Brown Butter Chai Cookies - a deliciously cozy cookie that's easy to make and perfect for a chilly Fall day. These cookies are slightly crisp with a chewy and soft center. Enjoy these cookies with mulled apple cider or hot chocolate!
Can't get enough of these cookies? You'll need to try these Cinnamon Cookies, Chewy M&M Cookies as well as my Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies too!
I cannot believe that this is my first recipe since September. It's hard to believe that two months have passed since I gave birth to my baby boy, however, I don't think that there's a better recipe that I could post that would be a better way to get back into the swing of things.
These Brown Butter Chai Cookies are insanely delicious. I've made them 4 times thus far. Some for my family, other times for just myself.
The brown butter adds a beautiful nutty and caramel-y flavor. The chai brings a lovely warm and spiced note that is simply divine. All the while, the texture of these brown butter chai cookies is nice and crisp on the outside and chewy and soft on the inside. Far be it from me to call these the perfect cookie, but gosh by golly - it's super close!
What is chai spice made of?
To give you a better idea of what these cookies taste like, let's talk about the chai spice that flavors these little bites of heaven. Chai spice is made of cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, clove, and a pinch of pepper. The addition of pepper may sound a bit abstract, but I guarantee it really adds so much character to the spice blend.
What is the difference between brown butter and regular butter?
The difference between brown butter and regular butter is simple but the difference in taste is significant! Brown butter has been melted over low heat and cooked until it becomes foamy and brown.
This is not to be confused with burnt butter. You essentially caramelize the butter which yields a deep, nutty flavor that adds so much character to any dish!
If you would like to know more about how to brown butter, I would highly suggest reading this post so that you can brown butter and use it to make these brown butter chai cookies!
For these brown butter chai cookies, I used this recipe to pull together my chai spice as I wasn't able to find a pre-made spice blend in the grocery store. I added the tiniest pinch of pepper to the spice blend. However, it's super delicious without it as well!
How do you make brown butter chai cookies?
These may be the easiest of the cookie recipes that I have up on the blog so far.
Brown the butter
Simply brown the butter in a skillet and let it cool.
Then combine the brown butter with dark brown sugar and granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and beat in the eggs - one at a time.
Combine wet and dry ingredients
Mix together all of the dry ingredients - chai spice, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda - and add to the brown butter mixture. Spoon out 2 tablespoons of the cookie dough and roll it into a ball.
Bake for 15 minutes
Roll each ball in sugar and add to a cookie sheet to bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.
I like to let the cookies cool for about 10-15 minutes before eating, but feel free to eat fresh out of the oven!
You have to let me know if you make these brown butter chai cookies! They do not disappoint. Furthermore, it only takes about 20 minutes to make the batter and 15 minutes to bake in the oven.
How long do these brown butter chai cookies stay fresh?
These cookies stay fresh for a nice bit - about 4-5 days so long as they're stored in an airtight container. Surprisingly, they stay nice and chewy for quite some time! That is, if they last that long because you're going to want to eat them all!
More Cookie Recipes!
- Biscoff Butter Cookies
- Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
- Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Iced Pumpkin Cookies
- Honey Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vanilla Bean Butter Pecan Cookies
- Pearl Sugar Ginger Cookies
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Let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! Also, if you decide to make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and leave a comment below! Tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can see your creations! I hope that you love this recipe as much as we do!
Brown Butter Chai Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp Chai Spice
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 cup Salted Butter, (2 sticks or 227 grams)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- Additional sugar, for dusting
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a skillet, melt the butter over medium to medium low heat until butter has become foamy and browned. After browned, pour into a heat safe container and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, chai spice, and kosher salt in a bowl and whisk together.
- In a separate bowl, pour in cooled brown butter and then add vanilla extract, sugar, and dark brown sugar. Whisk together. Then add each egg, one at a time, whisking constantly until each egg is incorporated into the mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add butter mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together until there are no dry patches of flour. Add about ¼ cup of sugar to a small bowl. Spoon out 2 tbsp of cookie dough and roll into a ball to form the cookie. Roll cookie in small bowl of sugar and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes for a gooey cookie and 15 minutes for a crispier cookie. Allow to cool.
Made exactly 20 cookies, they turned out super yummy! I added a bit of ground black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves to spice the cookies. I think these would be even better with some black tea (or just dipped in a cup of black tea)! Next time I think I'll add chai spice to the sugar to roll the cookies in, and maybe some ginger to the spice mix as well.
Black pepper in chai is always a nice touch of flavor! So happy that you enjoyed it!
Crowd pleaser! Wow, these are really good!
Thank you!
I was looking for a recipe that used chai tea bags as I only had the bags and not the spices needed. What I ended up doing was steeping the tea bags directly into the brown butter as it cooked. It turned out way better than expected. Probably not as good as the real recipe but just wanted to add my two cents in, that the tea bags can work in a pinch!
I'm so happy to hear that it worked out!!
Made these tonight to celebrate the fact that it’s *almost* Fall. They are deliciously spicy! I added about 1/2 tsp of black pepper to my chai spice to add even more spice and they turned out amazing! Can’t wait to make these in the colder months!
I'm so happy that you enjoyed them, thanks so much for your feedback!
these are easily the best cookies ive ever made. freaking delicious!!
Thank you so much!
i have made almost all of your recipes and they have all been delicious. this is by far my favorite!!!!! i love how soft and chewy these are. beyond delicious!!
Love to hear this!
These are incredible!!! I baked the recommended size for 12 minutes and the cut the amount in 1/2 for 12 minutes and I have the best of both worlds! I have some that are chewy and some that are crispy. I’m taking these to my cookie exchange with @kickassbaker and I know that they will be a hit! I definitely have to hide these from the family before Christmas!!
I mixed up the chai spice on my own too and it was great!
Thanks for a good cookie recipe. It’s a keeper!
I'm so happy that you loved this recipe!! I hope that everyone at your cookie exchange loves it too, happy holidays!!
Haven't made yet and maybe I missed it in your post, but what is the exact recipe for chai spice? I have all the ingredients but I don't know the ratio. Thanks!
Hi! I used 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground cardamom, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, ½ tablespoon ground allspice, ½ tablespoon ground cloves, and ½ tablespoon ground nutmeg
Let me start by saying oh my goodness! My son and I made these cookies yesterday during our annual holiday cookie baking day and my entire family, including my daughter-in-love who said she doesn’t like chai, absolutely loved them! This is truly one of the BEST cookie recipes that I have ever made and none of us can keep our hands out of the container! 😂 I am baking another batch to send to work with my husband in a day or two — although quite honestly it will pain me a bit to see them go out the door because a selfish part of me doesn’t want to share them — they are just that incredible!! Job very, very, very well done with this recipe!
Awww thank you so much! This has made my day! Have a wonderful holiday!! 🙂
I made these once already, and they are on the list for this weekend, too! Plus they are going into my holiday cookie boxes - and that’s saying a lot. They are divine! Thanks for the recipe.
I'm so happy that you enjoyed these cookies! They're some of my favorite!