Chai Spice Snickerdoodle Cookies

If I were writing in chronological order [and I usually do], I had a really brown, boring looking recipe to share. That hardly seemed appropriate for the holidays considering I had these cookies ready to go [and they are the some of the best cookies I’ve made in a long, long time]. Speaking of the ol’ holidays, I hope yours were great. Christmas snuck up on me more than usual, which left me feeling uninspired. I didn’t put up tree. I didn’t put up any decorations. I didn’t bake anything. I did buy this ridiculous sweater and build a gingerbread house stadium. That counts right?

After the usual feast of meat, cheese, crackers [and a bowl of these roasted mushrooms] on Christmas Eve and an all-you-can-eat buffet of Mexican food for Christmas Day, Christmas is over for another year. I’m thankful for being able to get together with the fam that’s here, and definitely miss the ones down south. I could use a little bit of sunshine since it’s been raining in some form for 25 days straight. 25. Ugh. It’s like being a kid all over again and it feels like it’s never going to stop. It made for a great trip to the zoo though. I took Wednesday off just because, and we headed to the zoo to see the new elephant exhibit. Mid-week rainy zoo trips in December not long after the doors open yielded one of the best experiences. All of the animals were out or curled up in their dens that have super close viewing access. If you’re in Portland and haven’t been to see the new elephant exhibit, go.

These cookies are from Adrianna from A Cozy Kithchen’s new cookbook, The Year of the Cozy. I flipped through this pretty book when I was at Powell’s doing some Christmas shopping. She has more DIY awesome in her pinky than I could ever dream of having. Plus Amelia, her corgi, is just so dang cute. These cookies she made are taking the internet by storm, and they came out PERFECT. Even for me. I feel like my baking skills are only ok. Cooking > baking for me, but I like to try every now and then [obviously], but the results end up so-so. Some definitely better than others. These cookies are the exception not the rule to my experience. Everything came together quick and easy. No tartar. No refrigeration. Just pure cookie joy. I even bought cardamom for such an occasion. Worth it.

Inspiration: A Cozy Kitchen via A Crepes of Wrath

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon + 1 pinch ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups + 1/4 cup sugar
• 2oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment or a silpat.

In a bowl [not your mixer’s bowl], whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger, 1 teaspoon of the ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, the cloves, allspice, and black pepper.

In the bowl of your mixer [or a another regular one], add 1 1/2 cups of sugar, cream cheese and butter. Beat together until light and fluffy, a good minute or two. Incorporate the oil before adding the egg, milk and vanilla extract. Beat together again until everything is combined and smooth.

Add the flour mixture to the liquid in two batches. Be very careful not to over-mix. You may need to scrape the sides a time or two to get everything together. It will become a soft, pliable dough.

Mix together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and pinch of cardamom in a shallow bowl or on a plate. Using a tablespoon or a cookie scoop, make equal sized balls of dough. Roll them until they’re soft and even before rolling them in the sugar mixture. Place them evenly spaced on your cookie sheets. Then flatten them with your fingers for a rustic look. They won’t spread a ton, but you may still need to bake several batches.

Bake for about 12 minutes. They will look a little darker, but not much. Don’t overtake. They will be soft and chewy. Let them cool for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.