I am feeling all the cozy vibes these days, so I wanted a cozy dessert to go with the season. Chai is one of the most comforting drinks in the world with its mixture of warm spices and tea. I love it even more when it is used to flavor desserts. That’s why I decided to make these chai shortbread cookies. But then I thought, you know what would it better? Nutella. I haven’t used nutella in any recipes thus far, so I thought why not sandwich it between 2 cookies. The resulting chai shortbread cookie sandwiches were so so yummy. Can’t wait for you guys to try this one.
Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments
- Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, star anise, and cloves – These warm spices give the cookies a unique flavor. Feel free to leave out spices you don’t enjoy or can’t find. I say at the bare minimum I would included cardamom in these cookies.
- Earl grey tea – You can’t have chai without some type of black tea. You can use any kind of black tea for this recipe. I chose earl grey.
- Flour – I used all purpose flour for this recipe.
- Powdered (confectioners) sugar – Powdered sugar is a combination of fine sugar and corn starch. This ingredient is a must for these cookies because it makes them soft and tender.
- Butter – I used unsalted butter for this recipe. It’s important to use unsalted butter because it helps you control the amount of salt in your recipe.
- Vanilla extract – Vanilla extract adds flavor to the cookies. A better substitute would be vanilla paste or 1 vanilla bean because they have better flavor. Substitute vanilla paste in a 1:1 ratio – 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract for 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste.
- Salt – Brings out the flavor of the other ingredients.
- Nutella – The creamy hazelnut spread that everyone loves. You can eat these shortbread cookies without it, but it just takes this dessert to another level.
Making these chai shortbread cookie sandwiches
First add your earl grey tea to your spice grinder or food processor. Pulse until a fine powder forms. Combine the powdered earl grey with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, star anise, cloves, and flour in a bowl. Mix until combined and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and salt and mix until combined. Next, add the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms. Roll out the dough onto a silicone mat until it is 1/4 an inch thick. Transfer the silicone mat onto a baking sheet. Rest dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Move the oven rack to the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 baking sheets by covering them with parchment paper. After 30 minutes, take the dough out from the fridge. Use a cookie cutter that is 2.5 inches in diameter to cut out your cookies. After you cut out your first batch, combine the remaining dough, and roll it out to cut more cookies. Repeat this process until you run out of dough. For half the cookies, use a cookie cutter that is 1 inch in diameter to cut out the center of the cookies. Place cookies onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes until the edges start to turn a golden color. Cool cookies for 10 minutes. Add 1-2 teaspoons of nutella on the half of the cookie without the center cut out. Place the cut out cookies on top of the nutella, sandwiching the nutella in the center.
Tips on how to make the perfect chai shortbread cookie sandwiches
Roll out the dough prior to resting it in the fridge
The reason I rolled out the dough first before resting it in the fridge is because the dough is easier to work with before it goes into the fridge.
Why I use a silicone mat
I used a silicone mat because it’s easy to roll out the dough on the surface, it makes it easy to transfer the dough onto a baking sheet for resting, and the cookies don’t stick when I transfer them onto another baking sheet for baking.
What to do if your dough gets too warm
When I was cutting the cookies, there were moments when the dough got too warm. Like I mentioned, the cookies bake better when they’re cold. If this happens, put the cookies back in the fridge for 10 minutes before continuing to work with it.
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Chai Shortbread Cookie Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 2 tsp earl grey tea powdered
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground star anise
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup nutella
Instructions
- Add earl grey tea to a spice grinder or food processor and pulse it breaks down into powder.
- Mix the flour, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, star anise, and powdered earl grey together. Set aside.
- Cream powdered sugar and butter until fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract and salt. Mix until well combined.
- Sift the dry ingredients from step 1 into the wet ingredients. Combine with a spatula until a soft dough forms.
- Roll out the dough onto a silicone mat until it is 1/4 an inch thick.
- Transfer the silicone mat onto a baking sheet. Rest dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Move the oven rack to the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare 2 baking sheets by covering them with parchment paper.
- After 30 minutes, take the dough out from the fridge. Use a cookie cutter that is 2.5 inches in diameter to cut out your cookies. After you cut out your first batch, combine the remaining dough, and roll it out to cut more cookies. Repeat this process until you run out of dough.
- For half the cookies, use a cookie cutter that is 1 inch in diameter to cut out the center of the cookies.
- Place cookies onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes until the edges start to turn a golden color.
- Cool cookies for 10 minutes.
- Add 1-2 teaspoons of nutella to the half of the cookies without the center cut out. Place the cut out cookies on top of the nutella, sandwiching the nutella in the center.
Notes
- Roll out the dough prior to resting it in the fridge – The reason I rolled out the dough first before resting it in the fridge is because the dough is easier to work with before it goes into the fridge.
- Why I use a silicone mat – I used a silicone mat because it’s easy to roll out the dough on the surface, it makes it easy to transfer the dough onto a baking sheet for resting, and the cookies don’t stick when I transfer them onto another baking sheet for baking.
- What to do if your dough gets too warm – When I was cutting the cookies, there were moments when the dough got too warm. Like I mentioned, the cookies bake better when they’re cold. If this happens, put the cookies back in the fridge for 10 minutes before continuing to work with it.
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by Becca Du