Because it is cold outside. Because I had an hour to kill before I needed to leave the house and because I wanted to make a sweet treat for the mister (who had been dealing with frozen pipes all day) and for the little littles that I was going to hang out with.
My original idea was to just make regular old snickerdoodles, but as I was riffling around my tea drawer for a mid day tea (it's usually coffee, but I am trying to cut back on drinking one thousand cups a day) I got hit with a little inspiration. Chai tea spiced snickerdoodles. Yes! a nice black chai, full of flavors or cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, allspice, and pepper. So many good time tastes. And while I am at it, why not add some chocolate to that mix, because, well just because.
Chai, chocolate, and sugar equals….Bada da da….. awesome Cookies! And who doesn't want awesome cookies?
The stuff…Flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and allspice. Cocoa powder, brown and white sugar. Veggie Oil (you can use butter, or vegan butter instead for a chewier cookie) vanilla, a little vinegar and a nice cup of chai tea... Also a little bowl of cinnamon and sugar to doodle the cookies.
The sugars, oil, tea, vinegar, and vanilla go into a big bowl. Beat for a minute on medium, then add the rest of the stuff and beat some more until fully incorporated…. Simple simple.
Preheat the oven to 375 and get the cookies all dressed up in a cinnamon sugar suit by taking globs of dough and kind of rolling it into ball (perfection is not necessary) Drop dough balls into the cinnamon sugar and toss around to fully coat. Place on cookie sheet and give a good smoosh to flatten the cookie balls out to about 1/2 inch thick. Now into the oven for about 9-11 minutes to bake.
Aahhhh…….pulled from the oven and placed on a rack to cool. Fluffy, chewy, pillowy soft and spicy cookies. Oh the smell of so good!
Made extra large to make extra little littles happy. The best part? I made each little sing me a song for a second cookie… I am the greatest!
Heres to a Happy Hump Day!
-C
Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles
The stuff-
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- Chai teabag steeped in 1 1/4 cups boiling water
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cups vegetable oil (can substitute butter or vegan butter for a more chewy cookie)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons each of cinnamon and white sugar to coat cookie balls in
Preheat oven to 375
In a cup, steep tea bag in 1 1/4 cups boiling water. Let tea steep for 10 minutes.
In Large bowl, add sugars, oil, vanilla, vinegar and steeped tea and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients (besides cinnamon and sugar for coating) and beat on low until everything is fully incorporated.
Add the cinnamon and sugar to a small bowl and mix together. Take globs of dough and roughly formed ball then drop into cinnamon sugar and toss to coat. Place coated balls on cooke sheet and smoosh down so cookies are about 1/2 inch thick. Place in oven for about 9-11 minutes or until cookies are just barely cooked through. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.
My suggestion for sharing….If they want one, make them sing and dance for it!