Chai Tea Cookies To Scent The House With Spices

Chai tea cookies are a real treat in winter, especially during the Christmas holiday season. Thanks to this spiced tea of Indian origin that will fill your home with warmth and fragrance. It is in fact a black tea blended with various spices: cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, star anise,… In India, traditionally, it is a sweet drink, served with a dash of milk and sugar. To learn more about it click here
The recipe for Chai tea cookies is very simple and anyone can try it successfully. In fact, the ingredients are just shortbread and tea. Choose your favorite molds and have fun decorating the treats with sprinkles or powdered sugar and cinnamon. They can be great DIY gift ideas for Christmas.
For the pairing I recommend an Assam, an Indian black tea that with its malty notes lends itself well to accompany these cookies. If for the little ones at home you want to suggest something without theine, I would recommend a cup of rooibos, an herbal tea prepared from the leaves of a South African shrub. Its flavor is reminiscent of vanilla, molasses, and nuts. It is naturally sweet so there is no need to add sugar. However, if you want, I recommend making rooibos together with a couple of cardamom seeds or untreated orange peel, in true Christmas style.

Recipe: chai tea cookies

This is my recipe for making spiced tea scented shortbread. If you want you can use your own recipe and then add 2 tablespoons of tea. In this regard I would like to point out that if your tea is not very aromatic or if you like very spicy foods you can increase the amounts to your taste.

For 500g of dough

• 2 to 3 tablespoons of chai tea leaves or spiced tea
• 250 g flour
• 130 g butter
• 1 egg
• 1 yolk
• 125 g sugar
• a pinch of salt

To prepare the chai tea cookies, pour the flour into a bowl. Add the tea, sugar, pinch of salt, butter cut into chunks, whole egg and yolk. Knead the dough with your hands. If it is too floury, you can add one or two tablespoons of cold water.
As soon as you have obtained a smooth, even mixture, form it into a ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
After the necessary time has elapsed, bring the dough back to room temperature and prepare the work surface: rolling pin, molds, flour, baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Sprinkle the surface with a little flour and roll out some of the shortcrust pastry so that it is about 2 cm thick. Create the shapes and arrange the cookies one by one on the baking paper. Repeat the process until the dough is finished.
At this point all you have to do is put them in a preheated oven at 180° C to wait about 20 minutes. Baking time depends on the size and thickness of the cookies. Check occasionally that they do not become too brown. Another tip: better to choose molds of the same size so you will get even baking.
Finally, take the chai tea cookies out of the oven. Let them cool, arrange them on a plate and serve with a cup of tea.