Vanilla Maple Chai Latte Cookies

These Vanilla Maple Chai Latte Cookies taste like a warm hug with so many cozy flavors and a plush texture. They are thick and chewy and they stay so soft for more than a week which makes this recipe great for baking ahead of the holidays! They bake up nice and thick with a beautiful golden maple color. You'll use pure vanilla, maple syrup, black tea leaves and a blend of cardamom, ginger, clove, cinnamon and nutmeg to make the cookie dough, then drizzle the baked cookies with creamy maple icing. It really does taste like a chai latte sweetened with maple syrup. If you love baking with spices, I recommend my popular Chewy Pumpkin Cookies, Brown Butter Snickerdoodles and THE BEST Ginger Molasses Cookies too.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Rich maple brown sugar cookies - you really taste the richness of maple syrup in these cookies and I've paired it with dark brown sugar to enhance the flavor.
• Super chewy texture - maple syrup keeps these cookies SO soft and chewy. They even stay chewy for more than a week!
• Chai spice cookies - a fragrant blend of cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom and nutmeg with actual ground tea leaves adds so much flavor.
• Spiced sugar coating - these cookies are rolled in granulated sugar with a hint of cinnamon and cardamom which makes them even more fragrant with a crunchy coating.

INGREDIENTS FOR VANILLA CHAI LATTE COOKIES

• Butter - for this recipe you can use unsalted or salted butter. If you use salted butter, then reduce the added salt by half.
• Brown sugar - this recipe uses all brown sugar. The molasses in brown sugar gives them a toffee-like flavor and also gives them a chewy texture. I like dark brown sugar for these chai cookies, but this recipe also works with light brown sugar.
• Pure vanilla extract - vanilla rounds out all of the spices and adds a creamy element. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
• Flour - unbleached all-purpose flour is the best for chewy cookies.

• Maple syrup - the quality really matters if you want the flavor to stand out. Look for Grade A amber maple syrup for the best results.
• Chai spices - five different spices make up the blend I use and love for Chai: cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove and nutmeg.
• Tea leaves - I add the contents of 1 black tea bag to the cookie dough, so there are real Chai cookies. This is optional and you can leave it out.
• Sugar coating - the slightly spiced sugar coating gives these cookies a nice crackled top and adds slight crunch with more cinnamon flavor.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS: HOW TO MAKE VANILLA CHAI LATTE COOKIES

• STEP 1). Blend dry ingredients. Combine flour, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly.
• STEP 2). Cream butter and sugar. Combine butter, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and mix for about 2 minutes using an electric hand mixer on medium speed until smooth, slightly pale and a bit fluffy. You can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or cream by hand with a wide rubber spatula.
• STEP 3). Mix in egg & maple syrup. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add egg and mix until well incorporated and the mixture is pale and creamy. Add ground tea leaves and maple syrup and mix again.
• STEP 4). Add dry ingredients. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and fold it in until evenly combined. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for about 30 minutes while you preheat the oven. NOTE: if you wish to chill this dough further to make it ahead, I'd suggest using 1 ½ cups of flour. The dough might feel sticky but it will hydrate and firm up in the fridge overnight.
• STEP 5). Make spiced sugar. Combine granulated sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and salt in a small bowl.
• STEP 6). Bake. Use a 1.35-oz cookie scoop to portion dough and roll into smooth balls and then roll them evenly in the spiced sugar to coat. Place them onto your prepared baking sheets spacing them 3 inches apart and bake for 9-11 minutes until puffed and cracked at the surface, but still soft in the middle. If you make smaller cookies, bake for just 8-10 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack and let cool for 2 minutes before transferring cookies individually to the rack to finish cooling.
• STEP 7). Make the icing. Combine powdered sugar, cream, maple syrup, vanilla and salt in a small bowl and whisk well until completely smooth. It should be thick and opaque but still flowing. See the video tutorial for an understanding of the consistency you should have. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies and let set for at least 20 minutes to firm up before storing.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS

• Measure the flour accurately to ensure you get the right texture. Too much flour will make them dry and the dough will not spread the right way. Too little flour will mean they will spread too much. If you have the time to chill the dough for longer than 8 hours, you can actually reduce the flour a bit because the moisture will have time to absorb sufficiently to control spread and you have the benefit of a rich flavor when using less flour. The cookies are great either way.
• Chill the cookie dough. Let the dough chill in the fridge for at least one hour so that you get cookies that are thick with a chewy texture.
• Choose a good maple syrup. The flavor will be more pronounced if you use a rich amber maple syrup. You can even find varieties that are aged in Bourbon barrels.
• Do not skip the sugar coating. The sugar on the exterior of the cookie dough protects it from drying out and also creates the nice cracks and crevices on the surface.
• Flatten dough balls for thinner cookies. If you like thinner cookies, you can flatten the dough balls slightly before baking.

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Video

Vanilla Maple Chai Latte Cookies

Christina Marsigliese, Food Scientist MSc.

Vanilla Maple Chai Latte Cookies taste like a warm hug with so many cozy flavors and a plush texture. They are thick and chewy and they stay so soft for days! These flavors of pure vanilla, maple syrup, black tea and a blend of cardamom, ginger, clove, cinnamon and nutmeg make for incredibly aromatic cookies and they're finished with a perfectly sweet creamy maple icing.

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Chill Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 13 cookies

Ingredients

  

Maple Chai Cookie Dough:

• 1 ⅔ cups (235g) all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ⅛ teaspoon ground clove
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ⅔ cup (145g) packed dark brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon (7ml) pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• ground tea leaves from 1 black tea bag
• 3 tbsp (45ml) pure maple syrup

Rolling Sugar:

• 3 tablespoon granulated sugar for rolling
• pinch of cinnamon and cardamom
• pinch of salt

Maple Vanilla Icing

• ¾ cup (90g) powdered confectioner's sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) half & half 10% cream
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• ⅛ teaspoon salt

*I also love this vanilla extract

For best results, use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients.

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Combine flour, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly.
• Combine butter, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and mix for about 2 minutes using an electric hand mixer on medium speed until smooth, slightly pale and a bit fluffy. You can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or cream by hand with a wide rubber spatula.
• Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add egg and mix until well incorporated and the mixture is pale and creamy. Add ground tea leaves and maple syrup and mix again.
• Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and fold it in until evenly combined. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for about 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.

  NOTE: if you wish to chill this dough further to make it ahead, I'd suggest using 1 ½ cups of flour. The dough might feel sticky but it will hydrate and firm up in the fridge overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Combine granulated sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and salt in a small bowl. Use a 1.35-oz cookie scoop to portion dough and roll into smooth balls and then roll them evenly in the spiced sugar to coat. Place them onto your prepared baking sheets spacing them 3 inches apart and bake for 9-11 minutes until puffed and cracked at the surface, but still soft in the middle. If you make smaller cookies, bake for just 8-10 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack and let cool for 2 minutes before transferring cookies individually to the rack to finish cooling.
• Make the icing. Combine powdered sugar, cream, maple syrup, vanilla and salt in a small bowl and whisk well until completely smooth. It should be thick and opaque but still flowing. See the video tutorial for an understanding of the consistency you should have. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies and let set for at least 20 minutes to firm up before storing.