Brown Butter Chai Spiced Snickerdoodles

At this point, I've made a couple batches of chai snickerdoodles that just didn't have enough chai spice in them. This recipe will change that! It has spices in the dough and also in the sugar coating. That makes all the difference. The recipe is from Will Cook for Friends from the great cookie exchange for bloggers. I vote we do this next year among ourselves through the mail. Also browned butter makes the cookie even better. I've made a gluten free version with gf all purpose flour mix that turned out well.

I've also been making my own chai concentrate lately! I'll be posting that soon. As you can tell, I love chai as much as I love pumpkin flavored baked goods.

When baking these you want to bake them just until they are barely set! The inside of the crackles will look bubbly and but not too gooey. Use the first tray of cookies to gauge how long you want to bake the rest of the cookies for. Remember they will continue to bake and set after taking them out of the oven. If you take these steps, your cookies will be chewy yet crispy and awesome.

By the way, happy New Year's Eve! We're on the turnpike towards Pittsburgh! I do not miss this drive but at least this year we're not all afflicted with food poisoning :)

1 cup + 4 tbsp unsalted butter 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or gf mix

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt 

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. finely ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

For rolling:

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

Pinch ground nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, and ginger

Brown the butter! Cook in a medium pot over medium heat until milk solids turn a nice reddish brown and the butter smells amazing! Stir constantly with a wooden spoon. As soon as it's done, pour into another bowl or just set the pot outside in the freezing cold like I did. Let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and spices in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.

Then in a separate, shallow bowl add the ingredients for rolling the dough. Mix and set aside. 

Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar to the cooled butter and cream together. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. 

Then mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Form a ball with dough and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or at least 2 hours. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Then roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and roll into prepared sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart onto baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes until just barely set. See above noted for the perfect cookie.