Chewy chai-spiced cookies

A grown-up cookie that’s packed with flavour!

I’ve always loved snickerdoodle-type cookies and can’t believe how many variations of this classic recipe there are out of there. When I thought about creating a new, slightly ‘grown up’ cookie for my holiday entertaining, I turned to my recipe box and thought about adapting several recipes. This new creation which is a hybrid of a sugar cookie and a snickerdoodle is packed with flavour thanks to the generous flecks of chai-inspired seasonings, with just a bit of a peppery zing. I love that they are soft and chewy too. Note that you can halve all the ingredients to make a smaller batch; to halve the egg, simply crack it into a half-cup measure, beat it with a fork, then remove half the beaten egg and discard it.

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups (685 mL) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) salt
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) baking powder
• 1 3/4 cups (435 mL) white sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) freshly ground cardamom*
• 2 1/2 teaspoons (12.5 mL) ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) very finely ground black pepper
• 1 cup (250 mL) softened (but not melted) butter
• 1 teaspoon (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
• 1 egg

*Buy a small handful of green cardamom pods then crack them open, extract the seeds and grind them in a mortar and pestle. You will find this ground cardamom to be much more flavourful and aromatic than what you can purchase pre-ground at the store.

Method

• In a large bowl, combine flour, salt baking soda and baking powder; stir to blend and set aside.
• In a medium bowl combine sugar, ground cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and black pepper. Remove 1/4 cup of the mixture and save it for rolling the dough balls prior to baking the cookies.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use an electric mixer), beat the butter and sugar mixture until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Add vanilla and egg; beat until well blended.
• Add the dry ingredients in three parts, blending after each addition. Note that the mixture will be a bit crumbly in texture, but it will come together when you work the dough with your hands.
• Cover the bowl and let dough rest, to hydrate the flour, for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Using your hands, shape the dough into 1 inch balls, rounding them by rolling between your palms.
• Roll each dough ball in the sugar and spice mixture then place the balls on the lined baking sheet, about two inches apart. With your hand or a spatula, flatten the balls so they are about 1/2 inch thick.
• Bake for 8 minutes; let rest on baking sheet for 2 minutes before carefully transferring to wire racks to finish cooling.
• Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to three days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Makes 3 – 4 dozen cookies depending upon the size of your dough balls.