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Clean recipe · flouringkitchen.com

The Best Chai Cookies [with Cheesecake Filling]

These chai cookies are soft and chewy with crisp edges, perfectly spiced, and filled with cheesecake. They bake up thick, soft, with a gooey center. These chai cookies are filled with chai tea, and spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg. This recipe is easy to make and follow, and it's actually quite easy to stuff the cookies with the filling! If you don't want to make the cheesecake filling, I've included instructions on how to bake them without the filling. They're the perfect cozy cookie to make for fall.

Original recipe: flouringkitchen.com

Yield:
16 servings
Prep:
15 min
Cook:
15 min
Total:
30 min
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The Best Chai Cookies [with Cheesecake Filling]

Ingredients

  1. 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
  2. ¼ cup granulated sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  4. 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
  5. ½ cup brown sugar (packed)
  6. ½ cup granulated sugar
  7. 2 chai tea bags (regular paper tea bags)
  8. 1 large egg (room temperature)
  9. 1 large egg yolk (room temperature)
  10. 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  11. ½ teaspoon sea salt
  12. 2 ½ cups all purpose flour (300g)
  13. ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  14. ½ teaspoon baking powder
  15. ¼ cup granulated sugar
  16. 1 teaspoon cinnamon (ground)
  17. ½ teaspoon cardamom (ground)
  18. ½ teaspoon ginger (ground)
  19. ½ teaspoon nutmeg (ground)

Instructions

  1. Cheesecake filling

    *Make this one hour before making the cookie dough so that the filling has a chance to freeze. You can make the cheesecake cookie filling 1-2 days ahead of time and freeze until you're ready to make the cookie dough and bake the cookies.*
  2. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix together until creamy.
  3. Transfer to a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the end cut off. Pipe 16 dollops onto a parchment lined baking sheet or plate. Place the baking sheet into the freezer to freeze.

  4. Chai cookie dough

    Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  5. In a stand mixer or large bowl, combine softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Open the teabags and add the contents into the bowl. Mix with an electric mixer until it starts to get light and creamy.
  6. Add one egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and salt to the butter mixture. Mix until combined.
  7. Add flour, baking soda, and baking powder into the bowl. Stir together to form a cookie dough.
  8. Portion the cookie dough into 16 balls. I used a 1.35 oz (2.7 tablespoon scoop) for this.
  9. Remove the cream cheese from the freezer. One by one, flatten each cookie dough ball and add the cream cheese filling into the center. Press the cookie dough around the filling. Work quickly so that the filling doesn't melt.

  10. Spiced sugar

    Combine sugar and spices in a medium bowl. Roll the cookie dough balls into the sugar mixture, making sure that they get liberally coated.
  11. Bake the cookie dough for 12-13 minutes, leaving 2-3 inches of space in between to spread. I baked 6 cookies at a time. Place the remaining cookie dough in the fridge until you're ready to bake them.
  12. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 1 minute before transferring onto a cooling rack to cool. Finish baking the cookies.
  13. If you're baking these cookies without the cheesecake filling: Pop the rolled and sugared cookie dough balls into the freezer for 20 minutes before baking. Reduce the baking time by 2 minutes.