Sometimes good things happen when obsessions come together.  Did y’all know I’m a just a teensy bit obsessed with chai tea? Seems like I may have mentioned that a time or two. The only other things in life that come close to my love of chai is my thing for chocolate, and my thing for cookies. So combining all three of those little lovelies? That’s a whole lot of delectable going on in a cookie!

A sweet friend saw a recipe for chai spiced sugar cookies and tweeted the link to me. Aren’t friends grand? Always being thoughtful and stuff. The recipe she sent was based off a recipe from My Baking Addiction. If you haven’t been to Jaime’s blog, you really should. Girlfriend can bake!

Within a few hours of seeing the link, I was taking the first batch out of the oven. In the interest of quality control, I promptly devoured two–OK, three–of them faster than you could say “whiplash.” They were really good, but I thought they could be even better with a little chocolate involved.

So I made a few modifications and whipped up a second batch.

Clearly, I was on a mission. A glorious, chocolatey, chai-infused mission.

The resulting cookie is crisp around the edges, yet chewy in the middle; the perfect balance of sweet & spicy with a just a kiss of cocoa. In other words…they’re wonderful!

Give these Chocolate Chai Sugar Cookies a try, and you’ll quickly become obsessed, too.

♥♥♥

Chocolate Chai Sugar Cookies

Fondly adapted from My Baking Addiction

http://comfortablydomestic.com

Makes 3 ½ dozen cookies

1 C. unsalted butter, softened

1 ¾ C. granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 ¼ C. all-purpose flour

¼ C. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cardamom

½ tsp. ground allspice

¼ tsp. black pepper (the stuff in the tin, not freshly ground)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; set aside.
2. Whisk flour, unsweetened cocoa powder baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl until evenly combined; set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and black pepper. Reserve ¼ c. of the sugar & spice mixture for rolling the cookies in.
4. Cream the butter with the remaining sugar & spice mixture until light and fluffy.
5. Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture, beating until well incorporated.
6. Blend the flour mixture into the creamed mixture in 3 additions, stirring until just combined.
7. Use a small scoop to portion dough, rolling between your palms to form smooth balls. Roll the dough balls in the reserved sugar & spice mixture to coat.
8. Place coated dough balls on to the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
9. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes, or until cookies appear set on the edges, but still a little soft in the middle.
10. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to rest on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to completely cool.