Cinnamon Chip Chai Shortbread Cookie

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DSC_1115

2 1/4 c. All-purpose flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1 c. Butter, unsalted, room temperature
2/3 c. Sugar
2 Egg yolks
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)
1/4 tsp ground Ginger
1/4 tsp ground Cloves
1/4 tsp ground Coriander
1/4 tsp ground Cardamom
1 c. Cinnamon Chips

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Combine all the dry ingredients. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks.

Add the flour mixture in two additions and mix until clumpy. Gather the dough into a ball.

Roll the dough into 1" balls and place on baking sheets.  Flatten the balls a little with the bottom of a small glass.

Bake until the cookies are golden brown, approximately 7-9 min. Cool the cookies on a baking rack.


My comments:

Ever had the Chai Latte from Starbucks?  It is one of my all-time favourite latte.  Mmm...yum!!   Imagine my excitement when I saw this Cinnamon Chip Chai Shortbread Bars recipe.  The pictures looked super tasty and the instructions were simple.  What could go wrong?

Well, first of all, I found the spices in the original recipe way too strong.  My nose had a Chai-spice overload and to be honest, I found the scent a bit of a turn-off.  *gasp*  Chai?  Turn-off?  Blasphemy, I tell ya!!  Bake goods are always best when they are fresh out of the oven, but I was very disappointed in these shortbread bars.  I tried them again the next day, with a cup of coffee as suggested by Natalie.  The chai spices mellowed overnight but sadly, the shortbread bars just didn't do it for me.

I knew the problem was the texture of the bar.  It almost seemed as though the bar didn't cook through properly.  So instead of chucking the recipe straight into the compost bin (like I did with my shortbread bars), I decided to incorporate these chai spices into my basic thumbprint cookie recipe.

[Original Comments]
These chai thumbprint cookie turned out pretty well.  The chai spices were perfect and the cookies baked perfectly.  My only disappointment was that the cinnamon chips did not melt in the indentation the way I expected it to.  So next time, I'm just going to mix the cinnamon chips right into the dough and forget the thumbprint part.

Finally, I must apologize for the ugly picture.  I baked these for the Christmas cookie recipe exchange with my friends.  Between the 4 of us, we baked 8 different types of cookies and we each got a dozen of each type.  I was too busy stuffing myself with yummy cookies and had no time to lay out my own cookies nicely on a plate for pictures.  I'll definitely make these again, so perhaps I'll update this post with a prettier picture then.  :)

DSC_1110

[Update...3 months later]
This is probably one of my best and favourite cookie recipe.  I just Freakin' Love It!!!  If you are looking to bake something for the wow-factor, this is IT!!!

This new and improved version of the Cinnamon Chip Chai Cookie totally rocks!  I made these on several occasions and I have gotten nothing but two-thumbs up from friends and family.  Even my Hubby can't keep his hands off of them and I never thought he'd like anything chai.

At the Christmas cookie recipe exchange, the size of my cookies were "normal", meaning they were about 2-2.5" in diameter.  They were a bit too big for my liking.  So I've been making them bite-size cookies and I gotta tell ya, they actually taste better when they are smaller!!!  I absolutely love the mini cookies...  My waistline hates them, but I Love Them!!  We don't keep these on the kitchen counter anymore because we literally inhale them and they clog our arteries way too fast.  :P

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