Step up your Christmas cookie game this year with these soft and chewy chai spice brown butter snickerdoodles. These cookies are warm, cozy & perfect for holiday baking!
This is a Christmas cookie recipe you'll want to bring to your next cookie swap or add to your Christmas baking list because it has alllll the holiday feels.
Even just the smell of these chai spice brown butter snickerdoodle cookies baking in the oven is heavenly...I'm talking sweet cinnamon, toasty chai spice, & nutty brown butter!!!
Hellloooo new Bath and Body Works Candle fragrance ;).
I love Christmas time but I especially love baking Christmas cookies.
It reminds me of my mom, auntie and grandma who would bake cookies every year.
We'd eat the cookies all the way up until Christmas, and even through the New Year if there were leftover cookies stored in the freezer (which there always was!)
These snickerdoodle cookies are reminiscent of the classic recipe, with a twist of chai spice and brown butter.
Definitely high on my list of favorite cookies!
The best part about these cookies (aside from their amazing flavor), is that they don't need to be chilled in the refrigerator before baking.
All you have to do is make the dough, roll them in sugar, and they're ready to bake.
P.S. you'll want to make extra because these chai snickerdoodles will go fast ;).
Ingredients in Chai Spice Snickerdoodles:
- butter
- flour
- cream of tartar
- baking soda
- chai spices (ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, allspice, black pepper)
- salt
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
If you’ve been up to date on most of my posts, you know very well that I LOVE brown butter.
I’m telling you guys, it can make any recipe go from blahhh to "HOLY COW THIS IS GOOD" with just that one simple ingredient.
If you've never made brown butter before or just need a refresher on how to make it, see my How to make Brown Butter post.
It's very simple to make, as long as you don't walk away and let it burn because it can go from perfectly browned to yuck very quickly!
The original Snickerdoodle cookie recipe is from Sally's Baking Addiction (original recipe here).
They’re absolutely delicious on their own but I added Chai Spice to really give them that comfy-wintry-Christmas flavor that balances flawlessly with the brown butter.
My original recipe only included 1 egg which I never had a problem with.
However, I've most recently updated the recipe to include 2 eggs which has made a more moist and fluffy cookie.
Why do you need cream of tartar in snickerdoodles?
Traditional Snickerdoodle cookies have cream of tartar which is most commonly used as a stabilizer, but in this cookie recipe it creates a nice soft texture and adds a slight tang which is a classic snickerdoodle trademark.
Snickerdoodle cookies are so easy to make, which is another reason these are one of my favorite holiday cookie recipes.
After making the dough, you roll them into about 1” balls and then roll them in cinnamon sugar.
As mentioned before, no chilling necessary :).
The cinnamon sugar makes them so pretty, like they’re coated in edible sparkles and ready for a party.
Whether you make a batch of these chai spice brown butter snickerdoodles cookies for Christmas or just to have with a cup of tea, they’ll definitely get you in the holiday spirit.
(I recommend blasting some Christmas music and having a glass of wine while baking).
Make these Snickerdoodle Cookies Ahead:
You can make the snickerdoodle cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator up to 3 days in advance or you can freeze the dough up to 3 months.
If freezing, let the dough come to room temperature before rolling and baking.
Baked cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container or zip lock bag for 4-5 days or you can freeze them up to 3 months.
For more cozy cookie recipes try:
- Apple Cider Oatmeal Cookies
- Espresso Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
- Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Lavender & Sea Salt Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Don't forget to leave a star rating or comment below if you give these chai cookies a try! I always love to hear your feedback :).
Chai Spice Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
Step up your Christmas cookie recipe game with these soft and chewy chai spice brown butter Snickerdoodle cookies. They’re warm, cozy & perfect for holiday baking!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour, 375 grams
- 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground Cardamom
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves
- ¼ tsp Ground Allspice
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar, 267g
- 2 Eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Rolling Sugar
- ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar, 70g
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside
- Make the brown butter: melt 1 stick of butter in small saucepan. Continue to melt, swirling around, until mixture starts to foam up and you see small brown specks. The butter will start to smell nutty. Immediately remove from heat, transfer to a small bowl and set aside to slightly cool.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, spices, and salt, set aside.
- In your stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the remaining 1 stick of butter along with the cooled brown butter and granulated sugar on medium high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients in 3 stages, and mix just until combined.
- To Make the Rolling Sugar: combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
- Roll cookie dough into 1" balls, and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar topping. Place about 3" apart on cookie sheets.
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes, rotating half way in between. They should be lightly browned on the bottom but not on the top. If they look flat, cook another 1-2 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
- Store in airtight container and keep room temperature for up to 1 week. Or, place in freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
*The original Snickerdoodle recipe is from Sally's Baking Addiction-recipe here.
*I have updated the recipe as of 2022, to include 2 eggs instead of 1. This has yielded a moister, fluffier cookie.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 184Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 106mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 2g
caitlyn
I just made these and they taste great! My dough was super dry though and I am not sure what happened.
Susan CORNFORTH
These sound delicious, but I’m looking for a GF alternative for the flour. Any suggestions?
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Hi Susan. King Arthur and Bob's red mill both make an all purpose gluten free flour that you could substitute. Hope that helps! X, Alyssa.
Sara
Made these tonight exactly by the recipe but they spread out and became flat and crispy. Still delicious! But do you know what would cause this? All I can think of is the butter being too warm? I also live at a higher elevation, would I need more flour?
Wine a Little Cook A Lot
Hi Sara, not sure why the cookies spread out for you. It could be a couple things: the butter wasn't cooled completely or you didn't cream the butter and sugar long enough? It also could be the elevation. I would first make sure your browned butter is cooled to room temperature and that you're creaming the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes. Then, I would adjust your oven to a slightly higher temperature, maybe to 385 F. I hope this helps!