Chai Chocolate Chunk Cookies might just warm your heart and soothe your soul. Warming spices and melting chocolate make these one of the best exotic cookie recipes. 
These Chai Chocolate Chunk Cookies are near and dear to my heart.
Once upon a time, they almost had me starting a cookie brand.
They are without a doubt, my favorite cookie recipe I’ve ever created. The warm flavors, the soft texture, the melting chunks of chocolate, it’s all so dreamy.
What is Chai?
- Chai is the generic word for tea in Hindi, a main language of India. Chai is derived from the Chinese word for tea, which is Cha.
- Chai is a mix of spices steeped into a tea-like beverage, and recipes for it can vary greatly.
- Traditional ingredients for Chai usually include black tea mixed with strong spices, like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and black peppercorns.
- The tea is typically brewed strong, and has milk and sugar or honey added to it.
There’s no tea in my Chai Chocolate Chunk Cookies — just the alluring, exotic spices.
Fiery and sweet at the same time, this incredibly flavorful spice blend makes for a delicious and calming (yes, calming), cookie-eating experience.
They’ll warm your heart and soothe your soul. Try them and see.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
- You can use whole or ground spices. If you choose to grind whole spices, I suggest using an electric spice grinder, rather than a mortar and pestle. We want the spices as fine as possible. (Of course, pre-ground will save time.)
- I use milk chocolate in this recipe. I have tested it with both semisweet and dark chocolate, and find that the milk chocolate doesn’t compete as much with the flavor of the spices.
- The baking time is 7 minutes. You want them to be only slightly crisp on the edges and almost doughy looking in the very center. They will still be good if they’re baked a bit past this point, but I prefer the texture this way.
- You can reuse the parchment paper after each batch is baked. No need to keep using new sheets.
- I use a 1¼ inch cookie scoop for these cookies, but feel free to make them any size you like.
- Final tip: share! 🙂
I hope you enjoy every last crumb of these incredibly scrumptious Chai Chocolate Chunk Cookies!
More exotic cookie recipes:
- Wild Blackcurrant Chocolate Cookies
- Mexican Chocolate Spice Cookies
- Hatch Chile Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut
- Kampot Black Pepper Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Cardamom Cookies with Lemon and Pistachios
Chai Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 14 ounces milk chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Set them aside.
- Make chai spice mix. Combine the chai spices in a small bowl and chop the chocolate. Set these aside, too.
- Make batter. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and baking soda with the chai spices and salt.In a slightly larger mixing bowl, combine the softened butter with the sugars, vanilla, molasses, and cream. Then, gradually blend in the egg.Add the flour mixture and stir only until the flour is incorporated. Then fold in the chocolate chunks.
- Shape and refrigerate. Use an (approximately 1¼ inch) cookie scoop to shape the dough into balls, placing each one on the parchment-lined baking sheets as you go. (At this point, the balls can be very close together.) Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm, at least 1 hour.
- While the dough is in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Bake and cool. Place 9 to 12 of the shaped cookie dough balls on another parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 7 minutes, just until the dough has solidified. It will still look a bit doughy -- which is perfect!Carefully remove the baked cookies with a metal spatula and place them on a cooling rack. Repeat this process until all of the cookies are baked.
Notes
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anneliesz says
Thanks for posting this recipe. I can still taste these cookies in my mind a week later. Delicious and soon to be bookmarked.
averagebetty says
YUM! I love that you have listed the chai spices and didn’t use a packet of tea — brands can vary so much. I am a sucker for anything Chai — I must try these!! xoxoxo
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family, Valentina!
Sippitysup says
Black pepper! That’s the secret ingredient. Thanks for sharing. GREG
Trish says
These are perfect for the holidays! I’ve got these on my bakin to-do list. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
valentina says
Thanks, Trish! Hope you love them!
Christina says
The spices of chai are very calming to me. Generic word for tea- I learned something new!
valentina says
Thanks, Christina! 🙂
Patricia from Fresh Food in a Flash says
Thanks Valentina. I just printed out the recipe and hope to bake these up soon. They were delish!
Nancy Rose Eisman says
Thanks so much for sharing these cookies with us. I love them too!
Jeanne @JollyTomato says
WOW – these look amazing! They’re on my “to-bake” list, maybe after I finish making all of the pies I need to bake this week. Can’t wait to try them!
amee says
Awesome. Just Awesome, Valentina!
Lentil Breakdown says
If you adapt this to be a GF recipe, let me know! These are my fave spices!!
valentina says
I will do it – for you! I’ll keep you posted, Adair.
Jennifer says
These sound absolutely wonderful! Can’t wait to try them.
valentina says
Thanks, Jen! 🙂
Jillian says
These cookies look amazing!! They are just the way I like them, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside!
valentina says
Thanks Jillian. I hope you give them a go. 🙂
Veena Azmanov says
This is unique and flavorful. Love to have them with my Tea for sure. They look delicious and Crispy.
valentina says
Thanks! They’re perfect with tea, of course. 🙂
Cathy says
These look delish Valentina! I just love the idea of all these spices in a cookie. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside already! 🙂
valentina says
Right!? Thank you, Cathy. There’s just something about those spices that induce warm & fuzzy. 🙂
Dannii says
These cookies sound amazing and they have all my favourite flavours in them too.
valentina says
Thanks so much, Dannii!
Emmeline says
I love love love Chai so this is a must-try for me! Just finished the last of the Christmas cookies sooo….
valentina says
Oh you better replenish your cookie stash! 😉 Thanks for the visit and enjoy!
Jocelyn Mauldin says
What’s the purpose of the cream. I like the idea of the cookies but hate the idea of buying a carton of something I’m not going to use up just for a tablespoon’s worth of an ingredient.
valentina says
Hi Jocelyn. The cream is for helping to keep the cookies soft and chewy. That said, the amount is small enough in this recipe that it doesn’t make a huge difference. So they’ll still be delicious even if you skip it — maybe just the slightest bit crunchier. I’m excited you’re going to try this recipe — it’s seriously one of my favorite recipes I’ve ever developed, and favorite cookie for sure. Enjoy! 🙂 ~Valentina