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I pre-ordered Little Flower Baking, not because I'd loved the baked goods from Little Flower (I didn't), but because I am still a little infatuated with Christine Moore's green soup. My irritation with this new cookbook escalated rapidly as I realized that almost every single bakery item in the first slender volume from Little Flower has been reprinted again in Little Flower Baking. What a waste of precious paper and space. Then I found these white chocolate chai cookies, tucked among a bunch of conventional cookie recipes... I may still be mildly annoyed about the high duplication rate, but these cookies are fantastic. They taste almost exactly like a masala chai tea, a real one full of whole milk, sugar, and spices (instead of the terrible sugar-free ones I keep being served at Indian restaurants). I usually am not a fan of white chocolate in cookies (unless they are pistachio cookies), but here the white chocolate pairs perfectly with the chai spices to recreate the tea as a phenomenal cookie.
These cookies are pretty simple to make and follow the conventional cookie preparation guidelines. Cream your butter and sugars together until fluffy, add eggs one at a time then vanilla, add flour mixture until just incorporated, fold in chocolate, then form into cookies. I formed mine using a standard-sized ice cream scoop, equal to about 1-½ oz or 2 tablespoons of dough. Gently flatten to ¼ - ½ inch thick rounds, arrange on a single layer of parchment paper, and freeze for at least one hour. This gives the butter time to re-chill, the egg time to moisten the somewhat sandy dough, and the spices time to mingle to yield the amazing cookie this dough will become. If storing for longer than 12 hours, transfer to a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or container.
When you want to bake these, remove from the freezer to thaw a bit as you preheat the oven. In the amount of time it takes your oven to preheat, your cookies should be sufficiently thawed so they can go right in at 375. Rotate after 5-6 minutes, remove after another 5-6 minutes. They should be just golden brown around the edges when you take them out. Let them cool at least 10 minutes so that the center sets before enjoying.
These cookies are perfectly soft and chewy in the center, slightly crispy at the edges, and well-balanced between spicy and sweet. For the sake of these phenomenally delicious cookies (assuming you like the taste of chai).
White Chocolate Chai Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (228 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (213 g) golden brown sugar, packed
- 1 scant cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons (445 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¾ - 1 cup (128-170 g) white chocolate* chopped
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing and scraping after each addition. Add vanilla and mix to combine.
- Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Dough will still be a bit shaggy and dry. Fold in the white chocolate.
- Scoop into 1.5oz balls with a standard-sized ice cream scoop, placing on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently flatten with your palm to a height of ¾" inch. Freeze at least one hour, until firm.
- Remove cookie dough on baking sheet from freezer and preheat oven to 375 F. Once pre-heated bake cookies, rotating pan halfway through, until edges are golden brown and center is pale, about 9-10 minutes.
Notes
