There’s something especially comforting about baking with warm spices when the weather starts to get cool. These vegan chai spice cookies bring together the rich, caramel-like sweetness of brown sugar and the warming flavors of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. The result is a soft, chewy cookie with plenty of cozy chai flavor in every bite.
Brown sugar gives these cookies a deeper sweetness and helps create that lovely chewy texture, while the chai spice blend adds warmth and fragrance without overpowering the cookie. They’re simple to make, use everyday baking ingredients, and are just as lovely alongside an afternoon cup of tea as they are tucked into a holiday cookie box.
If you’re looking for an easy vegan cookie recipe for fall and winter, these brown sugar chai cookies deserve a place in your baking rotation.
Why You’ll Love These Vegan Chai Spice Cookies
- Warm chai flavor: A fragrant combination of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, allspice and nutmeg brings plenty of warming spice to every bite.
- Soft and chewy texture: Brown sugar adds moisture and creates a deliciously chewy cookie with a tender center.
- Easy to make: No complicated techniques or specialty ingredients required. These cookies come together with simple pantry staples.
- Perfect for fall and winter: They’re wonderful for cozy afternoons, holiday gatherings, and seasonal baking.
- Great for cookie boxes: Their warm spice flavor makes them a lovely addition to homemade holiday cookie assortments.
- Completely vegan: No eggs or dairy needed to make these flavorful, bakery-worthy cookies.
Ingredient Highlights
You don’t need anything complicated to make these vegan brown sugar chai spice cookies. A handful of familiar baking ingredients come together to create a cookie with plenty of flavor and a lovely chewy texture.
Brown Sugar: The star of this recipe! Brown sugar adds a rich, molasses-like sweetness that pairs beautifully with chai spices. It also contributes moisture, helping create a soft and chewy cookie.
Vegan Butter: Provides richness and helps give the cookies their tender texture. Use a good-quality vegan butter that you enjoy baking with.
All-Purpose Flour: Provides the structure for the cookies. Measure your flour carefully to avoid adding too much, which can result in dry or cakey cookies.
Chai Spice Blend: This is where all the warming flavor comes from. Cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, allspice and nutmeg create that familiar chai-inspired combination. A little black pepper can add another layer of warmth, too.
Vanilla Extract: Adds depth and rounds out the sweetness and spices.
Baking Soda: Helps the cookies lift and develop their texture as they bake.
Salt: Balances the sweetness and brings all the flavors together.
Homemade Chai Spice Blend
The secret to these cookies is a good chai spice blend. I love making my own because I can adjust the balance of warming spices to suit whatever I’m baking. This blend combines cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg for that classic chai-inspired warmth. Add a ½ tsp of ground black pepper for more spice!
My favorite Chai Spice blend:
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground clove
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Whisk everything together until evenly combined and store in an airtight jar in a cool, dry place.
This blend is wonderful in cookies, cakes, muffins, quick breads, and even stirred into oatmeal or your morning coffee. Keep a jar in your baking cupboard throughout fall and winter for an easy way to add a little warmth to your seasonal baking.
How to Make Vegan Chai Spice Cookies
These vegan chai spice cookies are straightforward to prepare, making them a great recipe for both everyday baking and holiday cookie season.
1. Prepare your ingredients.
Measure out your ingredients. Prepare the flax mixture. Line one baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dry ingredients.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, chai spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined. This helps distribute the spices throughout the dough so every cookie has plenty of flavor.
3. Beat the butter and sugars.
In a separate mixing bowl, with the paddle attachment, beat the vegan butter, brown sugar and cane sugar until well combined but not creamed. Add the vanilla and flax mixture and mix until incorporated.
4. Combine the dough.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing until a soft cookie dough forms. Avoid overmixing once the flour has been added, as this can make the cookies tougher.
5. Portion the cookies.
Scoop the dough into 24 evenly sized portions and roll in the chai spice sugar. Place them on your prepared baking sheet and chill one hour minimum or overnight.
6. Bake.
Bake until the edges are set and the centers still look slightly soft, about 13 minutes. The cookies will continue to set as they cool, so avoid waiting until they look completely firm in the oven.
7. Cool and enjoy.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy them slightly warm or once completely cooled.
Vegan Brown Sugar Chai Spice Cookies
Ingredients
Chai Spice Cookie Dough
- 310g (2 ½ c) All Purpose Flour
- 10g (2 Tbs) Chai Spice
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 226g (1 c) Vegan Butter block style
- 212g (1 c) Brown Sugar
- 100g (½ c) Cane Sugar
- 2 Tbs Golden Flax ground
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Chai Spice Sugar for rolling
- 75g (6 Tbs) Vegan Granulated Sugar
- 1 ¼ tsp Chai Spice
Instructions
- Make flax eggs: Whisk together 2 Tbs Flax + 6 Tbs filtered water. Set aside to thicken.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, chai spice, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a large stand mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, beat together the vegan butter, brown sugar and cane sugar until combined, but not creamed.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the flax mixture and vanilla extract. Mix until emulsified.
- Add in the flour mixture on low, mixing until just combined. Scoop out cookie dough into 24 even portions, about 1 oz each or 38-42g. Stir together the vegan granulated sugar and chai spice in a small bowl. Roll each cookie dough ball in the chai spice sugar. Place chai cookie dough balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet pan. Chill in the fridge 1 hour or overnight for best results.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Bake 8 cookies at a time, 12-14 minutes, until the edges turn golden. Cool on the tray for 10 minutes and then move to a cooling rack.
Troubleshooting & Common Problems
A few small details can make a big difference when baking vegan cookies. Here are some things to keep in mind if your cookies don’t turn out quite as expected.
Why are my cookies dry or crumbly?
Too much flour is one of the most common reasons for dry cookies. Measure your flour using a kitchen scale when possible, or use the spoon-and-level method rather than scooping directly from the flour container.
Why did my cookies spread too much?
Vegan butter that is too soft or melted can cause excessive spreading. Make sure your butter is at the proper consistency before mixing, and chill the dough if needed.
Why are my cookies too cakey?
Adding too much flour or overmixing the dough can affect the final texture. Measure carefully and mix only until the ingredients are combined.
Why do my cookies seem underbaked?
Cookies often look a little soft in the center when they first come out of the oven. This is usually what you want! They’ll continue cooking slightly from the residual heat of the baking sheet as they cool.
Storage & Serving Suggestions for Vegan Chai Spice Cookies
Storage: Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They should stay soft and fresh for several days.
Freezing: You can freeze the baked cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container. For longer-term storage, freeze unbaked portions of cookie dough and bake them when you’re ready for a fresh batch. Follow the recipe instructions for baking from frozen, if applicable.
Serving Suggestions: These brown sugar chai spice cookies are lovely served with a hot cup of black tea, chai, or coffee. They’re also a wonderful addition to an autumn dessert spread or holiday cookie box.
For holiday gifting, pair them with chocolate cookies, gingerbread, or shortbread for a delicious assortment of seasonal flavors.
More Vegan Recipes You’ll Love
If you love baking with warming spices and cozy seasonal flavors, here are a few more recipes to add to your baking list:
- Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
- The Best Vegan Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Maple Brown Sugar Cookies
- Toffee Bars with Pecans
- Vegan Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
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