Soft and chewy on the inside, crisp and sugary on the outside, these vegan chai sugar cookies are about to become your go-to holiday dessert! They're easily made in one bowl and are the perfect treat for a cozy night in or to bring to your next gathering.
Just like these apple cider donuts and pumpkin coffee cake, these cookies make the perfect fall treat and whether or not you're a chai tea fan, I promise you'll love these cookies!
They're as soft and buttery as the classic sugar cookie, yet infused with warm chai spices like cinnamon, ginger, cardamon and more, distributing the flavor throughout every sugary bite.
As we all know, everything Taylor Swift does is iconic. So I was so excited to hear she makes chai cookies for all her listening parties! You can now feel like you're hanging out with her with this vegan version.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Quick and easy to make! You only need 8 ingredients (plus a blend of spices), one bowl and 10 minutes to prep!
- Perfect treat for fall and winter! They're great year round, but the warming flavors are especially great when it's cold outside.
- Freezer-friendly: the dough is freezer-friendly, making it easy to either prep ahead of time or make a small batch whenever a craving hits!
- Allergen-friendly: They're vegan, eggless and can easily be made gluten-free.
Equipment
The equipment you'll need to make these vegan chai cookies is very basic:
- Mixing bowl: you only need one large bowl for the batter and one small bowl to mix the egg replacer in.
- Baking sheet / Cookie sheet
- Cookie scoop
- Parchment paper: to ensure the cookies don't get stuck to the baking sheet and bake more evenly without burning the cookie bottoms.
- Electric hand mixer: to easily beat together the vegan butter and sugars! You could also use a stand mixer, whichever you have.
- Rubber spatula: switch over to this when mixing the dry and wet ingredients together to avoid overmixing.
- Kitchen scale: for the most accurate measurements of all ingredients
- Measuring cups & spoons: if you don't want to use/don't have a scale. Be sure to use the spoon & level method for the flour.
Ingredients
- Flour: all-purpose flour works great and acts as our base for the cookies. If you need a gluten-free option, I'd recommend using 1-to-1 gluten free flour and not anything different to ensure the other ingredient quantities don't need to be messed with.
- Leavening Agents: we're using both baking soda and baking powder to help these cookies rise.
- Vegan Butter: I recommend using sticks as opposed to the tubs of butter. I like to use Earth Balance, Melt or Country Crock sticks for all of my dessert recipes.
- Brown Sugar: we'll be using a mixture of dark brown and light brown sugar for this recipe. Using only brown sugars is the key to the soft and chewy texture of cookies! Brown sugars contain more moisture than granulated sugar because of the molasses, so these will be perfectly gooey with crispy edges.
- Spices: we'll be using a combination of cinnamon, cardamom, ground ginger, ground allspice, ground cloves, nutmeg, and salt to create our own homemade masala chai spice blend!
- Flax Egg: to help bind all of the ingredients together. If you don't want to use a flax egg, here are some other vegan egg substitute options. Replacement egg powder would work well too.
- Extracts: a must in any baked good. We'll be using vanilla extract and, optionally, a small amount of almond extract.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Variations & Substitutions
I love these vegan cookies as is but here a few variations & substitutions you can try that would be just as delicious:
- Make these chai cookies gluten-free by subbing out the all purpose flour for gluten-free flour at a 1:1 ratio.
- Feel free to replace one of the brown sugars with regular white sugar. However, the cookies won't be as soft. You could also just one brown sugar or the other entirely, rather than using both light and brown. You can also use maple syrup in place of one of the sugars.
- Coconut sugar can be used in place of brown sugar but your cookies may be a bit more dry.
- Instead of vegan butter, you can use softened coconut oil! I suggest using refined coconut oil, as unrefined coconut oil will change the final flavor of the cookies.
- Turn these into dirty chai cookie by adding a teaspoon of espresso powder to the batter.
- Add some chocolate chips for chocolate chai cookies!
This recipe has not been tested with any other substitutions or variations than the ones listed above. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
Instructions
Start by prepping your flax egg in a small or medium bowl by whisking together water and flax meal and letting it set for at least 5 minutes, until thickened.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the room-temperature vegan butter, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar and spices using a hand-held mixer or kitchen-stand mixer until fluffy and combined.
- Add the flax egg, vanilla extract and almond extract (optional) and mix until just combined.
- Mix in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until just combined. The dough will be very soft! Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or overnight for best results.
- Scoop the cookie dough with a cookie scoop, roll each cookie in granulated sugar until fully coated. Place onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned but the centers are still soft..
After removing the oven, drop the baking tray onto the counter to deflate them and get that crinkle effect. Let cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. Serve and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
You can enjoy these chai sugar cookies as is throughout the holiday season, dunked in a glass of your favorite plant-based milk. Or, you can totally get away with eating one (or a few) for breakfast alongside a cup of coffee or tea. They also make the perfect treat for holiday parties, in a holiday cookie box, school festivities, and gifting to friends and family.
Expert Tips
- Break out your kitchen scale. Correctly measured ingredients are essential in baking for the most accurate results!
- Cream together the butter, sugar and spices. The fat from the butter does holds onto flavor from the spices and infuses it through the cookie dough better than when you add the spices in with the dry ingredients.
- To get crinkly round cookies, tap or drop the baking sheet on the counter to help the cookies deflate a bit and produce a more crinkly cookie. Also, for perfectly round eggless brown sugar cookies, use a round cookie cutter or wide mouth glass that is slightly larger than the cookie and swirl the cookies around inside until round.
- Do not skip the chilling your dough! Because these cookies use only brown sugar, the dough has more moisture than regular cookies. This is key to prevent your cookies from overspreading. If you don't chill the dough for at least 1 hour, they will be a thin, brittle mess.
- Do not flatten the cookies before baking. Again, because the dough has a bit more moisture, they will flatten and spread out on their own. Flattening them will only make them super thin and dry.
- Use a cookie scoop! They ensure an even bake since all the cookie dough balls will be the same size, are mess-free, and make scooping quick and easy.
- Make sure your baking soda is fresh! Baking soda is only good for 30 days after it has been opened. Wild, I know. So make sure you have a fresh/active baking soda to get the optimal flavor and texture of these cookies.
- You will need to use at least 2 baking sheets as all of the cookies will not fit on one baking sheet. Bake one tray at a time rather than putting both trays in the oven at the same time. This will allow for even heating.
Storage Tips
Refrigerator: The unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Then, roll into balls and bake as directed!
Freezer: These chai-spiced sugar cookies are freezer friendly. Allow the baked cookies to cool completely first then transfer to freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw at room temperature before enjoying. You can also freeze unbaked cookie dough for quick and easy cookie baking in the future. Follow recipe direction steps 1-4 as is. Once chilled, form the balls of cookie dough then place each cookie dough ball on a lined baking sheet. Flash freeze for 2-4 hours, or until the cookie dough balls are frozen solid. Transfer the dough balls to a freezer friendly ziploc bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months! When ready to bake, remove the cookie dough balls from the freezer and pick back up with recipe step 7. Bake for 1-2 minutes longer than directed, or until puffy and golden on the edges.
Room temperature: Baked chai sugar cookies will store best in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Do not store the raw cookie dough at room temperature, ever!
FAQ
There are a few reasons this could have happened:
1. Not measuring flour properly! I highly recommend using a kitchen scale, as this will help you achieve the most accurate results. Too much flour leads to the cookies not spreading, whereas too little flour will cause them to spread too much.
2. Baking soda that is old or inactive would cause your cookies to not spread (and taste bitter).
3. Not chilling the dough! This dough needs to chill for at least 1 hour before baking.
I know not all of these spices are pantry staples (and are quite expensive). You can either omit them completely for more simple brown sugar cookies or replace all of the spices with ½ tablespoon of a chai tea bag or a pre-made chai spice mix. Or, if you do not have all of the chai spices, just use the spices you do have! Nutmeg, allspice, cloves and a pinch of black pepper would be a great compromise.
Of course! These vegan sugar cookies are rolled in cinnamon sugar but if you prefer icing feel free to make some. This would really make them similar to Taylor Swift's Chai Cookies! Simply whisk together ½ cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of plant-based milk or egg nog. Be sure to allow the cookies to fully cool before adding the icing, otherwise it'll be a mess!
Other cookie recipes you might like
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Chai Sugar Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup (113 g) vegan butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) dark brown sugar packed
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar packed
- 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons flax seed meal + 6 tablespoons water)
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract optional
- 2 ¼ cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground all-spice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Start by prepping your replacement egg by mixing together flax seed meal or replacement egg powder and water, and letting it set for at least 5 minutes, until thickened.2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons flax seed meal + 6 tablespoons water)
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the room temperature butter, dark brown sugar, light brown sugar and spices using a hand-held mixer or kitchen-stand mixer until fluffy and combined.1 cup vegan butter, ½ cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon cardamom, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground all-spice, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Add the flax egg and extracts to the bowl and mix until combined.2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons flax seed meal + 6 tablespoons water), ½ tablespoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined and the cookie dough has formed. The dough will be very soft! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough into balls, roll in granulated sugar and place onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers are still soft.3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Drop or tap the baking sheet onto the counter a few times to deflate them and get that crinkle effect. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve and enjoy!
K says
These turned out fantastic! I didn’t make these cookies vegan for myself and my family, so I just subbed 2 eggs for the flax eggs and used salted butter instead and voided the salt. I also dusted them in cinnamon sugar instead of just plain white sugar (once before baking, and also after baking) Amazing cookies, will be making again!
Lauren Casolaro says
I'm so glad you loved these and the substitutions worked perfectly!! Cinnamon sugar coating is genius!
Lauren says
These are so perfect!!! They're like a starbucks chai latte in a cookie form.
Jess says
YES YES YES - all the fall flavors. Obsessed
Pinch of Parsley says
The only season that matters, dare I say.