Chai Glazed Almond Cookies
We are now less than one week away from Christmas, and down to the final three days in this year’s 12 Days of Christmas baking spree on the blog. Instead of ten lords a leaping, I’m bringing you all more cookies; but not just any cookies. These have a few ingredients in them that I think, set them apart from what you may typically see on a holiday cookie spread.
In the first place, they’re partially made with almond flour, which is really just almonds that have been pulverized and sifted down until they’re more or less the consistency of dust. In general, almond flour provides a pretty neat alternative to those who have gluten/grain-allergies and intolerances. It’s lower in carbohydrates (if that kind of thing matters to you), and it also contains a pretty impressive list of nutrients (seriously, look it up). It also provides an added layer of nutty, slightly sweet flavor and texture that normal flour doesn’t have.
Second, the flavor in these cookies is intended to mimic that of Chai Spice in both the dough and the accompanying glaze. Tea and probably even coffee drinkers will be familiar with Chai, but for those that aren’t, it’s typically a combination of spices like ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, pepper, and in some cases, anise.
It makes for a killer drink (whether in tea or latte form), and as it turns out, in cookies as well.
When it comes to using alternative flours, one thing I will say that’s important is ensuring that they’re properly moist(urized), as they can have a tendency to be overly dry and saw-dusty when not done right. This recipe has both baking powder and baking soda in it, for good reason. The baking power in a cookie dough typically makes it puff up/dome and keeps them from turning into flat pancakes as they bake. The baking soda is mainly there to give them texture and ‘chew’.
If I had to describe the texture of these, I’d put it between a square of shortbread and a snickerdoodle. The crumb on the outside has that short and buttery taste of shortbread, but on the inside they’re still soft and chewy like a snickerdoodle. The Chai spices in bot the dough and glaze keep them from being overly sweet, they improve in flavor after the first couple of days, and they’re sturdy enough to keep/ship very well.
Remember though: always test bake one before the whole batch!
Day 1: Holiday Style- Biscuits & Gravy
Day 2: Cranberry Pie Bars
Day 3: Pryaniki
Day 4: Iced Lemon Gingerbread Cakes
Day 5: Peanut Butter & Chocolate Biscotti
Day 6: Gingerbread Fudge
Day 7: Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Day 8: Five Spice Snickerdoodles
Day 9: Caramel Eggnog Scones
Day 10: Chai-Glazed Almond Cookies
Chai Glazed Almond Cookies
Recipe Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients
For Dough
- 16 tablespoons (227g) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature, 65°F to 68°F
- 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or emulsion
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1 tablespoon Chai Spice (or 1 teaspoon ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon allspice, 1/8 teaspoon anise (optional), 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup (96g) almond flour
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) all purpose flour
For Glaze
- 1 cup (113g) confectioners’ sugar
- pinch of table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon King Arthur Chai Spice, or 3/8 teaspoon ginger, 3/8 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon cardamom, 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or emulsion
- 1 to 2 tablespoons (14g to 28g) milk
Directions
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chai spice.
Weigh the flours, or measure them by gently spooning them into a measuring cup and sweeping off the excess. Beat the almond flour followed by the all-purpose flour into the butter-sugar mixture.
Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough and place them in a plastic container you’ve lined with wax paper or parchment paper. Refrigerate for at least one hour, but preferably overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease (or line with parchment paper) two baking sheets.
Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2″ between them.
Bake the cookies for 13 to 16 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown.*
Remove the cookies from the oven and place the baking sheet on a cooling rack. Allow the cookies to cool completely right on the pan.
To make the glaze: Combine all the ingredients, stirring until smooth and adding enough milk to make the glaze drizzle-able, but not too runny; molasses consistency is good.
Drizzle or pipe the glaze over the cooled cookies.
Store the chai-spiced almond cookies, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days; or freeze (unglazed) for longer storage.
*Note: no one oven is the same, & different baking sheets bake cookies differently. Keeping this in mind, I will ALWAYS test bake one cookie before baking entire sheets of the whole batch, just to get a good idea of how long they should be in the oven and if I need to adjust the way I’ve cut, rolled them out, etc. I highly recommend that you do the same.)
I love the idea of a chai glaze Jess!
It’s the perfect addition to what’s an already pretty tasty cookie–thanks!