When it comes to Christmas cookies and music, I tend to want the classics. The flavors that I only get to have once a year, sugar cookies with icing and decorations, butterballs, thumbprints and gingerbread. They almost taste like Christmas. Music for years has been very similar. Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, A Very Special Christmas and Trans-siberian Orchestra to name a few. There are quite a few modern versions of songs that I will avoid at all costs – they almost are a disgrace to the traditional version. Last year, however, I heard Leslie Odom Jr’s album and I knew that it would quickly become a Christmas favorite. The arrangements complement his voice and he sounds smoother than eggnog. His version of My Favorite Things, which has never been a song I seek out around the holidays, is incredible. I decided to play around with my holiday cookies and find one that had some of the same qualities and yet was like Simply Christmas – enough of a twist to be irresistible.
Enter these Chai-Spiced Sugar Cookies. I took a fairly typical sugar cookie recipe and amped up the spices and you guys, this might be my new favorite holiday cookie! I tried to do some fancy icing (see Instagram for the failed ones) and after quite a few lopsided Christmas trees and distorted snowflakes, I dipped one in the icing and glazed the top. It literally is the icing on the top and worth the extra few minutes it takes to glaze. These cookies taste warming, spiced and are oh-so-tender. If you only make one of my cookie recipes from this Christmas series, make these!
I went a little different this time. I crafted the recipe based on the album and I love this pairing so much!
Frosted Chai-Spiced Sugar Cookies
Makes 30 cookies
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp of ground cloves
- 1 tsp of ground ginger
- 2 tsp of ground cardamom
- 1 tsp of ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp of kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp of baking soda
- 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup of skim or 1% milk
- 1 tsp of vanilla
Glaze
- 2 tsp of cardamom simple syrup (or plain simple syrup)
- 1.5 cups of sifted confectioners sugar
- 1 tbsp of skim or 1% milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix the first eight ingredients together in a bowl.
- In a mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar and beat until light and airy, about 4 minutes.
- Add in the vanilla, egg yolks and milk to the mixing bowl and beat for another 4 minutes.
- On medium-low, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Roll dough into 1 Tbsp sized balls and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Using your fingers, a cookie stamp or another flat implement (I used a champagne cork!), lightly press each ball into a flat circle about 1/4 inch thick.
- Bake cookies for 15 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and let cool.
- Glaze – mix the three ingredients together. Test on one cookie, drop 1 tsp full onto a cookie. The glaze should smooth out within a minute of being placed on the cookie. Additionally, it should smooth over the sides of the cookie in another minute or so. If it does not, the glaze is too thick.
- When the glaze is the desired texture, dip each cookie into the glaze by holding it bottom up and lightly press the top of the cookie into the glaze. Remove from the glaze and hold sideways, allowing the extra to slide off. Place on a lined cooking rack or baking tray and let set. Repeat with all cookies.