Chai Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Chai cinnamon roll cookies with brown butter, soft centers & crisp edges, dollops of chai cinnamon roll filling, and a vanilla cream cheese frosting on top.
Ingredients
Chai Cinnamon Chips
- 28 g unsalted butter room temperature (2 tbsp.)
- 50 g dark brown sugar (¼ c.)
- 1 ¼ tsp. chai spice
- 1 tsp. all purpose flour
Chai Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- 113 g unsalted butter (8 tbsp.)
- 100 g dark brown sugar* (½ c.)
- 50 g granulated sugar (¼ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 160 g all purpose flour (1 ⅓ c.)
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
- 42 g cream cheese room temperature (3 tbsp.)
- 21 g unsalted butter room temperature (1 ½ tbsp.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 60 g powdered sugar (½ c.)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
Chai Cinnamon Chips
- In a small bowl, beat together the softened butter, brown sugar, chai spice and flour until combined.
- Line a small plate or baking tray with parchment paper, and use your fingers to portion out small little chunks of the mixture, then place the tray into the freezer.
Chai Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, brown the butter. Stir the butter occasionally until it turns amber in color and develops little brown specks.
- Transfer the brown butter to a medium sized mixing bowl and set it in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill. You should be left with at least 90g of brown butter, if you have a little less, just add in some water until you reach 90g.
- Once the butter has cooled down a bit, whisk in both sugars.
- Whisk in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together just until a few flour streaks remain.
- Add in the chai cinnamon chips and fold the mixture together just until no flour streaks remain. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up.**
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
- Scoop out heaping 3 tbsp. scoops of the cookie dough and evenly space the cookie dough balls out on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown.
- Once the cookies come out of the oven, I recommend "scooting" them. This just means take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie, place it on top of the cookie, and swirl the bowl around to make the cookie a little more round.
- Let the cookies sit on the hot baking tray for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a small mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter and salt until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until well combined. Add in the vanilla, then beat for an additional minute.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Once the cookies have fully cooled to room temperature, pipe the frosting in a swirl around the cookies. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
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*I recommend dark brown sugar for the best flavor but light brown sugar will work in a pinch!
**If you want to keep the dough frozen for over 30 minutes, I'd recommend that you scoop it out, then freeze the individual cookie dough balls. Keep them stored in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out. When you want to bake them, let the dough balls sit at room temperature for 10-20 minutes until they warm up a bit before baking them off as normal.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookieCalories: 376kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 3gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 299mgPotassium: 73mgFiber: 1gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 609IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 1mg