Gluten Free Chai Sugar Cookies

These Gluten Free Chai Sugar Cookies are soft, chewy, and full of cozy flavor. Made with warm chai spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves, they’re the perfect twist on classic sugar cookies. A cozy, buttery treat that tastes just like a cup of chai on a chilly afternoon.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

Gluten Free Flour: Flour: These Gluten Free Chai Sugar Cookies were tested with both Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour and King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour. Both work great, though they bake up a little differently. Bob’s Red Mill gives you cookies with chewy centers, crisp edges, and a bit more spread. King Arthur creates cookies that stay slightly thicker and a touch more cakey.

Chai Spice: I use a homemade chai spice blend for this recipe, but you can also use a store-bought blend. It's a simple blend of ground cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and a hint of black pepper for a little heat. Keep in mind fresher spices will result in more flavorful chai spiced cookies.

Brown Sugar: The secret to these cookies’ soft, chewy texture and cozy, spiced flavor starts with brown sugar. Its subtle caramel sweetness complements the warm chai spices perfectly, enhancing the cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger without overpowering them. I like using light brown sugar for a balanced flavor, but dark brown sugar works beautifully, too.

Molasses: Just a spoonful of molasses takes these cookies up a notch - it deepens the caramel flavor and helps them stay soft for days. Molasses is a thick, dark syrup that’s left over after refining sugar from sugar cane juice. You’ll usually find it in the baking aisle. Go for a light, unsulphured variety like Grandma’s Molasses. Skip the blackstrap kind - it’s much stronger and can make the chai cookies taste bitter.

Egg Yolk: Adding an extra egg yolk makes cookies richer, softer, and chewier. The yolk adds fat and moisture, creating a tender texture and giving the cookies a more decadent flavor.

Brown Butter: Browning half of the butter adds a deep, nutty, toffee-like flavor that enhances the cookie’s richness without making the dough greasy. It also gives the cookies a slightly crisp edge and a more complex, caramelized taste.

What Is Chai Spice?

Chai spice is an aromatic blend of warm spices that originated in India, where “chai” simply means “tea.” The term masala chai translates to “spiced tea,” and it’s traditionally made by simmering black tea with milk, sugar, and a mixture of spices that awaken the senses - think cozy, earthy, and slightly sweet all at once.

The exact combination of spices varies from household to household, but most blends feature cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and black pepper. Some versions also include nutmeg, allspice, fennel, or star anise for added depth. Each spice plays a distinct role: cardamom adds a floral brightness, ginger provides gentle heat, and cinnamon rounds everything out with its sweet warmth.

Beyond tea, chai spice has found its way into baking and desserts, where it adds a comforting, complex flavor profile. It pairs especially well with ingredients like vanilla, chocolate, apples, pumpkin, or pears. My favorite? Clearly, my recipe for Gluten Free Chai Sugar Cookies. The sweet, buttery dough is the perfect base for those fragrant spices, turning a simple cookie into something special.

A homemade chai spice mix is easy to make and keeps beautifully in a small jar for several months. Once you have it, you can sprinkle it into coffee, stir it into cake batter, or whisk it into whipped cream - basically anywhere you want a little cozy warmth and spice.

How to make Brown Butter

Only half of the butter used in this recipe is browned. This way, the brown butter does not overpower the chai spices, nor will the cookies turn out greasy.

If it’s your first time making it, take it slow and keep the heat low. Use a heavy-bottomed pan - ideally light-colored - so you can see the color change as it happens. Stir often with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon to prevent burning. You can also make brown butter ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to two weeks - just gently melt it before using it in the gluten free brown sugar cookies.

1. Step 1: Cut the unsalted butter (straight from the fridge or freezer) into smaller pieces and add it to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. If you have a white or light-colored pan, use it - this makes it much easier to see when the milk solids start to brown.
2. Step 2: Melt the butter over medium heat. As it melts, it will turn thick and foamy, and the bubbles may quickly become rapid. Stir constantly with a heat-proof spatula, scraping the bottom of the pan to ensure even browning and prevent burning.

3. Step 3: Continue cooking and stirring. Soon, the butter will develop a rich, nutty aroma and a deep golden brown color. Tiny brown specks will form on the bottom - these are the caramelized milk solids that give brown butter its signature flavor. Keep a close eye here, because it can go from perfect to burnt very quickly.
4. Step 4: Remove the pan from the heat and pour the brown butter into the bowl of your stand mixer, scraping in all the flavorful brown bits.

Gluten Free Chai Sugar Cookie Dough

1. Step 1: Add the chai spices to the melted, still-warm brown butter. The gentle heat helps release the spices’ essential oils, intensifying their aroma and flavor. Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves become wonderfully fragrant, infusing the butter and creating chai sugar cookies that are rich, warm, and full of spice in every bite.

2. Step 2: While the butter and spices mixture cools, whisk together the gluten-free flour (including xanthan gum), baking soda, and kosher salt in a separate bowl until well combined.

3. Step 3: Once the brown butter has cooled, add the room-temperature butter, brown sugar, and molasses. Using the paddle attachment, cream on medium speed for 2–3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. About halfway through, stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.

4. Step 4: Next, add the room-temperature egg, the extra egg yolk, and a generous teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Mix for about a minute, until the batter is smooth, glossy, and fully combined.

5. Step 5: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so everything is evenly incorporated.

6. Step 6: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap - or transfer the chai sugar cookie dough to an airtight container - and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Chilling the dough makes it easier to scoop and helps the cookies hold their shape during baking.

Baking Instructions

Once the gluten free chai sugar cookie dough has chilled for 30 - 45 minutes, it’s time to bake some seriously good chai sugar cookies. If you chill the dough longer or freeze it, just know the cookies will spread a little less in the oven. Using a medium cookie scoop (about 1½ tablespoons of dough), you’ll get around 24–30 cookies - depending, of course, on how much dough “disappeared” before baking.

These chai sugar cookies are best when slightly underbaked. That’s what gives them their irresistibly soft, chewy centers and those perfectly crisp, caramelized edges.

1. Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set them aside.
2. Step 2: Using a medium cookie scoop, portion the brown sugar cookie dough into equal-sized scoops. I like to portion out the sugar cookie dough first and then bake the cookies in batches.

3. Step 3: Roll each scoop into a ball with clean hands. If the dough feels too sticky to handle, place the scooped dough balls back in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before rolling.
4. Step 4: In a small bowl, mix granulated sugar and a little extra chai spice. Roll each cookie dough ball in the spiced sugar to coat.

5. Step 5: Arrange 6 - 8 of the cookie dough balls on the sheet tray. If you like top each cookie dough with a bit of chai spiced sugar.
6. Step 6: Bake cookies at 350°F, one tray at a time, for 9 - 10 minutes, or until the cookies are puffy and the edges are just set.

7. Step 7 : Remove the gluten free chai sugar cookies from the oven. If you want them to have a crackle top, tap the sheet pan against the counter, they’ll settle into a flatter shape with a pretty crinkled top.
8. Step 8: Use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the sugar cookies to give them a neat round shape. Allow them to cool on the sheet tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Storage & Freezing

Store fully baked and cooled brown sugar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 - 4 days. For longer storage, freeze the baked cookies in a sealed container or freezer bag, then thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter for a few hours before enjoying. (You can always nuke them in the microwave for a few seconds to thaw them quicker)

You can also freeze the unbaked cookie dough. Portion the dough into balls using a cookie scoop, then arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid, about 1–2 hours. Transfer the frozen dough balls to a ziplock bag or airtight container, label with the cookie name and date, and store for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, let the dough balls sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to soften slightly. Then roll them into balls, coat them in granulated sugar, and bake as directed. Keep in mind that gluten free chai sugar cookies baked from frozen dough may spread slightly less.

Note about Salt in my Recipes

I use Diamond Kosher Crystal Salt in all of my recipes unless otherwise stated. If use use a different brand or kind of salt in your kitchen please adjust accordingly since some salts can be saltier. If you use Morton’s Kosher Salt please be aware that their salt granules are smaller in size, denser, and crunchier and twice as salty.

Baking in grams

I share my recipes in grams and by weight since baking by weight is the most accurate way to bake. Digital Scales are very affordable and easy to use. You can purchase them on Amazon for less than a set of measuring cups. For small amounts under 10 grams, I like to use this Precision Pocket Scale. Measuring cups are very inaccurate which can cause significant errors when it comes to gluten-free baking or baking in general. Especially since I bake with gluten-free flours which weigh differently than “regular” flours. I do provide some ingredients like spices and leavening agents in measuring spoons. To learn more about Baking with a digital scale, make sure to check out my post about Baking by weight.

Note about Ovens and Oven Temperatures

All my recipes are tested and developed with a conventional oven. I always bake my baked goods on the rack placed in the MIDDLE of my oven. This way the heat coming from the bottom will not burn my baked goods.

If you are baking with convection (fan-forced), please adjust the recipes accordingly. Convection oven can cause baked goods to dry out quickly and still be raw inside. Since takes at least 15-20 minutes for a standard American Oven to be fully preheated. I highly recommend investing in an Oven Thermometer.

Substitutions and Modifications

Any dietary or ingredient modifications/substitutions to this recipe may alter the end result in appearance and taste. I test my recipes several times as published in this post and The Gluten Free Austrian Blog is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe you find on our website.