Chai Snickerdoodles

These cookies are a crowd-pleaser! Even my in-laws, whom I would call "snickerdoodle purists," still ate a ton of these when I made them for Christmas! If you're having trouble finding cardamom, or affordable cardamom, see if you have an Indian or Asian grocery store nearby. Spices there often cost a fraction of what they would at your average grocery chain, and you get a larger quantity, too!

Chai Snickerdoodles

What You'll Need: 

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, salted
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp all spice
A few grinds of black pepper
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

How to Make It: 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line any baking sheets you have with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and all spice. Set aside 1/4 cup of the sugar-spice mixture for rolling the cookies. Add the butter and beat it with the sugar-spice mixture until it's fluffy, brown and completely incorporated. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 or 4 batches, beating after each addition just until the flour is mixed in. Scoop out the dough with a teaspoon and roll each spoonful into a ball. Throw each dough ball into the remaining sugar-spice mixture and roll it around to coat it. Place the dough a few inches apart on the baking sheets, and flatten them slightly with the bottom of a glass (so they look like a little sugary, spicy biscuit.) Bake them in the oven for about 8 minutes. They'll still be a little puffy and soft if you touch them. If you like flatter, chewier cookies, just smush the dough out a tiny bit more. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for a minute before removing them to a cooling rack. Store them in an airtight container, only for a day or two, so they'll stay soft and fresh!