Indulge in these Dirty Chai Sandwich Cookies for flavorful escape with a little caffeine boost at the same time. These buttery and crisp chai shortbread cookies are filled with an espresso buttercream for a fall cookie that goes perfectly with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.
If you love sandwich cookies as much as I do, be sure to check out some of my other favorites like my Chocolate Lemon Poppy Seed Sandwich Cookies, Peanut Butter Cookie Pies, or my Homemade Vanilla Oreo Cookies.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
These delectable cookies harmoniously blend the robust essence of chai spices with the rich allure of espresso. The cookies themselves, buttery and crisp, are infused with a blend of aromatic spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and cardamom, reminiscent of a cozy cup of chai. What sets these cookies apart is the luscious filling that sandwiches them together – a creamy espresso buttercream is swirled to perfection in between each cookie.
These also make an amazing breakfast cookie, if you're like me and you like eating cookies for breakfast! Okay, in all truth, I usually eat breakfast first and then I have cookies afterwards. But, something about having a mid morning cookie always just makes me smile. Enjoy these with your coffee or a cup of hot chocolate.
Tips for Making Dirty Chai Sandwich Cookies
• Makes your butter is soft, it is crucial for this type of shortbread cookie. I like to leave butter out on the counter over night before making this type of cookie. Although, during the colder season, it may still not be ready! If you have to microwave it, make sure to only microwave 1/2 cup butter for 10 seconds at one time. And. you may need multiple intervals of this.
• Make sure you are using high quality spices for a cookie like this. My favorite brand of spices are Frontier Co-Op organic spices. You can find them on their website, it's a co-op so anyone can join! But, you can also find them on my Amazon Shop.
• I used an organic espresso powder for the filling in these cookies. If you don't have that, you can use a shot of espresso, but don't add in the water since you are already adding in a liquid.
• I use Ateco tip #864, you can find it here. You can also use any kind of tip you want, or no tip at all. They will still taste the same!
Ingredients for Dirty Chai Sandwich Cookies
Florida Crystals Organic Powdered Sugar
Simply Organic Vanilla Extract
Cairnspring Mills Organic All Purpose Flour
Frontier Co-Op Organic Korintje Cinnamon
Frontier Co-Op Organic Cardamom
Frontier Co-Op Organic Allspice
Frontier Co-Op Organic Black Pepper
Why Organic
Why use organic ingredients in this recipe? You all know I’m a huge organic advocate, and I bet you may be thinking sometimes, Why would I even bother to use organic ingredients in something that is so sweet and indulgent? But, that is the exact reason why you should use organic ingredients! Sweet things need to have flavor in order to be good, otherwise they are just sweet and they don’t taste like much else. Organic ingredients are more pure than conventional ones, therefore they actually have more flavor than the non organic options. Say it with me, organic means more flavor! And not just more flavor but a more true and pure flavor. And organic ingredients are much healthier for you to eat in general as they do not contain GMOs or anything artificial. Plus, you are being environmentally friendly when you choose organic ingredients!
So, I highly recommend that you buy the best organic ingredients for this recipe! You can also shop my Amazon Storefront for all my favorite organic ingredients here. Tip – hover over each ingredient to see the name. And if you want to learn more about organic foods and the difference, read my post here on Food Labels and What They Mean.
Espresso buttercream is sandwiched together between chai shortbread cookies for a Dirty Chai Sandwich Cookie.
Ingredients
- Dough
1 cup (226 grams) organic salted butter, softened
142 grams (1 cup) organic powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
255 grams (2 cups) organic all purpose flour
1 teaspoon organic cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon organic ginger
1/2 teaspoon organic allspice
1/4 teaspoon organic cardamom
1/4 teaspoon organic cloves
1/4 teaspoon organic black pepper
- Filling
226 grams (1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon) organic powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup (113 grams) organic salted butter, softened
1 teaspoon organic espresso powder
1 to 2 teaspoons water
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined and you don’t see powdered sugar anymore, there will still be a few chunks of butter but that is okay because it’s very soft.
- Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cardamom, cloves, and black pepper into the butter mixture and mix on low until combined and smooth. The dough should feel like play dough in your hands.
- Using your hands, form the dough into 36 balls and place them on the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten each one slightly so they are about 1 3/4-inch in diameter.
- Bake for 13 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool completely on the cookie sheets.
- To make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the powdered sugar, butter, espresso powder, and water and mix on low until combined. Speed mixer up to high for 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Put in a piping bag with Ateco tip #864.
- Turn over every other cookie so they are all paired. Pipe a swirl of filling onto each cookie and sandwich them together.
- Store in a cool dry place for up to 7 days.
Notes
- Gluten Free – Replace the flour with 226 grams (scant 1 1/2 cups) organic gluten free flour blend and 57 grams (1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoons) organic coconut flour.
- High Altitude – Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes or until golden brown.
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Make sure to check out my Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, which I'm sure you'll love too! And, share it with someone who you think may also like it!
