Glazed Chai Spiced Shortbread Cookies

Glazed Chai Spiced Shortbread Cookies are buttery, light, and airy. The cookies are infused with familiar chai spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and cardamom. Once cooled, the cookies are flooded with a delightfully smooth and sweet glaze; these cookies are bound to be a holiday favourite!

Chai can include several different spices. Cardamom is the most common ingredient, followed by some mixture of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, etc. Sometimes, ground black pepper, coriander, and fennel are also used, but they are slightly less common. In North America, chai is most commonly known as a flavoured tea – most likely thanks to the popularity of Starbucks. The Glazed Chai Spiced Shortbread Cookies recipe infuses whipped shortbread cookie dough with a combination of those warming spices.

These cookies could not have come at a better time. It’s cold outside which makes me crave comforting, warming treats like these cookies. Sometime earlier this year, I started to really appreciate the comforting feeling of a hot cup of tea in the afternoon. Even during the summer months, I would enjoy a cup of tea, but not as often. Now that the colder weather has settled in to stay for a while, I’m back to it and I can’t imagine enjoying these cookies any other way. A hot cup of tea and a chai-spiced cookie is the perfect afternoon treat!

I’m going to tell you all about this cookie recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the cookie recipes! Before I get into today’s recipe, let me make mention of the three previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Trifle Series and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Breads and Loaves. Next was my 12 Squares and Bars Series, which was Volume 2 of that particular series.  

And now, I’m starting on this new series, which is the seventh annual instalment! I cannot believe that this is the seventh year in a row that I’ve shared Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas! But, before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more!

LORD BYRON’S 24 COOKIES OF CHRISTMAS SERIES

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the fourth of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! This one is called Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 7! I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy, just like in previous years. Even if a recipe looks complex, I promise you that it is not! My goal, as always, is to share recipes with you that are not too complex to whip up as a holiday treat for your family. 

Like every other holiday series I’ve shared over the years, this series will share a new recipe every day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series! Even though this is the fourth series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature!
• Cornstarch – When added to cake, cookie and shortbread recipes, cornstarch helps create a crumbly and tender dessert-like texture.
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar.  
• Vanilla Extract
• Spices – You will need cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
• Milk

HOW TO MAKE GLAZED CHAI SPICED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Begin by preparing the chai spice blend. In a bowl, measure in the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Add one tablespoon of sugar and whisk to combine. Set that aside.

Next, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside. Transfer the butter to a bowl and beat until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes. Add the cornstarch, flour, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract, and four teaspoons of the spice and sugar mixture to the bowl and beat until incorporated.

Portion about 1 tablespoon of the dough (I used a small ice-cream type scoop to get even amounts of dough for each cookie.) Roll the dough into small balls and place on the lined baking sheet. Leave a good 2 inches of space between each ball. Next, dip the bottom of a drinking glass into a bowl of confectioner’s sugar to keep the dough from sticking, and push the bottom of the glass down onto the ball to flatten the ball to 1/2 inch.

Bake for 14 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling. Once cooled, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and milk until smooth. Set the wire cooling rack with the cookies onto a rimmed baking sheet to catch the spilled glaze. There will be spillage! Use a teaspoon to spoon the glaze directly onto each cookie, allowing it to spread out naturally, covering the surface. The excess will drip off. Once the surface of each cookie is fully covered with the glaze, sprinkle over the remaining spice and sugar mixture. Once the glaze has hardened, transfer the cookies to a food-safe container with a tight-fitting lid. Keep at room temperature.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for a long time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Glazed Chai Spiced Shortbread Cookies, you certainly can! Pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer-friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out on a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!