Chewy Chai Spiced Cookies

A.k.a Christmas in a cookie.

Sugar, spice and everything nice!!!

If you know me, you'll know I love chai. Anything chai flavoured will go down a treat with me.

These chai spiced cookies were so yummy and I was genuinely quite surprised at how perfect they turned out!! I didn't expect them to be so soft and chewy.

These babies make the perfect addition to an evening cuppa or even a little snack in the afternoon. But just a heads up – once you start, you can't stop at just one. They're extremely moreish.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

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INGREDIENTS

2 cups (250g) plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cornflour

1/2 cup (115g) lightly salted butter, softened or melted

3/4 cup (150g) light brown sugar

1/4 cup (50g) white caster sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cardamom (or you can extract the black seeds from cardamom pods and use a pestle and mortar to crush the black seeds into fine grains – see step 2)

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 ground black pepper

FOR ROLLING COOKIE BALLS IN BEFORE BAKING

2 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC fan and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.

2. This step is dependent on whether you are grinding your own cardamom seeds. If you're doing this, extract the black seeds from about 15 cardamom pods and crush them in a pestle and mortar until they're fine grains. Once you've crushed them as much as you can, sieve them to get rid of all the larger bits. Discard the bits that are left in the sieve and make sure you have 1 tsp of the ground cardamom seeds.

3. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cornflour. Put aside.

4. In another bowl, mix together the light brown sugar and caster sugar. Then add in the melted/softened butter and whisk thoroughly. Add in the egg and vanilla and mix through once again until well combined.

5. Add the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and black pepper to the sugar mixture. Mix well.

6. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and combine with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Mix until it forms a dough.

7. In a small dish, mix together the ingredients to roll your cookie balls into.

8. Roll the dough into small to medium-sized balls and dip into the sugar and spice mixture. Place onto the baking tray and repeat with the entire batter.

9. Bake for 10-11 minutes and allow the cookies to cool completely before devouring.