound amazing!
These cookies! Can’t stop thinking about them, Laura. Brown butter + chia is bound to be incredible. Way to create the perfect cookie!
These look great Laura – why are they called snickerdoodles?
Brown butter chai?!!! oh my gawd, love these cookies!
These look and sound amazing, Laura! Looove the chai addition!