Hello Cookie: Chai Spice Cookies

The Hello Cookie project is up and running again.  After a couple of weeks of eating out (hello birthday, hello Sydney Food Festival and hello Melbourne), it's time to get the mixer out and start baking again.

The HelCoo project was helped by the delightful delivery of 2 tins of 'indulge your senses' Pure Chai*, a form of drinking powder (like drinking chocolate) that you mix with skim milk and heat in the microwave.  It is a very light version of traditional chai (or chai latte, at least) and is a convenient way to enjoy an afternoon coffee without the coffee.

Of course, it can also be used in cooking, which is where these Chai Spice Cookies come in.  I modified a basic cookie recipe with the addition of the Pure Chai and some ginger and cinnamon to bump up the flavour - replace the chai powder with 1/4 cup sugar and more ginger and cinnamon if you like.  You end up with a very moreish, delicious biscuit.  Hope you enjoy it.

Wait - before we dive into the recipe, check out this carton of eggs from the supermarket. A number of things make it stand out, namely the black carton (tres fancie!), the fact that they are labelled as 'Australia's premium gourmet eggs', and that there are 9 eggs in the carton.  What do you call that - a 'three-quarter dozen' or '3-4-12'?

Oh, alright, here is the recipe.

Chai Spice Cookies

makes 60

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups plain flour

1/2 cup indulge your senses Pure Chai (honey and vanilla flavour)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp cinnamon

225g (1 cup) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1.  Sift the flour, chai powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon into a large bowl.

2.  In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until it becomes pale in colour and fluffy in texture.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined.

3.  Gradually add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until it is all combined.

4.  Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to one hour.  This will make it firm up a bit.

5.  Preheat the oven to 200 deg C (400 deg F). 

6.  Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls (about 2cm across).  Sprinkle with additional sugar and flatten slightly.  Place on a lined baking sheet about 4cm apart.

7.  Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, until lightly browned (be careful, they may brown quickly after this).

8.  Cool on the tray for a minute before placing on wire racks to cool completely.

And yes, I did end up with exactly 60 cookies.  They keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container.

Product placement - a handy way to get some flavour into the cookies. Or you could just drink it!

Mixing the dough; coating the dough with more sugar

'[Hot] pink is the navy blue of India'

* An appreciative Thank You to Rachel from Polarity Consultants for the Pure Chai!