Easy Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies

Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies are laced with vanilla chai tea, cozied up with pantry staple spices, and then dipped in a sweet 4-ingredient vanilla icing! A simple cookie that’s incredibly hard to resist!

The Best Buttery Spiced Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies

These crisp and buttery shortbread cookies are a literal dessert dream! Loaded with cozy spices and topped with sweetly spiced vanilla icing, these cookies are perfect for a little treat with your tea or packaged up for the annual holiday cookie swap!

These Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies are one of my most popular recipes here on the blog and once you try them, you’ll know why! But just when you thought these cookies were as good as they get, I found ways to improve them!

I turned this recipe into a slice-and-bake cookie rather than rolling and cutting, creating an easier cookie recipe! From there I incorporated spices to add more flavor to the tea and then finished it off with chilling the dough for as long as you can stand.

The longer the dough chills, the more the flavor develops, rewarding you with an incredibly flavored cookie! This also means this new method allows you to prep cookies well in advance since the logs of dough can be refrigerated or even frozen!

See, change isn’t bad. In fact, in this case, change is delicious! Don’t worry, I did keep the old recipe ingredients and instructions on the bottom of the recipe card for those who REALLY don’t like change!

How To Make Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies

1. Preheat the oven and then fit your stand mixer with a large bowl and a paddle attachment.
2. Cream unsalted butter with chai tea leaves, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, salt, ground ginger, ground clove, and ground allspice.
3. Mix in powdered sugar until incorporated.
4. Add in the all-purpose flour a little to a time and then mix the dough until it becomes a soft Play-Doh-like consistency.
5. Transfer the shortbread cookie dough onto a large piece of parchment paper. Next, shape and roll the dough into a log.
6. Chill the log of cookie dough in the fridge.
7. Slice the chilled cookie dough log using a shark knife. Then place them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake the Vanilla Shortbread Cookies until the edges become golden brown.
9. Cool the cookies on the baking pan before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
10. Prepare the icing by whisking together powdered sugar with heavy cream, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon until the mixture becomes smooth.
11. Dip the top of each chai tea cookie into the icing and then allow any excess to drip off. Then run a spoon along the edge of the cookie to remove any extra icing. Place the iced cookies onto wax paper and then allow them to set until the icing hardens.

Storage Instructions For Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies

Baked Cookies: Once the Shortbread Cookies have completely cooled transfer them into an airtight container with parchment paper separating the layers. The cookies can then be stored at room temperature to enjoy for up to a week! (If they even last that long!)

Cookie Dough: If you’re not ready to bake the cookies yet, leave the cookie dough log wrapped in parchment paper and then wrap it up again in plastic wrap. The log of cookie dough can then be stored in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. When you’re ready to enjoy a freshly baked cookie just slice the log into cookie discs and bake!

More Delicious Shortbread Recipes

• Lemon Shortbread Cookie – Bursting with buttery, sweet citrus flavor!
• Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies – Made with only 5 ingredients and a sweet lemon glaze!
• Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread – A delicious cookie recipe that took the internet by storm!
• Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies – Filled with citrusy orange zest and tart dried cranberries!
• Easy Lemon Basil Shortbread Cookies – The perfect summertime tea cookie!

This recipe was originally published in December 2015 and was updated in November 2024 with new photos and a slightly update recipe.

4.84 from 116 votes

Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies

Author Rebecca Hubbell

Course Dessert

Cuisine English

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Chill Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 35 minutes minutes

Servings 24 cookies

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These Vanilla Chai Shortbread Cookies are simple with a little spice and a whole lot of cozy! Made with loose tea leaves, flour, butter, and sugar, these cookies are easy and fast to make.

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Ingredients

  

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Cookies:

• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter 227g, cold and cubed, see notes
• ▢ 2 teaspoons chai tea leaves I use 2 bags of Tazo Chai
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon ground clove
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
• ▢ ½ cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour 260g

Icing:

• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon heavy cream or water
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Cream 1 cup unsalted butter (make sure it's cold), 2 teaspoons chai tea leaves, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon ground clove, and ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
• Add in ½ cup powdered sugar and mix until incorporated.
• Add in 2 cups all-purpose flour a little at a time and mix for about 4 to 5 minutes until a soft Play-Doh-like dough forms. The mix will be dry and crumbly at first but will come together after several minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a large piece of parchment paper and shape and roll it into a log using the parchment paper to help you. The log should be about 11.5 to 12 inches long and 2 in diameter.
• Chill the dough log for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight or for several days. The flavor increases the longer this dough chills.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Use a very sharp knife to cut the log into 24 cookies (just under .5-inch wide slices for each) and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. I like to roll the bottom of the cut slices on the pan to smooth out any frays from the cut and shape them to be more rounded if needed.
• Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
• Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Once cooled, whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon heavy cream2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon until smooth.
• Dip the top of each cookie in the icing, let excess drip off and run a spoon along the edge to remove any extra, then place on wax paper to set until the icing hardens.

Video

Notes

• I highly recommend using grass-fed butter. We prefer either Kerrygold or Kirkland brand. I’ve also made this recipe with salted butter, and it turns out wonderfully with no additional adjustments. Cold and cubed works the best for getting the right texture, and make sure to use a paddle attachment.
• This cookie recipe is one of my most popular, so if you made it prior to November 2024, you might notice that it’s changed a bit, and you’re wondering why I messed with a good thing. Here’s why:
  • The slice and bake cookies are easier than rolling and cutting. 
  • The flavor develops better as the dough chills.
  • Spices add more flavor to the tea!
• This new method also means that they are a fantastic cookie to prep well in advance! The dough logs can be stored in the fridge in a ziploc bag for up to 3 weeks and frozen for even longer. Then just slice and bake!
• If you would like to make the original recipe, simply omit the spices, roll the dough about 1/2-inch thick, and use a 2-inch cookie cutter to cut it into circles and bake. No chilling, but it took longer for the flavor to develop.
• If the dough is too sticky and sticks to the parchment paper instead of peeling cleanly, add 2 additional tablespoons of flour. If it continues to stick, add the flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is a play-doh consistency.

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 16mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 252IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg

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