Spiced Shortbread Cookies
These tender, spiced shortbread cookies are baked with warming chai spices, a buttery texture, crisp edges, and a beautiful crumb. They are effortless to make from one portion of my Basic Cookie Dough.
What Are Spiced Shortbread Cookies
These spiced shortbread cookies start with one portion of my Basic Cookie Dough, with a warming blend of chai-inspired spices added. The result is a slice-and-bake cookie with crisp, golden edges, a tender, buttery center, and rich, aromatic flavor in every bite. They feel special but require almost no extra effort, perfect for busy holiday baking.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Buttery shortbread with warm chai spices, a perfect cold-weather treat
- Simple slice-and-bake method (no rolling or cutting)
- Beautiful sparkling edges from the turbinado sugar
- Easy to make ahead and freezer-friendly
- The transport well, making them perfect for gifting, entertaining, or a holiday cookie tin.
I’ve been making this cookie every December for almost 20 years, experimenting with different spice combinations depending on my mood. This blend of clove, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and a bit of black pepper is my favorite (it tastes just like the chai tea I love), with enough warmth to lift the whole cookie without overpowering the buttery shortbread base. I recently started rolling the dough in coarse sugar (turbinado), and I love the crunch of the large sugar crystals against the soft cookie. These chai-inspired spiced shortbread cookies are one of the simplest ways to add warm flavor to your holiday baking.
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You’ll Need for Spiced Shortbread Cookies
- Basic Cookie Dough: This recipe uses 1 portion of my basic cookie dough recipe, enough to make about 18 cookies.
- Cinnamon, Cardamom, Ginger, Cloves, Black Pepper: It’s best to use ground spices rather than grind them yourself, as you want a fine texture that is hard to achieve with whole cardamom pods or cinnamon sticks.
- Almond Extract: (not pictured)
Turbinado or Raw Sugar: A crunchy, sparkling sugary crust that provides a nice contrast to the tender cookie.
Refer to the printable recipe card below for ingredient quantities and detailed instructions.
How to Make Chai Spiced Shortbread
1. Whisk the spices together, then work them gently into the softened dough along with the almond extract until evenly distributed.
2. Shape the dough into an even log, wrap tightly, and chill until firm.
3. Roll each sliced cookie in the turbinado sugar so the edges are evenly coated.
4. Arrange the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them evenly before baking.
Make Ahead and Storage Info
Make Ahead: You can prepare the dough up to 3 days in advance. Keep the dough log tightly wrapped and refrigerated until ready to slice and bake.
Baked cookies can be made 1 week in advance. Store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry area.
Freezer: Shape the dough into a log (do not yet coat in turbinado sugar), wrap it tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, let the log sit at room temperature for 12-15 minutes to soften slightly, cut it into slices, roll them in the sugar, and bake as directed.
Baked cookies freeze well. Let them cool completely, then place them in a freezer-safe container. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then roll them in turbinado sugar before baking.
Expert Tips
- Keep Your Dough Chilled: Chilled dough slices more cleanly and helps the cookies keep their round shape. If the dough softens too much while handling, return it to the fridge until hardened.
- Soften Slightly for Mixing: Let the dough sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before adding the spices; the dough should be soft enough to mix easily but still cool to the touch.
- Chill Baking Sheets: A chilled baking sheet helps the cookies keep their shape and prevents spreading.
- Use Pre-Ground, Fresh Spices: Whole spices don’t grind fine enough for shortbread, which can leave gritty bits. Make sure your spices are fresh and not too old, as they lose their potency over time.
- Slice Evenly for Consistent Baking: Cut the dough into uniform ¼-inch slices so every cookie bakes evenly.
- Let the Cookies Cool Completely: Shortbread is fragile when hot. Let the cookies cool on the sheet first, then finish cooling on a rack so they don’t break.
- Use Demerara or Turbinado Sugar: Both sugars give the cookies a crisp, sparkling edge. The extra texture adds a satisfying crunch that contrasts beautifully with the tender cookie.
Recipe FAQs
Turbinado sugar is a coarse, minimally refined cane sugar with large golden crystals and a light molasses flavor. It holds its shape and doesn’t melt while baking, giving these shortbread cookies a crunchy, sparkling edge. Demerara sugar or coarse sanding sugar is a suitable substitute.
Although whole spices have excellent flavor, they’re not ideal for this recipe. They don’t grind fine enough for shortbread, which can leave coarse bits in the dough. Grinding whole spices works beautifully for chai tea, where the flavor is steeped, but here you need a fine, even texture, best achieved with fresh, pre-ground spices.
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Spiced Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 portion (370g) Basic Cookie Dough Recipe chilled
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- pinch ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Break the dough into pieces and place them in a mixing bowl to soften slightly so the spices mix in easily.
- In a small bowl, combine cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper, then add the mixture to the dough.
- Work the spices into the dough and add the almond extract, making sure not to overhandle the dough. (It's okay if the dough has a marbled appearance)
- Form the dough into a log measuring 7 inches long and about 2 inches in diameter, place in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Cut ⅜-inch thick slices, then roll the edges in turbinado sugar. Place the slices on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden (the spices make color cues subtle, so look for lightly darkened edges and a fragrant aroma).
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
- Let them continue to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a platter or storing them.
Notes
Nutrition
If you loved these, explore the full series of cookie recipes made with my Basic Cookie Dough, or browse my dessert recipes for more easy, from-scratch ideas.
- Peppermint White Chocolate-Dipped Cookies
- Butter Cookies with Cranberry Glaze
- Lemon Curd Cookies (recipe coming soon)!
- Orange Ginger Cookies with Crystallized Ginger
- Raspberry Jam-Filled Sandwich Cookies (recipe coming soon)!
The combination of ginger and spices are such a great pairing to this buttery cookie