Chai Spiced Oatmeal Cookies are chewy and soft, filled with chai spice flavor. A classic oatmeal cookie with notes of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and ginger.
You're going to love these chai spiced oatmeal cookies because they're soft and chewy - just like an oatmeal cookie should be. But, they're also filled with warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom.
If you've never had chai before, it's an aromatic tea that's filled with flavorful spices and herbs. Originating in India, it is now a popular hot beverage around the world.
I've made my own Chai Spice Blend that is perfect for this recipe. You're welcome to make your own batch to keep on hand. Or, use a store bought version instead - like this King Arthur Flour Chai Spice.
Ingredients and substitutions
Since baking is an exact science, I do not have many substitutions to offer for this recipe. Each ingredient is included for a reason, and I do not recommend substituting or omitting any of the ingredients entirely.
Unsalted butter and salt can be substituted with salted butter.
You'll want to make sure you're using room temperature butter and eggs for this recipe. Room temperature ingredients easily incorporate together and don't leave uneven chunks of butter or eggs in your cookie dough.
Properly measured flour
For all of my recipes, I use the "spoon and level" method for measuring flour. This means that I spoon the flour into my measuring cup, then level the flour off with a knife.
Or, weigh your flour with a kitchen scale - the most accurate method for measuring flour. One cup of flour weighs 120 grams.
Scooping directly from the container with your measuring cup compacts the flour into the cup, adding up to 25% extra flour to your dough.
There are a lot of dry ingredients involved with oatmeal cookies. You not only have flour, but oats in your cookie dough.
For this recipe, it's especially important to properly measure your flour so that your cookies spread and bake properly. Too much flour and your cookies will not spread.
Quick cook oats vs. old fashioned oats
You may be wondering, can I use quick cook oats instead of old fashioned oats in this recipe?
In short - yes, either kind of oats will work. However, you will get different results with each.
The main difference between the two types of oats is that old fashioned oats are more "meaty" and substantial. This adds chewiness and texture to your cookies.
Quick cooking oats are powdery and thin. You'll find that they cook into the dough, and leave less texture than old fashioned oats.
Cookie storage
Your cookies will keep for 5-7 days in a tightly sealed container.
To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. While the bread gets stale, the cookies stay soft and fresh. Replace the bread slice as needed.
Chai Spiced Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons chai spice blend
- 2 ½ cups old fashioned oats
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until fluffy, about one minute.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, chai spice, baking soda, and salt. Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until just combined.
- Add old fashioned oats and stir until just combined.
- Cover bowl or wrap dough in wax paper. Chill for at 1 hour (up to 24 hours) in the refrigerator. Refrigerating will help the flavors meld and also create a firmer dough to roll into balls.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Scoop dough using a 1.5 tablespoon scoop or shape by hand into 1.5 inch balls.
- Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until lightly browned around edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Your cookies will keep for 5-7 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, you can place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed.
- You can keep raw cookie dough in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cookie dough balls (and baked cookies) freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag. Allow frozen balls to thaw for up to 10 minutes on the baking sheet before baking, or add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
Wanted to make good old oatmeal cookies, but a little different, and this recipe looked great. I followed the recipe as written, except I added a cup of raisins and 3/4 cup chopped pecans. The cookies stayed nice and thick after being baked, and are tasty. I think they needed the raisins and nuts. If I made them again, I would also add at least one more teaspoon of chai spice. The dough tasted spicy but the finished cookies, not as much as I'd like. Thanks for the recipe!