This easy Chai Cookies Recipe are soft and chewy, made with a homemade chai spice blend and coated with cinnamon sugar. They’ll quickly become a new favorite fall cookie recipe!

These Chai Cookies combine two of my favorite things: cookies and warm chai spices!

There are a lot of spices needed to make a truly delicious chai mix, but the effort is worth it (and you can sub in a prepared mix if you have one!).

Filled with all the delicious fall flavors, these chai sugar cookies are perfect for cozy nights by the fire with a cup of your favorite chai tea!

They’re made with a cinnamon sugar coating, like in my Snickerdoodle Recipe, for even more spiced goodness.

Whether you’re a huge chai fan or just looking for the perfect cookie to share with friends and family, this recipe is sure to impress.

Try my Soft Molasses Cookies recipe, Mint Hershey’s Kiss Cookies, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, or one of these 31 Best Christmas Cookies for more holiday cookie treats!

Ingredients Needed:

• Butter: I use unsalted butter here to better control the salt content in the cookies. Make sure it’s at room temperature before mixing.
• Sugars: white granulated sugar and brown sugar are both used in these chai cookies to give them a great texture, color, and depth of flavor. We’ll use the white sugar for the coating too.
• Oil: a neutral flavored oil like canola oil or vegetable oil will help keep the cookies moist.
• Egg: to bind the ingredients.
• Vanilla: vanilla extract blends well with the spices, adding a sweet warmth to the cookies as well.
• Flour: all-purpose flour is perfect here. I haven’t tried this recipe with other types of flour.
• Cream of Tartar: a fool-proof way of giving these cookies their chewy texture (you can skip if you don’t have any).
• Baking Soda: to help the cookies rise slightly to be light and fluffy.
• Spices: use a combination of ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, cardamom, ground nutmeg, and allspice for the chai flavor. You’ll need cinnamon for the coating too. You can swap this out with 1.5 teaspoons chai spice mix.

How to Make Homemade Chai Cookies

This recipe comes together easily! Full instructions are included in the recipe card below.

1. Beat butter, sugars, and oil: Beat the butter, sugars, and oil together.
2. Add egg and vanilla: Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat until combined.

3. Mix in the dry ingredients: Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice.
4. Scrape sides of bowl: Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure you’re using all the ingredients.

5. Coat dough balls in cinnamon sugar: Make cookie dough balls and roll them into a cinnamon-sugar mix.
6. Place on sheet and bake: Place 6 dough balls on each cookie sheet, and bake.

How do I store Chai Cookies?

Once your cookies have cooled to room temperature, store them in an airtight container or in a Ziploc bag on the counter for up to 7 days.

Can I freeze Chai Cookies?

Yes! Freezing these Chai Cookies is a great way to get a head start on your holiday treat prep.

Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, store them in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper between each layer to keep them from sticking together. They’ll last in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature when you’re ready to serve them again.

Alternatively, you can make the cookies up to the point of baking them and freeze the unbaked cookie dough balls. Simply flash-freeze the cookie dough balls on a lined baking sheet, then put them in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. You can then bake them fresh from frozen, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time!

Tips and Notes

• Get the correct measurements. Use a digital kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients for the most accuracy with this recipe, where needed. Measuring spoons are fine for measuring out the spices.
• Mixing tools. Use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment if you have one, or a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, to mix your cookie dough efficiently.
• Cookie scoop. I like to use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop for most cookies! I love that they all come out the same size.

Chai Sugar Cookie Recipe Variations

• Taylor Swift Chai Cookies. If you’re a Taylor Swift fan (or if you keep up with TikTok), you’ll have no doubt seen Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookies. Simply make an eggnog glaze to finish off these cookies instead of the cinnamon sugar coating I’ve used here to get the same effect.
• Add chocolate. Add some white chocolate chips to the dough for a chocolatey twist on this chai sugar cookie.

Serving Suggestions

These cookies pair perfectly with a glass of cold milk or a hot cup of chai tea on a cold, wintery day!

​Try my Caramel Frappuccino, Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Cider, or my Slow Cooker Pumpkin Spice Latte for more fall-flavored drinks to go with these cookies.

More Easy Holiday Cookie Recipes to Try

Fall/Winter

Grandma’s Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Desserts

Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies Recipe + VIDEO

Desserts

Frosted Lemon Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Desserts

Chocolate Sour Cream Sugar Cookies Recipe

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Chai Cookies Recipe

This easy Chai Cookies Recipe are soft and chewy, made with a homemade chai spice blend and coated with cinnamon sugar. They'll quickly become a new favorite fall cookie recipe!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 13 minutes minutes

Total Time 28 minutes minutes

Servings 24 servings

Calories 118cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

Chai Cookies

• ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar 100 grams
• ½ cup brown sugar 100 grams
• 1 tablespoon oil I use canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour fluffed and levelled* (260 grams)
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• ⅛ teaspoon cardamom
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon allspice

Cinnamon Sugar

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugars and oil on high until light and creamy (about 2-3 minutes).
• Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat until combined.
• Add the flour (be sure to fluff it or weigh it!), cream of tartar, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg and allspice and beat on medium speed until combined, scraping down the sides as necessary.
• In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the Cinnamon Sugar.
• Roll the cookie dough into 1″ cookie dough balls and roll them in cinnamon sugar. Place 12 of the dough balls on each cookie sheet.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, until slightly puffed but not browned, they may have a slight sheen but not be gooey in the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Notes

Ingredients and Substitutions:

• Butter: salted or unsalted butter will work just fine here!
• Flour: be sure to fluff or weigh the flour — this will help you to get thick, chewy cookies that are not thin or dry.
• Cream of Tartar: this helps to give the cookies a great chewy texture. You can omit if you must but I really recommend trying it!
• Spices: the spice list is long because we are essentially making our own chai spice. You can substitute this with 1½ teaspoons of prepared chai spice mix, or reduce or increase the spices according to your tastes. These cookies have a mild spice flavor, so there is room to add more if you like a really strong chai flavor.

Storage

• Storage: Once your cookies have cooled to room temperature, store them in an airtight container or in a Ziploc bag on the counter for up to 7 days.
• Freeze Cookies: Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, store them in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper between each layer to keep them from sticking together. Defrost at room temperature when you’re ready to serve them again. 
• Freeze Cookie Dough Balls: Make the cookies up to the point of baking them, and freeze the unbaked cookie dough balls. Simply flash-freeze the cookie dough balls on a lined baking sheet, then put them in a freezer-bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. You can then bake them fresh from frozen, adding on a couple of minutes to the baking time!

Nutrition

Calories: 118cal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 28mg | Potassium: 43mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 129IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg

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These Hot Cross Buns are sweet, fluffy, lightly spiced buns filled with raisins and marked with a white cross. They are traditionally served at Easter but delicious any time of year!

See the step by step recipe video down in the recipe card.

Hot Cross Buns are sweet buns traditionally served around Easter (often on Good Friday), with history that goes back centuries!

Although there are plenty of theories about how they came to be and what they symbolize, today we’re just talking about how to make these sweet, spiced, fluffy little pockets of deliciousness!

For this recipe, I started with my Mom’s Homemade Buns — because they are so light and fluffy and loved by so many already.

I wanted a smaller batch for this recipe — one 9×13″ pan with 12 perfect rolls, since we love to enjoy them fresh out of the oven.

I halved the original recipe, added in some spices, raisins and sweetness, and topped them with an incredible maple glaze. If you want to take them totally over the top, slice and serve with some of this Cinnamon Butter — you won’t regret it!

How is the cross made on Hot Cross Buns?

There are two ways to make the cross on Hot Cross Buns: with a flour paste that is piped on before baking, or with frosting.

I use the flour paste method because, well, because I want to! If you want to use frosting, you can skip the flour paste and pipe your cross on afterwards. (Spoiler: they are also delicious without the cross ).

The important thing to remember when using a flour paste is that you don’t want it too thick or thin. It will not be firm like frosting (if it is you will end up with a very dry, hard cross on top once baked), but it shouldn’t be “drizzling” consistency either.

You don’t need any fancy equipment to make the cross: a simple plastic sandwich bag with the end snipped off will do the trick just fine!

Ingredients and substitutions:

• Flour: you can substitute the all purpose flour for some whole wheat flour, but I don’t recommend using 100% whole wheat flour as they will not be very fluffy. Since these are a sweet bun and are a treat to begin with, I go ahead and use all purpose flour.
• Sugar: you can substitute the sugar with brown sugar or liquid (clear) honey — just keep in mind that honey is a wet ingredient and may alter the amount of flour required in the recipe.
• Yeast: I usually bake with quick or instant yeast, because I’m impatient to enjoy my baked goods You can swap the instant yeast with active dry yeast, but be prepared to wait a little longer for your dough to rise.
• Milk: Milk adds richness and flavor to our dough, but you can swap with water if you need this recipe to be dairy free.
• Butter: I use unsalted butter when baking, which accounts for the higher amount of salt added. You can use salted butter and reduce the salt to 1 teaspoon. You can also swap the butter for a firm dairy-free margarine if you need these buns to be dairy-free.
• Spices: Depending on how “well-spiced” you like your hot cross buns, you can adjust the spices as you desire. These buns as is are mildly spiced, but definitely with lots of flavor! If you would like to add in nutmeg or cloves, I would recommend reducing the cinnamon slightly.
• Raisins: Dried fruit is a traditional addition to Hot Cross Buns, but what you add is up to you! Feel free to swap these out for dried currants or even chopped, dried apricots or cranberries.

How to make Hot Cross Buns:

1. Proof your yeast: allow your yeast to sit in some warm water and sugar to be sure it is activated. In 5-10 minutes, you’ll see it start to become bubbly.
2. Mix your bun dough: you can do this by hand (as I did in the video) or with a stand mixer. The most important thing is that the dough is still a little on the sticky side when you’re done — it will still come off a little on your fingers. That’s okay! It means they will be very fluffy when done.
3. First rise: the first rise is a little longer, usually 1 and a half hours. You’re looking for the dough to become very puffy and double in size.
4. Divide dough evenly into 12: I do this by first dividing my dough by 4, then each quarter into 3 even balls.
5. Second rise: the buns will double again and should fill the pan and all be touching.
6. Make your cross (optional): place your flour and water mixture in a small zip-top sandwich bag and snip the end. Use it to draw your crosses across your buns before baking.
7. Bake until golden, and brush with glaze before serving as desired.

Can I make these buns ahead?

Absolutely!

One of the great thing about yeast breads is that they are easy to prep ahead so that you can enjoy them fresh out of the oven. Here are a few different ways to make them ahead:

First rise in the fridge:

You can let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out your buns.

Simply cover your bowl tightly, place in the refrigerator and refrigerator overnight.

I like to allow my dough to come to room temperature before rolling, but this isn’t absolutely necessary.

Continue with the rest as listed.

Second rise in the fridge:

If you want to have these buns ready to bake in the morning for an Easter brunch, you can allow the dough to rise the first time, then roll your buns and place in a greased pan.

Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap (make sure it is airtight! We don’t want them drying out).

Refrigerate overnight (they will continue to rise, but it will be slow). In the morning, pull the pan out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature and rise until doubled if they have not already — they should look puffed and fluffy and will likely be touching each other.

Continue with baking instructions as listed.

Freezing Hot Cross Buns:

These buns also freeze well!

To freeze, follow the recipe and let cool completely on a wire rack — this will take several hours.

Wrap tightly in plastic wrap (I like to use a couple of layers) and place in the freezer where they are not squished by other items.

Freeze up to 3 months.

To serve, allow buns to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then warm in a 300 degree oven until warmed through.

More Easter brunch recipes!

• Coconut Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze
• Loaded Baked Potato Quiche
• Baked Lemon French Toast
• French Toast Casserole

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Hot Cross Buns

These Hot Cross Buns are sweet, fluffy, lightly spiced buns filled with raisins and marked with a white cross. They are traditionally served at Easter but delicious any time of year!

Course Bread and Baked Goods, Breakfast

Cuisine American, canadian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 22 minutes minutes

Rising time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 22 minutes minutes

Servings 12 servings

Calories 259cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

To proof yeast

• ¼ cup warm water 105-110 degrees F — warm but not hot
• 2 ¼ teaspoons instant or active dry yeast I use instant, but either works in this recipe one package
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

To make bun dough

• 1 cup warm milk I microwave for 40 seconds on high
• ¼ cup melted unsalted butter (57 grams)
• ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup raisins
• 3-3.5 cups all purpose flour (390-455 grams)

Cross:

• ¼ cup all purpose flour (32 grams)
• 3-4 tablespoons water

Maple glaze:

• ¼ cup powdered sugar (31 grams)
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 2-3 teaspoons milk

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Proof the yeast

• In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the warm water, yeast and sugar.
• Let sit for 10 minutes or until bubbly — this is how you know your yeast is working. This step is technically not required when using instant yeast, but I do it always anyways, so that I know my buns will be a success.

Make the dough

• In a large bowl, whisk together the warm milk, butter, ½ cup sugar, cinnamon, allspice and salt.
• Add the bubbly yeast mixture and raisins and stir to combine.
• Add the flour gradually, and mix until nearly combined before adding more. Start with 2 cups and add a little at time, stirring with a spoon or working it in with your hands until incorporated.
• The closer you get to your dough being ready, the less flour you will add at once. We want a soft and slightly sticky dough, never stiff, so we need to watch and stop adding flour at just the right moment.Add up to 3.5 cups flour total.
• Place dough in a large lightly greased bowl (you can use the same bowl and grease it), and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.
• Set in a warm spot (I use the oven with the light on — turn the oven on to preheat for 2 minutes before turning off and adding the dough) and let rise until doubled, about 1.5 hours.
• Uncover dough, punch down, and roll out 12 rounds — smoothing the top and pinching the seam in the back to smooth (see video for additional details). I divide into quarters, then each quarter into 3 even balls.
• Place in a lightly greased 9×13″ baking dish, evenly spaced. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour or until puffed and doubled — they should fill the pan.

Make the cross:

• Whisk together ¼ cup flour and just enough water so that a thick paste forms (It should be piping consistency — too thick and it will be very hard after baking, too thin and it will run all over).
• Place the mixture in a zip top sandwich bag, seal and snip the end of the corner. Use the bag to pipe lines over the buns to form crosses.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-23 minutes, until light golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely, or serve warm from the pan.

Glaze:

• Whisk together powdered sugar, maple syrup, and milk and brush over rolls — this is a thin glaze and there is enough to coat all rolls, but you can make it thicker and double if you like a thick layer of frosting.
• Serve.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 259cal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 306mg | Potassium: 191mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 154IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 2mg

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