I am dubbing these my “Spill The Chai” Cookies. Why? Well, growing up, “chaya” as we say in Malayalam was one of those treasured things to make that meant conversations were about to flow. In fact, to this day, one of my favorite things about coming home is my mom making a pot of chaya and all of us sitting outside on the front porch sipping and talking about nothing and everything.
Anyone making a cup most likely has a distinct process or technique resulting in their perfect cup. Maybe one that mimics what they grew up with and elicits that special feeling of comfort or peace or nostalgia. With these “Spill The Chai” Cookies, I kept in mind my favorite things about a hot cup. This includes that subtle milkiness and warmth from spices like ginger, green cardamom, and black peppercorns. The best part about this recipe (like any) is you can totally make it your own!
If you like my “Spill The Chai” Cookies, I think you might also like my Cardamom Pancakes with Butter Chai Syrup, Baked Chai Donuts with Ginger Milk Glaze, or my Orange Rose Biscotti with Citrus Nutella Drizzle. If you have any questions when making this recipe reach out to me @thefamiliarkitchen on instagram. I’d LOVE to see how it turns out! Be sure to tag me when you make it 
"Spill the Chai" Cookies
Ingredients
The Dough
- Sugar 1/2 cup
- Light Brown Sugar 1/2 cup
- Unsalted Butter 1 stick, room-temperature
- Almond Extract 1 tsp
- Eggs 2, separated
- AP Flour 2 cups (plus more for dusting)
- Corn Starch 1 tbsp
- Baking Powder 1/2 tsp
- Baking Soda 1/2 tsp
- Green Cardamom 10 pods, ground
- Ginger Powder 1 tbsp
- Fennel Seeds 1tsp, ground
- Cinnamon 1/2 tsp
- Salt 1/2 tsp
The Glaze
- Milk 1/4 cup
- Loose Black Tea 2 tsp + some for garnish
- Ginger 1 tsp, minced
- Black peppercorns 1/4 tsp
- Green Cardamom 4 pods
- Salt a pinch
- Powdered Sugar 1 1/2 cup
- Cornstarch 1 tsp
Instructions
Make the dough
- Cream the sugars and butter together using a hand or stand mixer on high speed. Do this until they combine and form a pale color (about 3 minutes). Add the almond extract and eggs and mix on medium speed just until fully combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Little by little, add these dry ingredients to the mixer on a medium low speed just until combined. Do not overmix this. Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes to allow to cool and come together. (This will make it easier to roll out later).
Cut & Bake
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the chilled cookie dough on floured parchment paper using a floured rolling pin. Roll this until it's a little less than 1/4” thick. If you find your rolling pin sticking to the dough, dust more flour on top of the dough. *I roll the cookies on the thinner side so the cookie to glaze ratio is balanced in each biteUse a 2" diameter cookie cutter (or a drinking glass works!) to cut out the cookies. Repeat this until you're out of dough.Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 min max. They may look “uncooked” but as long as the perimeter is lightly brown, the cookie will set further once it is cooled. Transfer cookies to wire rack to let cool. Once cooled, let’s glaze!
Make the glaze and assemble!
- In a small cup, microwave the milk, loose black tea, ginger, pepper, and cardamom for 30 seconds or until it just about over boils. Pour this (yes, tea leaves in all - they are edible) into a mixing bowl along with the remaining glaze ingredients. This should form a thick, but pourable glaze.Lightly dunk the tops of the cookies into the glaze to coat the top of the cookies. Allow to cool and fully set on a wire rack. That's it!
Notes
Can vanilla extract be substituted for the almond extract for those who have a nut allergy?