These chai snickerdoodles pair the thick, chewy texture of perfect snickerdoodle cookies with a delicious blend of spices for the best-tasting snickerdoodles you will ever bake! Plus there's no need to chill the dough before baking, making it quick and easy to whip up a batch of this chai snickerdoodle recipe!
There are certain must-haves when baking a batch of snickerdoodles, and perfect texture is at the top of that list! Snickerdoodles should be soft, chewy, and thick. It takes the perfect ratio of flour to baking soda to sugar (both white and brown) to butter to get that incredible texture, and this recipe gets it right.
Why Do Snickerdoodles Need Cream of Tartar?
Another must have is cream of tartar. It may seem strange to add cream of tartar to cookie dough, but this essential ingredient acts as a stabilizer and gives snickerdoodles their signature tang. (I use cream of tartar in my favorite sugar cookie recipe, too!)
What Can I Use Instead of Cream of Tartar?
Craving snickerdoodles but don't have any cream of tartar on hand? Here's a hack for you! Instead of using cream of tartar, you can skip both the cream of tartar and the baking soda and replace with 2 tsp. baking powder. This will result in slightly softer cookies with less crinkled tops, but they will still be delicious!
Chai Spice Snickerdoodle Cookies
The final must have: that cinnamon-sugar topping! Here we'll spice it up (see what I did there?) by adding ginger, cardamom, cloves, allspice, and black pepper to the mix. While chai spices are not a must for snickerdoodles, trust me when I tell you that these chai snickerdoodles, baked with a delicate blend of chai spices for a balanced (not overpowering) chai flavor, are 10x tastier than the classic cinnamon sugar snickerdoodles!
No-Chill Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe
Plus, these are no-chill cookies, so there's no need to chill the cookie dough before baking the cookies. In fact, this recipe is really quick and easy, which means you can get these cookies into your oven (and your mouth!) quickly.
If you bake just one batch of cookies this fall, let it be these chai snickerdoodles!
Love these chewy chai snickerdoodles? Leave a review and be sure to check out these other spiced dessert recipes!
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Chai Snickerdoodles
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-12 minutes per tray
- Total Time: about 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert, Cookies
Description
These chai snickerdoodles pair the thick, chewy texture of perfect snickerdoodle cookies with a delicious blend of spices for the best-tasting snickerdoodles you will ever bake! Plus there's no need to chill the dough before baking, making it quick and easy to whip up a batch of this chai snickerdoodle recipe!
Ingredients
for the snickerdoodle cookie dough:
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. cream of tartar*
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
for the spiced sugar topping:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- pinch of ground cardamom
- pinch of allspice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the spiced sugar topping ingredients. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and spices. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer), beat butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add both sugars and beat until combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat on high speed until blended. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl as needed while mixing. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add flour mixture just until combined.
- Using a cookie scoop** or a spoon, scoop 1 1/2 Tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough. Use your hands to roll the cookies into tall balls (slightly oblong, not quite spheres), then roll each ball into the bowl of spiced sugar topping.
- Place the tall balls of cookie dough standing up on baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies puff up and edges become slightly golden. Let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
*If you don't have or prefer not to use cream of tartar, you can skip both the cream of tartar and the baking soda and replace with 2 tsp. baking powder. This will result in slightly softer cookies with less crinkled tops, but they will still be delicious!
**I love the medium size OXO cookie scoop for this recipe.
Keywords: chai snickerdoodles, snickerdoodles, chai cookies, easy cookie recipe, chewy cookies
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Loved this! We make snickerdoodles often- I am kicking myself for not coming up with this version. New favorite!
★★★★★
I'm so glad to hear that you love this recipe, Sharon! I'm a huge snickerdoodle fan, too, and I really think that the chai spices take these cookies to the next level. Happy baking 🙂
xx Allison