Soft as a cloud, yet with little crisp edges, these Honey Chai Snickerdoodles are a fabulous cookie for the upcoming Holidays!!!

I have never been one that is overly trendy, ahead of the game, and on top of the newest and shiniest gadgets that come out every hot minute. It seems that each fashion trend that has its glorious moment in the sun, withers in exile for a decade or two, then makes its way back to the front of the pack. Lately there seems to be a tremendous amount of floral prints and early 90’s crop tops making their way back to the forefront of mainstream fashion, but by the time I type this it may have moved back to 60’s shift dresses. Certain foods or spices have their moments of glory - elaborate, flaming Baked Alaska desserts were very trendy for a while, as was the Goat Cheese and Beet combination. Some trends are meant to flitter away into the oblivion (hello, Harem Pants, you look good on NO ONE) but the best things, the most classic, will come back around time and time again.

One of these spice blends that has been a constant throughout centuries is Chai. A Masala Chai tea mixes Indian spices with black tea, and literally means “mixed spice tea”. There is warmth from the Cinnamon and Ginger, and the Cardamom used is a spice that helps give it that distinct flavor profile. Chai spice blends have gained tremendous momentum in popularity in recent years, but it is a delicious, soothing warm mug of serendipitous comfort that has been around for centuries. Most often making appearances in Tea and Coffeehouses, Chai spiced baked goods are wildly luscious and palatable to the to tastebuds of all cultures. Cheesecakes, muffins, creme brûlée, and cakes have all been fiddled with and infused with different combinations of Chai spice blends.

This recipe makes enough Chai Spice Mix to make a double batch of Honey Chai Snickerdoodles if you have a cookie swap you're headed to. Perfectly warm, sugared, and great for gifts!

I do not recall the first time I had Chai spiced anything, but that does not mean I dismissed it from my life. Rather, it was one of those constant flavors that I would flirt with now and again, a Chai Tea Latte here, a Chai flavored muffin there. It was something that was always a standby, something that I knew without a doubt would be satisfying and delicious. While sometimes there would be an overabundance of Chai spiced selections to choose from, it never completely disappeared from the offerings of places I frequented. That, to my mind, is something that transitions from Trendy, to Timeless Classic.

Another Timeless Classic is a Snickerdoodle Cookie. Tangy, Cinnamon-y, sweet, and soft as a pillow when you bite into one, with a slight hint of chew would be my definition of a perfect Snickerdoodle. The Cream of Tartar is what transforms a regular old Sugar Cookie into the brilliance of a Snickerdoodle. The slightly sour tang that results from the use of the Cream of Tartar is tempered beautifully by the sweetness of the sugar, richness of butter, and warmth of the cinnamon. Snickerdoodles are something that I am extremely picky about, because nothing is more offensive to my tongue if I am expecting the tang of a gratifyingly good amount of Cream of Tartar in the cookie, but it turns out to be a mere Sugar Cookie covered in cinnamon and sugar. I have, and will again, abandon a misleading Snickerdoodle if it is just a Sugar Cookie!! Crazy, you say? No. I prefer to think of it as a well honed preference for having my expectations met. Nothing can disappoint more than false promises.

These Honey Chai Snickerdoodles are perfect - slightly floral notes of the honey peep through to play with the warm Chai spices, and the texture of the cookie is just how I love my Snickerdoodles.

I do not feel as though I am jumping on the bandwagon for offering an insanely perfect Honey Chai Snickerdoodle Cookie. Snickerdoodles lend themselves to Chai Spices so easily because typically there is a very healthy amount of cinnamon in the dough and cinnamon sugar coating. What I have done is subtly scent these Snickerdoodles with honey as well as the Chai Spice blend you make up ahead of time. They are, quite simply, the best of Chai Spices and Snickerdoodles combined with something all their own to make them their own Timeless Classic. All the classic elements of a truly perfect Snickerdoodle are in these cookies - the tang of a healthy amount of Cream of Tarter, the softness of the cookie itself but a hint of crisp and chew right around the edges, and one bite makes you instantly think “Snickerdoodle”.

But the Chai spice makes this particular cookie something unique and the flavors are beautifully nuanced and balanced. The honey is present enough for you to detect the floral notes of it in the cookie, but it blends and intertwines with the nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardomom in such a way that makes the warming effect from the spices seem even more rounded as you continue to chew. Not one flavor overpowers the other, yet you can still detect the distinct features of each spice without overshadowing the Cream of Tartar tang. These cookies took a while to develop, as I kept trying different recipes and ratios that would end up with sad, sorry little Sugar Cookies. RIP all those angrily discarded Cookies of Doom, my husband may have dolefully expressed sorrow that I angrily chucked them in the bin before he could eat one. The finished product I came up with however, is one for my keeper file. And if you have not guessed by now, my keeper file is this blog to record my favorite successes. It is a bit of a fail safe option if I do lose more vision in the future - I will still be able to recreate my favorites without having to play as much of a guessing game at spice ratios. Plus, I can put my husband to work too :)He won’t complain if there are these Honey Chai Snickerdoodles at the end of it

Those crazy little tops are just the cutest thing! Honey Chai Snickerdoodle Cookies!

Honey Chai Snickerdoodle Cookies

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: 24 or so cookies

These cookies are so simple to put together, and unlike many Snickerdoodle recipes you do not have to chill the dough before baking. The dough ends up being quite stiff, so it is very easy to measure out the rounded tablespoons of dough and roll them into neat little balls.

When you begin preparing this, assemble all your dry ingredients first. I made the Chai Spice mixture, then measured out all the sugars and spices for rolling the dough balls, and also all the dry ingredients that go into the cookie dough. This dough comes together very quickly, so it is a good one to have everything prepped before starting. I think in particular this is a good one to make with other people because it’s fun to roll out the dough balls, measure out the spices, etc.

I ended up with 26 regular sized cookies. They are best, in my opinion, after they have fully cooled as the spices have had time to fully bloom and blend with one another. The cookie flavor gets better as time goes by, and they hold their texture very well too. Store them in an airtight container for up to 4 days - if they last that long!

Ingredients

For Chai Spice Mix (Enough for 2 full batches of Cookies):

1 1/2 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Ground Ginger
1 Tbsp Ground Cardamom
3/4 Tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/4 Tsp Finely Ground Fresh Black Pepper

For Chai Sugar Topping:

1/4 Cup Granulated White Sugar
1 1/4 Tsp Chai Spice Mix

For the Cookies:

3 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 1/4 Tsp Cream of Tartar
1 Tsp Baking SODA
2 1/2 Tsp Chai Spice Mix
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Cup (2 Sticks) Butter, room temperature (I use Salted Butter)
1 1/3 Cup Granulated White Sugar
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2 Tsp Honey
1 Egg

Directions

For the Chai Spice Mix:

In a small bowl, mix together the Cinnamon, Ginger, Cardamom, Cloves, Nutmeg, and Black Pepper. Set aside. Store leftovers in an airtight container for future use.

For the Chai Sugar Topping:

In a small bowl, mix together the Sugar and the Chai Spice Mix. Set aside.

For the Cookies:

Preheat Oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with Parchment Paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the Flour, Cream of Tartar, Baking Soda, Chai Spice Mix, and Salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a Stand Mixer fixed with the Paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy. This should take roughly 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a Spatula as necessary.
Adjust Mixer speed to medium and add in the Vanilla and Honey until thoroughly incorporated. This should take roughly a minute.
Add in the Egg until thoroughly incorporated into the dough. This should take just about a minute.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl then turn the Mixer speed to Medium Low. Add in the Dry Ingredients slowly until thoroughly combined. This should take roughly 2-3 minutes. Dough will be very stiff.
Unhook the Paddle attachment and release the bowl from the Mixer. Scrape down all the dough you can from the Paddle attachment. Measure out rounded Tablespoons of dough and roll into neat little balls. Roll each ball in the Chai Sugar Mixture. Each baking sheet should fit 8 cookies comfortably, spaced evenly. Sprinkle the tops of each cookie with extra Chai Sugar Mix.
Bake for 11 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking time. Cookies will get very puffy and look underdone. Pull them out anyways!!
Bang each cookie sheet 3 times on the top of the stove to help the cookies spread out properly. Then, sprinkle a bit more Chai Sugar Mix on top of each cookie, and let cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.