Vegan Chai Cookies
These vegan chai cookies are warmly spiced, soft and chewy. They’re just like the bakery-style, with a slightly crispy edge. These cookies are perfect for edible gifting or just for snacking on during the Winter months!
I’m sharing this chai spiced cookies recipe for day 2 of my 12 days of Christmas cookies. I’m absolutely loving the festive baking so far this year! Yesterday I made lebkuchen, and tomorrow I’m sharing my almond biscotti recipe.
These chai cookies are made using my absolute favourite type of cookie dough. It produces the type of cookies that are soft and chewy on the inside, and slightly crunchy on the outside. I have a large variety of cookies that use this dough on my website, including ginger, white chocolate, double chocolate, and rocky road.
For this variation, I simply added some chai spices to the mix: cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, all spice and cloves. I loved how they turned out! They really remind me of the chai tea lattes I used to drink from Starbucks a few years ago.
If you’re looking for a super easy, delicious and festive cookie recipe, this is the one for you! Let me know what you think of the recipe by leaving a comment below. I love to hear your feedback!
More vegan Christmas cookies:
Ingredients you’ll need:
- Flax seeds. I used the flax seeds as a binding ingredient because these are eggless cookies. They’re not totally essential but I recommend using them if you can. I tested this same recipe with 1 tablespoon of soy milk instead of the flax seeds and they turned out OK but were quite fragile. If you use dairy-free milk instead of flax seeds, I recommend refrigerating the cookies for an hour or two after baking so they don’t fall apart.
- Sugar. I used a mixture of caster sugar, for the crispy edge, and brown sugar for the soft and chewy inside. Brown sugar also helps the cookies to spread out just the right amount.
- Vegan margarine. I recommend using a spreadable type of dairy-free ‘butter’, similar to margarine, and not the blocky style. The margarine style has more water and helps the cookies to spread better.
- Vanilla. For extra flavour!
- Self-raising flour. I prefer to use self-raising flour in these cookies over plain flour. I like the extra leavening this type of flour gives. It makes the cookies rise and fall as they bake, leading to the crispy edges.
- Chai spices. I used a mix of ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, all spice and cloves. You could also use a ready-made chai spice or chai latte mix if you prefer.
How to make vegan chai cookies
Step 1:
Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F (or 180°C/350°F if you’re using a fan or convection oven). Line a large tray with baking paper.
Step 2:
In a small mug or bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds and 1 tablespoon of cold water. Set it aside for a few minutes. It will thicken and become gelatinous. This will act as your egg replacement.
Step 3:
In a large bowl, mix together 200g of vegan margarine, 150g of caster sugar and 100g of soft brown sugar.
Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract along with the flax ‘egg’ from step 2. Mix well.
Step 4:
Next, add 320g of self-raising flour to the bowl, along with the following ground spices: 1 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon all spice, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, and 1/4 teaspoon cloves.
Mix this into the wet mixture until it starts to come together. Then use your hands to press it into a ball of dough.
Step 5:
Divide the cookie dough into 12 equal-sized pieces and roll into balls. Place the balls onto your lined baking tray and press them gently with your fingers until they’re around 1-inch thick. Make sure to leave a bit of room between each one as they’ll spread quite a lot in the oven.
Step 6:
Bake for 12 minutes. Let them cool completely on the tray before removing them. They’ll be quite soft at first but will firm up as they cool.
Top tips
- Use vegan margarine over the blocky style of dairy-free ‘butter’. This will help them to spread better as they bake.
- Substitute the flax ‘egg’ for 1 tablespoon of dairy-free milk. The cookies will be a little more fragile this way, so I recommend refrigerating them after baking, for around an hour or two. This will help the fat to solidify quicker, which will hold the cookies together.
- Use a couple of teaspoons of ready-made chai spice mix for ease.
- Add vegan chocolate chips to the cookie dough for an extra special treat.
- If the dough is too sticky, you can add more flour, and if it’s too dry, just add some dairy-free milk, a little at a time until the dough comes together.
- Use a scale to equally divide the cookie dough, which will ensure your cookies are all the same size and will bake evenly.
- Freeze half of the cookie dough for later. These cookies are very large, and I find that more often than not, 6 is plenty! When freezing the dough, I just wrap it up in clingfilm or place it into an airtight container. I recommend letting it come back down to room temperature before rolling it into balls and baking.
FAQ:
Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll last for around 4-5 days this way.
Yup! These cookies are just as delicious after defrosting. I usually wrap them tightly in tin foil or put them in an airtight container, and they can be frozen for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to eat them, just let them sit at room temperature for an hour or two until fully defrosted.
That’s all for now. I hope you enjoy these eggless chai cookies. Let me know if you try them by leaving a comment and/or rating below. Happy baking! xo
Vegan Chai Spiced Cookies
Easy, dairy-free and eggless chai cookies that are soft and chewy in the middle.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Ground flax seeds + 1 tablespoon cold water
- 200 g Vegan margarine (¾ cup + 1 tablespoon)
- 150 g Caster sugar (¾ cup)
- 100 g Soft brown sugar (½ cup)
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 320 g Self-raising flour (2+½ cups)
- 1 Teaspoon Ground ginger
- ½ Teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon All spice (also known as mixed spice)
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground cardamom
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground cloves
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F (180°C/350°F if you're using a fan or convection oven). Line a large tray or 2 with baking paper.
-
Mix the flax seeds and water together and set aside for a few minutes to thicken.
-
In a large bowl, mix together the margarine, caster sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Then stir in the flax mixture.
-
Add the flour and all of the spices. Mix well until it starts sticking together, then use your hands to press it into a ball of dough.
-
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls. Place the balls onto your baking tray and use your fingers to flatten them to around 1-inch thick. Leave some space between them as they'll spread while baking.
-
Bake for 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the tray. They'll be soft at first but will firm up as they cool.
Recipe Notes
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Liz Cochrane
Friday 10th of December 2021
Great recipe!
Chloe
Sunday 19th of December 2021
Thank you for your review Liz!