'Tis the season of fusion desserts! Christmas is fun and all, but why not spice it up a little, Desi style? 😎
I am Punjabi (Indian), and growing up, my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, everyone, would drink chai. Chai was the drink served when you had guests over. Americans have people over for wine and cheese, English people have people over for tea and scones, Indians have people over for chai and risk. Our house, frequently, would be filled with the warm aroma of the fresh chai being made. It really is such a comforting smell and the flavors warm your soul!
Chai is very simple to make, there are a lot of different variations. I like to make mine with ginger, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and black pepper. The ginger, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon add warmth with a little bit of sweetness, while the black pepper adds a little bit of a kick. This of course is mixed with water, milk, and tea and you heat it on the stove so all the flavors infuse. The end product is so comforting and takes tea to the next level.
I wanted to make something original for this holiday season and I personally love snickerdoodles. While brainstorming, I was thinking chai cookies would be so awesome. Then thinking further I decided to make a chai spice to make chai snickerdoodles. My chai spice includes ginger powder, fresh cloves and cardamom blended, cinnamon, and a tiny bit of black pepper. I blended it all together in a coffee grinder to make sure the spices were very fine. I added a little bit of this chai spice to the cookies then mixed sugar with it to make chai spice sugar and coated the cookies with them. And let me tell you, they turned out SO GOOD! The whole room smelled just like my childhood when we would have guests over. So much warmth!
Now, these aren't just chai spice snickerdoodles though! They have the added brown butter 🤩 Browned butter adds so much depth in flavor to any dish, so I love incorporating it into recipes. This step isn't necessarily required for making this recipe, but it does add a lot of flavor!
These cookies are perfect for giving as gifts to friends for the holidays! They last well (stick a piece of bread inside and it'll help keep them moist and chewy 😉). Your friends and family will not be disappointed!
Substitutes:
•Browned butter: regular butter, softened or melted.
•Vegan: canola oil and ground flaxseed (according to package instructions) or 1 1/2 bananas to replace eggs
•Can use instant chai as well if can't make chai spice
This recipe will make your home smell amazing! The perfect holiday treat to make and enjoy with your family! Tastes good paired with chai as well 😋 ENJOY!
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