Chai Spice White Chocolate Chip Cookies are super soft and thick and filled with warm chai spices, hazelnuts, and white chocolate chips. It’s an easy one-bowl cookie recipe you’ll turn to again and again.
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You’re going to love these
Chai spices. If you love a milky chai tea, you’re going to flip for these white chocolate chip cookies with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and allspice.
Not your average white chocolate chip cookies. These aren’t your typical white chocolate chip cookie with macadamia nuts or dried cranberries. The chai spices and hazelnuts take them to a whole ‘nother level of the cookiesphere. And even if you’re not usually a white chocolate person (hi, that’s me), these just might change your mind.
One-bowl cookie recipe. No need to dirty every bowl just to make a batch of white chocolate chip cookies. These are easy to make and clean up is a snap.
Simple ingredients. There’s really nothing fancy in these cookies. All the ingredients are really simple, and you probably already have most of them in your pantry.
Big soft cookie. If you’re on team soft cookie, these chai spice white chocolate chip cookies are for you. They’re super thick, soft, and chewy in the middle.
Make these your own. If you’re like me, you look at a recipe and immediately think, hmmmm… now how can I change it. You can totally switch out the stir-ins and add all your favorite things. You can even turn them into oatmeal cookies. Keep reading to find out how.
Ingredient Notes
Butter. Use room temperature butter to ensure a soft, thick cookie that isn’t flat or greasy.
Brown sugar. Brown sugar adds deep, rich flavor to these cookies. Which is just what we’re after in these chai spice white chocolate chip cookies. The molasses in the brown sugar also helps keep the texture moist and chewy. I always use dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar also works.
White sugar. If you’ve ever wondered why cookie recipes have both brown sugar and white sugar, it’s because they each have their own special gifts. And one of white sugar’s talents is helping cookies get brown and crispy.
Eggs. Use room temperature eggs in these white chocolate chip cookie recipes to ensure all the ingredients blend cohesively together. Otherwise, if cold eggs hit warm butter, it can cause the butter to curdle.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and allspice. These are the spices I chose to get the chai flavor. But maybe you like pepper or coriander in your chai. Or you don't like cloves. Whatever it is, feel free to create your own unique blend.
Salt. Please don’t skip the salt. It’s where flavor comes from.
Cornstarch. Kind of weird to see cornstarch in a cookie recipe. But it has a purpose. It helps keep these white chocolate chip cookies tender and also keeps the batter from spreading during baking. It’s not a big deal if you don’t have cornstarch, but do use it if you can.
To get the same tender result, you can also substitute 1 ½ cups of cake flour for 1 ½ cups of the flour if you don't have cornstarch.
Hazelnuts. When I was dreaming up this white chocolate chip cookie recipe, my mind auto-piloted to putting macadamia nuts in them. And then I had the chai spice idea. All of a sudden, hazelnuts made all the sense in the world because they add rich, earthy flavor to the warm and cozy chai spices. But of course you can use whatever nuts you like. Or none at all — which I totally get.
White chocolate chips. White chocolate goes exceptionally well with all of the flavors of this cookie. Think of it like the sweet milky part of your chai tea. But milk chocolate would also be amazing. Or dark chocolate. Or a combo of any or all of the above. Go with your heart on this one.
TIPS
Room temperature butter and eggs. Use room temperature butter and eggs in this white chocolate chip cookie recipe. If the butter is too warm, your cookies could come out greasy. Room temperature butter isn’t super soft — it should just slightly give when you press on it. And you really only need to leave your butter out about 30 minutes or so to get it to perfect room temperature. Cut it into pieces to warm it up more quickly.
How to quickly get butter to room temperature
If you forget to take your butter out ahead of time (which I do each and every time), here’s a quick tip: Warm up a cup of water in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Place a plate with cubed butter inside the nice, warm microwave for about ten minutes and you'll end up with perfectly softened butter.
How to quickly get eggs to room temperature
If you remember right before you start baking that you need room temperature eggs, then you and I are exactly the same. Just place the eggs in a cup of warm water for about ten minutes.
Hot oven. One of the secrets to getting thick white chocolate chip cookies that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside is to bake them in a hot oven. And I know 420 seems crazy high for cookies. But it works.
Chill the dough. Working with chilled dough is another way to ensure thick cookies — and prevent the dreaded spread. I like to chill cookie dough for at least an hour. But really, you can make the dough up to a couple of days ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge until you’re ready to start baking.
Tall scoops. Scooping out the cookie dough into round balls will also help achieve thick cookies.
Mix everything until just incorporated. If cookie dough gets mixed too much, air gets incorporated into the dough and the cookies will puff up in the oven, then fall flat. To prevent that, be careful not to overmix the dough.
Measure the flour carefully. It’s so tempting to just scoop the flour out of the bag or canister. But I find that my cookie recipes come out more successfully if I just stop and take the time to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife (just like my mom taught me). If your white chocolate chip cookies don’t have enough flour, they’ll spread out thin. If there’s too much flour, they’ll come out dry and crumbly.
Recipe Essentials
KitchenAid 7-Speed Hand Mixer with Whisk
Nordic Ware Baking Sheets
More cookie recipes to try
How to Make Chai Spice White Chocolate Chip Cookies [VIDEO]
How to Make Chai Spice White Chocolate Chip Cookies
With a stand or hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Mix in the eggs until fully incorporated, then the vanilla.
Sift in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, allspice, salt, and cornstarch. If you don’t have a large strainer or sifter, you can also whisk the dry ingredients together in another bowl before adding them to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Don’t overmix.
Mix in the hazelnuts and white chocolate chips until just combined.
Chill your dough for at least one hour.
Preheat the oven to 420.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Portion out the dough into rounded scoops. Do not flatten the dough.
Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Let the cookies rest for a few minutes on the sheet pan, then transfer them to a wire rack. For gooey, oozy cookies, let them sit for about 15 minutes before digging in. For thick, dense cookies, let them cool all the way, about an hour.
This recipe makes about 18 chai spice white chocolate chip cookies.
Chai Spice White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup chopped hazelnuts
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- With a stand or hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Mix in the eggs until fully incorporated, then the vanilla.
- Sift in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, allspice, salt, and cornstarch. If you don’t have a large strainer or sifter, you can also whisk the dry ingredients together in another bowl before adding them to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- Mix in the hazelnuts and white chocolate chips until just combined.
- Chill your dough for at least one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 420.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Portion out the dough into rounded scoops. Do not flatten the dough.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
- Let the cookies rest for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack. For gooey, oozy cookies, let them sit for about 15 minutes before digging in. For thick, dense cookies, let them cool all the way, or about an hour.
- This recipe makes about 18 chai spice white chocolate chip cookies.
Notes
How to quickly get butter to room temperature
If you forget to take your butter out ahead of time (which I do each and every time), here’s a quick tip: Warm up a cup of water in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Place a plate with cubed butter inside the nice, warm microwave for about ten minutes and you'll end up with perfectly softened butter.How to quickly get eggs to room temperature
If you remember right before you start baking that you need room temperature eggs, then you and I are exactly the same. Just place the eggs in a cup of warm water for about ten minutes. Hot oven. One of the secrets to getting thick white chocolate chip cookies that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside is to bake them in a hot oven. And I know 420 seems crazy high for cookies. But it works. Chill the dough. Working with chilled dough is another way to ensure thick cookies — and prevent the dreaded spread. I like to chill cookie dough for at least an hour. But really, you can make the dough up to a couple of days ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge until you’re ready to start baking. Tall scoops. Scooping out the cookie dough into round balls will also help achieve thick cookies. Mix everything until just incorporated. If cookie dough gets mixed too much, air gets incorporated into the dough and the cookies will puff up in the oven, then fall flat. To prevent that, be careful not to overmix the dough. Measure the flour carefully. It’s so tempting to just scoop the flour out of the bag or canister. But I find that my cookie recipes come out more successfully if I just stop and take the time to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife (just like my mom taught me). If your white chocolate chip cookies don’t have enough flour, they’ll spread out thin. If there’s too much flour, they’ll come out dry and crumbly.Nutrition
How to Store Chai Spice White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Store your white chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container or zip-top bag for a couple of weeks, or even a couple of months in the refrigerator.
How to Make Oatmeal Chai Spice White Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you’re looking for a killer oatmeal cookie to have in your arsenal, you can easily turn this recipe into oatmeal chai spice white chocolate chip cookies.
Just use one less cup of flour, so 2 ½ cups, and add 2 cups of rolled oats during the same step as the hazelnuts and white chocolate chips.
FAQs
Yes, you can freeze baked white chocolate chip cookies. Just wrap each cookie individually in plastic wrap then place them in a zip-top bag. You can store them in the freezer for 8-12 months.
You bet! You can keep your cookie dough in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days before baking.
Yes! Just scoop out the cookie dough portions, place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and freeze them. Then, place the frozen balls in a zip-top freezer bag. Be sure to label the bag with the date and cooking instructions. Freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months.
No. Just preheat the oven as usual and bake them for a few extra minutes.
Amazing. I can't have regular chocolate so I'm always on the lookout for recipes with interesting flavors that don't use chocolate. I also love chai but can't normally drink it due to the caffeine in the tea. This cookie solved both problems.
I've made these cookies twice over the last week since I found it and they've turned out great both times. I tweaked the recipe a little bit the first time and even more the second time and my tweaks worked well.
The first time I added ground black pepper to the spice blend since black pepper is often used in chai. I also added finely diced candied ginger tot he cookies to lean into ginger flavors. They were great and did not at all seem like they had too much ginger or off-putting black pepper flavors.
I just made them the second time tonight. I let out the hazelnuts only because my nephew is in town and he is allergic to nuts. In order to get some nutty flavors into the cookie I browned half the butter then bloomed freshly ground spices in the butter right when I took it off the stove. I let the butter cool and added it to the creamed butter and sugar right after adding the eggs. I was concerned that it might alter the final texture of the cookie but it didn't seem to change that at all.
I did cook them at 375 today because they browned overly fast the first time. This time I added extra white chocolate chips on top of each cookie after shaping it. Those chips browned nicely in the oven which starts to get hints of butterscotch I to the cookies.
They were a hit both times. I'll be coming back to this recipe over and over again for sure. Very well might be my new favorite cookie. I'll likely keep all my current modifications and maybe try a few new ones, though I think the batch today was nearly perfect.
Steve, Thank you so much for sharing this! I'm so glad these cookies fit your needs. And I am always thrilled when someone takes a recipe as inspiration to make their own creations. It's how I look at recipes, too. I love, love, love the black pepper tweak! And the browned butter sounds incredibly delicious. Isn't it lovely what happens to white chocolate when it gets a little caramelized? Thank you, again, for sharing this with me. It's so much fun to read about your unique changes.
just curious if you can substitute margarine for the butter ? these look sooo good 🙂
Hi! Great question! I've never made them with margarine, but you should be able to substitute it in equal amounts. Good luck and let me know how it goes :).