Description
Delight in these Chai Chocolate Chip Cookies, a perfect fusion of warm chai spices and rich dark chocolate chunks. These cookies combine the comforting flavors of ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and black pepper with a classic chocolate chip cookie base for a unique treat that’s perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Mix:
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Mix:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 ounces dark chocolate chunks
Instructions
- Prepare Dry Mix: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, allspice, black pepper, and salt until well combined. Set this aromatic dry mix aside.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the melted and slightly cooled butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat at medium speed for about 3 minutes until the mixture is fluffy and smooth. Then, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract and mix briefly to combine.
- Mix Dry and Wet Ingredients: Add the prepared dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients in one batch. Because of your mixer’s size, you may need to lift the head to add all the flour. Cover the mixer with a clean kitchen towel to avoid flour flying out, and start mixing on low speed until mostly combined. Then increase to medium speed and mix until there are no visible flecks of flour left. Finally, fold in the dark chocolate chunks until evenly distributed.
- Chill Dough: Transfer the cookie dough to the refrigerator and chill for at least one hour, or up to two days. Chilling firms up the dough and intensifies the flavors.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
- Scoop and Shape Cookies: Using a medium cookie scoop, portion out dough balls. If the dough is very chilled and firm, press it compactly into the scoop to form solid balls. Arrange 6 to 7 dough balls per baking sheet, spacing them well apart as the cookies will spread during baking.
- Bake Cookies: Place the baking sheets into the preheated oven. Bake the cookies for 7 to 8 minutes, or up to 10 minutes if the dough is very cold. The cookies should be a light to medium golden brown when done.
- Finish and Cool: Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately sprinkle a few pinches of salt on top to enhance the flavor. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet briefly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat Baking: Continue to scoop, bake, and cool remaining dough until all cookies are baked.
- Freeze Dough (Optional): To freeze dough, place shaped dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze them until very firm, approximately 20 minutes. Then transfer the frozen dough balls to a freezer-safe plastic bag for storage of up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen when ready.
Notes
- You can prepare the cookie dough up to two days in advance and keep it tightly wrapped in the refrigerator to develop flavors further.
- Freezing cookie dough balls beforehand makes baking convenient and helps maintain cookie shape; bake from frozen by adding a few extra minutes to the baking time.
- Sprinkling cookies with salt right after baking enhances the chai and chocolate flavors beautifully.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 289 kcal
- Sugar: 23 g
- Sodium: 129 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 39 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
