Name: Chewy Chocolate Chai Cookies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 120 g plain flour; 60 g bread flour; 1 tsp arrowroot powder; 25 g cacao powder; 1 ½ tsp chai spice ((see notes)); ¾ tsp baking powder; ½ tsp fine sea salt; 115 g unsalted butter, softened; 125 g coconut sugar; 1 large egg, room temperature; ½ tsp pure vanilla extract; 1 tbsp milk; 60 g dark chocolate chips

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These chewy chocolate cookies are supremely rich and chocolatey and infused with warming autumnal chai spices. Perfect for a smaller family, this small batch Chocolate Chai Cookies recipe makes just 8 large cookies.

a tall glass of milk surrounded by chocolate cookies topped with sea salt. one chocolate chai cookie is leaning against the milk glass.

I know, I know. It’s only the end of August and already I’m hitting you with autumn recipes. #sorrynotsorry.

You know I love me a cozy fall bake. Whether it’s made with pumpkin, apples, or anything in between, I can’t help myself from trotting them out a bit earlier than I should. And these Chocolate Chai Cookies? Totally worth the early posting!

These are the softest, chewiest chocolate cookies on the block. These puppies are rich af and kissed with warming chai spice flavour. You’re going to love them, so let’s just deal with the autumn content, mmkay?

Why you’ll love this recipe

This is a small batch cookie recipe. I don’t know about you, but I don’t need two dozen chocolate cookies tempting me throughout the week. This recipe makes just 8 cookies, so you can enjoy a little treat and then move on.
As always, these Chocolate Chai Cookies are refined sugar free. They’re naturally sweetened with coconut sugar for that brown sugar flavour and extra chewiness.
These cookies are super easy to make and require minimal prep. The hardest part about making this recipe is waiting for the dough to chill in the fridge!
The flavour and texture of these cookies is my favourite part! Super chewy and chocolatey with warming notes of chai spice – the perfect autumn cookie.

five chocolate chai cookies on a baking tray with a small glass of milk in the lower right hand corner of the straw and scatterings of cardamom pods surround it.

Ingredients in these chewy chocolate cookies

Plain (all-purpose) flour: Provides structure.
Bread flour: Helps lend extra chewiness to the cookies.
Arrowroot powder: Aids in the soft, chewy texture of these Chocolate Chai Cookies.
Cacao powder: Kind of essential to a chewy chocolate cookie recipe.
Chai spice: Lends a wonderful warmth and flavour to these cookies.
Baking powder: Helps the cookies rise in the oven!
Sea salt: For seasoning.
Unsalted butter: Adds moisture and fat to help the cookies stay chewy.
Coconut sugar: To sweeten these cookies naturally.
Egg: Helps provide moisture and binds all the ingredients together.
Pure vanilla extract: Just a dash for flavouring.
Milk: To loosen the dough a bit and add moisture to keep the cookies from getting too dry.
Dark chocolate chips: I mean, you could leave these out, but why would you?

an aerial shot of 6 chewy chocolate chai cookies on a grey plasterboard background. they are topped with sea salt

How to make Chai Spice blend

I know when to bow down to other recipe creators. I’ve tried dozens of chai spice blends around the internet and none are as good as Jess’ recipe from Plays Well with Butter. This is the perfect blend and I keep a jar of this stuff on hand all year long.

These are her ratios – I added a little bit of black pepper just to increase the spice levels a bit. If you don’t like your chai spicy, omit the pepper.

You’ll need:

3 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground cardamom
1 tbsp ground ginger
½ tbsp ground allspice
½ tbsp ground cloves
½ tbsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground black pepper

Add all of the spices to a small jar. Screw on the lid and shake, shake, shake it up until it’s fully combined. Use as directed in this Chocolate Chai Cookies recipe and keep the rest to use throughout the autumn season!

a hand dunking half of a chewy chocolate chai cookie in a glass of milk. there is a small drop of milk dripping off of the cookie half.

How to make these Chocolate Chai Cookies

These Chocolate Chai Cookies are my favourite chewy chocolate cookie recipe during the autumn months. They’re so incredibly fast and easy to prep and bake, so they’re perfect for beginners.

Here’s how to make them (full method in recipe card below):

Whisk together the dry ingredients.
Beat together the wet ingredients.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Chill the cookie dough.
Divide the dough into 8 balls and place them on a baking tray. Press them down slightly to form thick discs.
Bake for 9 minutes.
Allow to cool and enjoy!

What makes cookies chewy?

Chewy cookies are my favourite kind of cookie and I know you feel the same. But how do you guarantee a soft, chewy chocolate cookie?

Higher moisture content. More moisture in your cookie recipe will determine how soft and chewy they bake up. This can include things like sugar (specifically higher moisture sugars like brown or coconut), eggs, butter, and other liquid ingredients like milk or cream.
Bread flour. The higher gluten ratio of bread flour helps make cookies extra chewy. It’s not completely necessary if you don’t have it, but it does make a difference to the texture!
Arrowroot powder. A sneaky little trick I learned from Tessa of Handle the Heat. A little cornstarch or arrowroot powder makes these chewy chocolate cookies extra soft.
Don’t over-mix once you add the flour. We don’t want the gluten to overdevelop, otherwise you’ll end up with gummy cookies. There’s a fine line! Once you add the dry ingredients, only mix until the dough comes together and the dry ingredients disappear.
Don’t overdo the creaming. Taking the time to cream together the butter and sugar is important. However, if you over-beat the butter and sugar, you’ll incorporate too much air and you’ll end up with puffy, cakey cookies.
Don’t over-bake the cookies. Over-baking chocolate cookies is a cardinal sin! Your cookies will end up dry and basically inedible. It’s always better to under-bake cookies and let them cool on the tray (the heat of the tray will keep baking them).

a hand holding a stack of three halves of chocolate chai cookies. the inside of the cookies is visible.

Tips for making this recipe perfectly

Make sure your spices are fresh. Kind of essential since they have to compete with the flavour of chocolate, which can be very strong. If you haven’t used your ground spices in a while, it might be best to buy some new ones.
Chill the dough. I know, it’s torture, but this is non-negotiable. This gives the chewy chocolate cookie dough time to “marinate” and bring out the flavours of the chai spice. Skipping this step will affect the flavour of the cookies.
Press the cookies down before baking. This cookie dough is thick, so it needs a little bit of help.
9 minutes is perfect. I tested this recipe baking the cookies for 7, 9, 10, and 11 minutes. 9 minutes was the golden time for my oven to produce the chewiest Chocolate Chai Cookies.

These chewy chocolate cookies are laced with chai spices and perfectly rich and chocolatey. An easy small batch cookie recipe for the autumn season! Grab the full recipe on naturallysweetkitchen.com via @naturallysweetkitchen

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If you make this recipe, let me know by snapping a picture and tagging me on Instagram @naturallysweet_kitchen. I love seeing your creations and sharing them in my Stories. Or let me know you love this Chewy Chocolate Chai Cookies recipe by leaving a comment and rating below!

a close up shot of a chocolate chai cookie topped with sea salt leaning against a glass of milk

5 from 1 vote