Chai Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Chai Icing (Inspired by Taylor Swift)
This chai sugar cookie recipe starts with something you don’t see every day: cutting open a chai tea bag and dumping the tea leaves straight into the cookie dough and icing. It might sound a little unusual, but that simple step is the secret to the warm, cozy chai flavor in these soft sugar cookies!
This recipe starts with something you don’t see every day: cutting open a chai tea bag and dumping the tea leaves straight into the cookie dough and icing. Like, what?!?! But when I was challenged by Foodtalk Daily to recreate this Taylor Swift chai cookies recipe, I was totally up for it.
It sounds unusual, but it’s the secret to the warm, cozy chai flavor in these soft sugar cookies. I’ve never created a recipe like this before, but whoa, let me tell you, it was such a fun and delicious cookie! I highly recommend giving these a try in your own kitchen!
Stephanie’s Recipe Rundown
Why You’ll Love It: This recipe is cozy, a little unexpected, and genuinely fun to make. Cutting open a chai tea bag and using the tea leaves right in the cookie dough and icing adds warm chai flavor without extra measuring or complicated steps. Time Needed: About 30 minutes from start to finish, including baking and cooling time Skill Level: Beginner-friendly. If you’ve made sugar cookies before, you can absolutely make these Flavor & Texture: Soft, tender sugar cookies with subtle chai spice, topped with a smooth vanilla icing that balances everything perfectly Would I Make This Again? Absolutely. These were such a fun twist on classic sugar cookies and disappeared fastxoxo Stephanie
Chai Sugar Cookie Ingredients
- butter – room temperature, and I always use salted
- vegetable oil
- white granulated sugar
- powdered sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- unbleached all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- kosher salt
- chai tea bags
- For the vanilla chai icing, I used my 3-ingredient no-fail royal icing recipe and doctored it up!
How to Make Chai Sugar Cookies
Mix the Cookie Dough
- Cream together the wet ingredients until smooth
- Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined
- Cut open a chai tea bag, add the tea leaves to the dough, and mix until evenly incorporated
Shape the Cookies
- Using a cookie scoop, portion the dough into equal-sized balls. Roll each portion between your hands to form a smooth ball, then place on a baking sheet. Gently press each cookie to slightly flatten
- Bake at 350°F for 8–9 minutes, or until the edges are set. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely
- While the cookies cool, prepare the icing. Pipe the icing onto each cookie and sprinkle with tea leaves while the icing is still wet
These Taylor Swift chai sugar cookies ended up being such a fun bake. Using a chai tea bag right in the cookie dough and icing felt a little unexpected, but it adds so much warm, cozy flavor. The chai cookies are soft, simple, and they totally disappeared quickly from my kitchen counter.
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Printable Recipe Card
Chai Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Chai Icing
Ingredients
Chai Sugar Cookies
- 1/2 c butter I always use salted, room temperature
- 1/2 c vegetable oil
- 1/2 c white granulated sugar
- 2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 chai tea bag
Vanilla Chai Icing
- 3 oz egg whites
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract can use clear vanilla extract if desired
- 4 c powdered sugar
- 1 chai tea bag
Instructions
Mix the Cookie Dough
- Cream together the wet ingredients until smooth
- Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined
- Cut open a chai tea bag, add the tea leaves to the dough, and mix until evenly incorporated
Shape the Cookies
- Using a cookie scoop, portion the dough into equal-sized balls. Roll each portion between your hands to form a smooth ball, then place on a baking sheet. Gently press each cookie to slightly flatten
- Bake at 350°F for 8–9 minutes, or until the edges are set
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely. While the cookies cool, prepare the icing
- Pipe the icing onto each cookie and sprinkle with tea leaves while the icing is still wet
Nutrition
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Stephanie—home cook, DIY addict, seasonal decor fanatic, and proud chicken wrangler living in a Victorian house that’s always a project. Whether I’m cooking with garden-fresh ingredients, herding mischievous chickens, or tackling another DIY, I’m here to share the fun (and chaos).
