Brace yourself… this post is going to have a lot of photos.
Remember how I wasn’t in a cooking mood all last week while Brad was gone? Well, Sunday I got excited and in a serious baking mood so I decided to make these cookies. I had seen them on Eat, Live, Run a few days ago and instantly knew that was next on my baking list.
They did not disappoint.
(Oh, by the way, that’s my awesome KitchenAid in the background of the photo above. I literally held back tears when I opened it at my first bridal shower. My momma spoiled me. Just for the record.)
They are by far the fluffiest cookie I have ever eaten in my entire life. They are literally like eating a mini frosted cake. And it’s amazing.
I haven’t been in much of a baking mood lately, mostly because we have been so busy with the doggies and also, it’s been ridiculously hot so using the oven hasn’t been at the top of my list. However… I did use it to make a pizza last week, but whatever. I’m not sure what came over me, but I was very determined and excited to bake these cookies.
And I’ve actually been eating them!! Usually when I get in these types of baking moods, I make whatever it is, have a bite and then I’m done. Which means Brad eats about 1/3 of what I make, then I have to give away the other 2/3. I just don’t, for whatever reason, eat that much of what I bake. I suppose it’s the process that I like rather than the final product. Not this time though. I’ve been eating these like my life depends on it. Luckily, the recipe only made 10 so I haven’t done too much damage. Plus, I gave 2 to my mom. AND we started back up with our Tough Mudder training so I don’t feel so bad about it.
No, really. I don’t feel bad about eating spoonfuls of batter, frosting and a good 3 cookies in one day. Uhhhh…. Nevermind.
Anyway, if you are a Chai Tea lover like I am, then I swear you’ll love these cookies. They have great spice flavor in them and the frosting has just enough Chai to satisfy a craving. Like I said earlier, they have the fluffiest consistency that I have ever seen. It’s like eating a cloud made of a cookie. Really. You should try it. I think I’m going to eat one right now… that counts as my nighttime tea… right?
Chai Tea Frosted Cookies
Adapted with minor changes from Eat, Live, Run (<- that’s the link for her actually post for the cookies)
Makes 8-10 large cookies
For the Cookies:
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
5 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup buttermilk (I didn’t have any so I addedjust under 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to regular milk and let it sit for 5 minutes, works like a charm!)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
For the Frosting:
1/2 stick of butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon Chai concentrate (Oregon Chai and Tazo are good brands)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In the meantime, in a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Add egg to butter mixture, mix until well combined (a minute or two). Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Add vanilla and beat until well combined.
Spoon the batter into a gallon size Ziploc bag and cut the tip off. Pipe onto a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet, leaving a good 2 inches in between each cookie (actually do this because I didn’t so much and I had connected cookies). Wet your finger with a little water and dab down the tips of the cookies so they are nice and smooth.
Bake for about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let completely cool before you frost them.
To make the frosting, mix together the powdered sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Beat butter on low speed and slowly add the powdered sugar. Slowly drizzle in the Chai concentrate. Beat until nice and fluffy.
**Note: I used the whole frosting recipe that she wrote, which is double what I wrote above. I found that it was WAY too much frosting. I literally have a tupperware container filled with Chai buttercream that I am trying to figure out what to do with. I found the frosting to be a little buttery as well, so before you frost your cookies, taste it to make sure you don’t need to add anymore powdered sugar. I don’t know, you might want to have as much frosting as she suggested, but I just wasn’t feeling it. Oh! And the cookies are really good on their own. They aren’t very sweet, which is nice because the frosting is!
What Did You Eat Yesterday? 