If you love bold flavors, these Dirty Chai Cookies may just be your new favorite cookie! With the unbeatable team of spiced chai and espresso, I'll just be in my kitchen making these cookies on repeat!
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These Dirty Chai Cookies are crisp and chewy with the warm, spiced goodness of chai paired with a hint of rich espresso. They're so cozy and comforting!
If you enjoy this recipe, check out the posts for my Chai Cake, Apple Crisp Macchiato Bars, and Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes!
What is Dirty Chai?
Masala chai is brewed black tea with milk and spices. Many Americans refer to this beverage as just "chai," though "chai" is just the word for "tea" in many languages. The spices included in Masala chai are typically ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper. That said, recipes for masala chai vary among countries, regions, and even families.
A "dirty chai" is masala chai with a shot of espresso. These cookies aim to honor this flavor profile, using chai, milk, spices, and espresso powder for their bold flavor.
Ingredients
Here's everything you need for these cookies! Measurements for each of the ingredients are included in the recipe card, below.
Chai Cookie Ingredients
- Milk - For moisture, richness, and cookies that brown up nicely.
- Chai - For flavor. I used tea bags. You can use looseleaf tea if that's what you've got, but you'll need to strain the tea from the milk once it has steeped.
- Flour - Provides structure for the cookies. I used all-purpose flour.
- Espresso Powder - For the "dirty" flavor in dirty chai! I like using espresso powder because it gives a punch of flavor without having to add moisture. It's also very fine, so it incorporates into the cookie dough easily. Instant coffee would be a close substitute, though since it isn't ground finely, I would dissolve it in the milk/chai mixture instead of adding it to the dry ingredients.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda - For leavening.
- Salt - To help balance and enhance the flavors of the cookies.
- Unsalted Butter - For moisture and richness. Unsalted so that you control the amount of salt in the recipe. You want your butter to be at room temperature.
- Brown Sugar - For sweetness, a subtle molasses flavor, and keeping the cookies soft and moist.
- Egg - For structure, moisture, and richness. You want your egg to be at room temperature.
Chai Sugar Ingredients
- Granulated Sugar - For sweetness and a little sparkle on the baked cookies.
- Chai - For flavor. The tea is ground up (in either a small food processor, coffee grinder, or spice grinder) so that it mixes well into the sugar and there aren't any large pieces of tea that will burn in the oven. If you don't have the means to grind up the tea or prefer not to use it, just leave it out. You'll still have the spiced flavor, just no actual tea.
- Ground Spices - Cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black pepper for flavor.
Hint: Want a big batch of chai sugar to use in baked goods, rim cocktail glasses, gift to friends, and more? Check out my Chai Sugar post and make a big batch to enjoy!
Instructions
Just a few simple steps, and you've got yourself a batch of Dirty Chai Cookies! More detailed instructions are included in the recipe card, below.
- Warm milk and add tea bags. Allow tea to steep until the mixture cools to room temperature.
- Make the chai sugar while the milk/chai mixture cools. Pour a few tablespoons of sugar and the chai into a coffee or spice grinder and process until the chai is finely ground.
- Pour the sugar/chai mixture into a bowl with the remaining sugar and spices and whisk to combine. Portion the cookie dough into balls, rolling the dough balls in chai sugar before baking.
- Beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and mix until combined.
- Gradually add half the dry ingredients, followed by the cooled milk/chai mixture, then the remaining dry ingredients.
Equipment
Here are a few things that make life a little easier while making this recipe. As mentioned in the recipe notes, if you don't have a coffee grinder or food processor to grind the chai for the chai sugar, just leave the tea out! The cookies will still be spiced and delicious without the tea (and remember, the cookies are already flavored with chai)!
- Coffee Grinder - A coffee ginder is my preferred equipment for grinding the tea for the chai sugar, as the bowl is quite small. I bought one with a removable, dishwasher-safe bowl so that it's easy to clean between uses!
- Food Processor - If you don't have a coffee grinder, a food processor is your next best bet. A small/mini food processor will work best. If you have a larger food processor, definitely use the smallest bowl insert that you have.
- Parchment Paper - I like to line my pans with nonstick parchment for easier cleanup. If you line your pans with a silicone liner, the cookies may take a little longer to bake through.
- Cookie Scoop - I used a large cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoon volume) to portion out my cookies so they’re all uniform in size (and my hands stay a lot cleaner).
Variations
An easy variation of this cookie would be to just leave out the espresso powder, leaving you with chai cookies!
These cookies are also fantastic sandwiched with some Marshmallow Frosting!
Storage
The cookies will keep, completely cooled, in an airtight container for up to five days. They'll stay soft and moist for longer if you place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies.
For longer storage, the cookies will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months.
Other Recipes You May Like
Dirty Chai Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Dirty Chai Cookies
- ¼ cup milk (I used whole milk)
- 2 tea bags chai
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder (see note)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups brown sugar, packed
- 1 egg, at room temperature
Chai Sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tea bag chai
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch ground cloves
- pinch ground black pepper
Instructions
For Chai Milk
- Pour the milk into a small saucepan and warm over medium-low heat until just starting to bubble around the edges (do not boil). Since it's a small amount of milk, you could also heat it in a mug in the microwave if you prefer.
- Once the milk is warmed, add the tea bags and allow the chai to steep in the milk until it cools to room temperature. Set aside and continue with the recipe as the mixture cools.
For Chai Sugar
- Pour a few tablespoons of the sugar and all the chai into a coffee or spice grinder (optional; see note). Make sure the bowl is completely dry before you begin! (A food processor may also do the job if it has a small bowl.)
- Process the sugar and chai until the chai is finely ground. This process nearly "powders" the sugar, which is why you don't want to put all the sugar in the grinder.
- Pour the sugar/chai mixture into a bowl with the remaining sugar and all the spices and whisk to combine. Set aside.
For Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350℉. Line baking sheets with parchment (see note) and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Gradually add half the dry ingredients and mix until almost incorporated.
- Once cooled to room temperature, remove the tea bags from the milk, squeezing the bags to get as much flavor out as you can. Add the milk/chai mixture to the mixing bowl and mix until just combined. Gradually add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
- Portion the dough out into balls that are about 3 Tablespoons in size (see note on cookie scoop), roll in the chai sugar, then place on the prepared baking sheets at least two inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until just barely golden around the edges. Allow baked cookies to sit on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- The cookies will keep, completely cooled, in an airtight container for up to five days. They'll stay soft and moist for longer if you place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies.For longer storage, the cookies will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months.Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate.
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