frosted chai snickerdoodles
chai spice snickerdoodles with buttercream frosting
baked in January 2020
yield: 24 cookies
prep time: 45 minutes
cook time: 11 minutes
difficulty level: easy
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Topping
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Frosting
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 and 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream (preferred) or milk
- seeds scraped from 1/2 of a split vanilla bean
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions
For the cookies:
- Toss the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together until smooth. You must use a whisk in order to prevent the butter from separating from the sugars.
- Whisk in the egg, then the vanilla until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very thick and heavy, yet slightly crumbly.
- Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days. (If chilling for longer than a few hours, be sure to let the cookie dough sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes because it will be quite hard.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and roll 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of dough into each ball. You’ll have about 20-24 balls, give or take.
For the topping:
- Mix the sugar and spices together in a small bowl.
- Roll each dough ball into the mixture to coat evenly.
- Place 10 balls of dough onto each cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes. The cookies will look very puffy, soft, and under baked. That’s ok.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the frosting:
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy – about 2 minutes.
- Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, cream, and vanilla bean seeds with the mixer running on low.
- Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes.
- Add 1 Tablespoon more cream if frosting is too thick. Taste and add 1/8 teaspoon salt if frosting is too sweet.
- Frost cooled cookies. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cookie.
- Sprinkle with extra sugar/chai spice topping if you have any left, if desired.
Nutrition
- Total calories: 6,368
- Calories per cookie: 265
