Glazed Chai Spiced Shortbread Cookies

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Christmas, North American

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 45

Servings: cookies

Calories: 152kcal

Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen

Glazed Chai Spiced Shortbread Cookies are buttery, light, and airy. The cookies are infused with familiar chai spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and cardamom. Once cooled, the cookies are flooded with a delightfully smooth and sweet glaze; these cookies are bound to be a holiday favourite!

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Ingredients

For the Shortbread Cookie:

1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (plus more for flattening the cookie balls - see instructions below)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

For the Glaze:

2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

For the Shortbread:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
Transfer the butter to a bowl and beat until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes.
Add all of the remaining cookie ingredients to the bowl and beat until incorporated.
Portion about 1 tablespoon of the dough (I used a small ice-cream type scoop to get even amounts of dough for each cookie.)
Roll the dough into small balls and place on the lined baking sheet. Leave a good 2 inches of space between each ball.
Next, dip the bottom of a drinking glass into a bowl of confectioner’s sugar to keep the dough from sticking, and push the bottom of the glass down onto the ball to flatten the ball to 1/2 inch.
Bake for 14 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.

For the Glaze:

The glaze is completely optional. If you wish to add the glaze, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar with the milk until smooth.
Set the wire cooling rack with the cookies onto a rimmed baking sheet to catch the spilled glaze. There will be spillage!
Use a teaspoon to spoon the glaze directly onto each cookie, allowing it to spread out naturally, covering the surface. The excess will drip off.
Once the surface of each cookie is fully covered with the glaze, you can add sprinkles, nuts, etc., if you wish.
Once the glaze has hardened, transfer the cookies to a food-safe container with a tight-fitting lid. Keep at room temperature.

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