Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookies Recipe (Vegan Version)
Nov 18, 2022 • Updated Nov 21, 2023
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A vegan version of Taylor Swift’s chai cookies. With a few simple swaps, you can enjoy Taylor’s favorite Fall cookie without dairy or eggs. These chai sugar cookies are deliciously spiced with a soft chewy middle and perfectly crisp edges and are just as delicious as the original! Gluten-free option included.
What Makes This Recipe Great
This is my vegan take on the famous Taylor Swift Chai Cookies craze. The lore is that she has been making these for listening parties for a few years. The recipe comes back into popularity every Fall and with every new album release.
Remy’s version is, of course, vegan! But you really won’t notice any difference. The same warm chai spices mixed with other simple ingredients to make delicious, chewy sugar cookies. All of the cozy Fall flavors you love in one perfect cookie recipe!
So, happy release date to all who celebrate! Now, you can make and enjoy Taylor’s favorite chai cookies without dairy or eggs. I’ll be over here listening on repeat and enjoying every last scrumptious bite!
The Story of Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookies
How did this Taylor Swift chai cookie recipe come about? Allegedly, Taylor made Joy the Baker’s sugar cookie recipe, then added her own twist on them by including chai spices and an icing glaze.
Joy the Baker then updated her recipe to include chai spices. I just had to make a vegan version, so my recipe is an adaptation of Joy’s recipe, made vegan, and with a gluten-free option!
Ingredient Notes
See amounts and more details in the printable recipe card below. Here’s what you’ll need for these spiced chai cookies:
- Butter: Use vegan unsalted butter. Brands like Earth Balance and Miyokos make great vegan butter options.
- Flour: If you want to make these gluten-free, use any gluten-free all-purpose flour blend like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur brand. Or, use any regular all-purpose flour.
- Vegetable Oil: This helps keep your cookies super soft.
- Sugar: I use a combo of powdered sugar for a nice smooth texture and organic cane sugar.
- Spices: The chai cookies get their flavor from ground cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and a bit of cracked black pepper. I make my own homemade chai spice blend using these spices, but you can also use the contents of a chai tea bag!
- Aquafaba: This is an egg substitute that you find in a can of chickpeas! Just drain out the liquid, and you have aquafaba for your cookies.
- Vanilla Bean Paste: You can swap this for pure vanilla extract if that’s what you have on hand.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets (or cookie sheet) with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper.
- Add softened butter to a large bowl and whip with a spatula or whisk. Add in vegetable oil and whip together as best you can.
- Add granulated sugar and powdered sugar along with all the spices and whip to combine.
- Whip the wet ingredients: aquafaba with a small whisk until nice and frothy, and add it to the large mixing bowl along with vanilla.
- Sift in the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt, and then use a spatula to gently fold the dough together. Once a dough has formed, chill the entire bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- After the dough has chilled, take 2 tbsp of cookie dough (use a cookie scoop if desired) and gently roll it into a ball. Toss the cookie dough balls into the cinnamon sugar mix and coat. Then gently press down on your linked baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between each cookie.
- Bake for 13 minutes, flipping the tray halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown. Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack before handling.
Expert Tips
- Maximum Flavour: I recommend starting with whole spices and toasting and grinding them. If your spices are already ground, it makes a big difference to dry-toast them in a pan for a few minutes (just until they become fragrant).
- Quick & Easy Chai Spice: In a pinch, you can even blend up the contents of chai tea leaves from a packet of chai tea in your food processor if you don’t have the individual spices or don’t want to buy them.
- Note on Spice Blends: The spice blend used to make chai varies from household to household, so of course, feel free to adjust as you see fit.
- Oil & Butter Blend: The combination of oil and butter might sound odd, but it gives the cookies incredible moistness. And you also get delicious crisp edges. If you want, you can substitute the oil for more butter, I have tried it and it works just fine.
- Vegan Spread & Margarine: Just be sure not to use vegan spread or margarine for your cookies. It has to be a butter that will stay solid instead of liquid at room temperature. Otherwise, your cookies will fall apart!
- Chill the Dough: Chilling the vegan cookie dough is essential, as the dough is quite sticky at room temp, so don’t skip this step!
- Powdered Sugar: You can make your own powdered sugar by blending granulated white sugar in a high-speed blender.
- Equipment: Feel free to use a large or medium bowl with a whisk or use a hand mixer or stand mixer. I recommend the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer.
Storage Tips
Store leftover chai cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
I use aquafaba as an egg replacer. It’s my personal favorite egg substitute because has such a similar consistency to real eggs, which is key for gluten-free cookies. If you leave out the aquafaba, your cookies may be flatter. You could also try an egg replacer like the product from Bob’s Red Mill or make a flax egg with a tablespoon of ground flax meal and 1.5 tablespoons of water.
Instead of icing, I like to roll my cookies in a simple cinnamon-sugar mixture. If you prefer icing, check out Joy the Baker’s recipe! If you make the eggnog version of her icing, there are lots of brands that now make vegan eggnog. Check your local grocery store around November for this seasonal treat.
You may have skipped chilling the dough. After mixing, you must chill the dough for 15 minutes in the freezer so it becomes workable. Otherwise, it will be too sticky to form.
Try These Vegan Cookies!
Raspberry Lemon Cookies (vegan, gluten-free)
Matcha Checkerboard Cookies (vegan, gluten-free)
Cranberry Orange Cashew Butter Cookies (vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, oil-free)
If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know what you think with a comment below! Follow me on Instagram for more delicious recipes!
Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookies Made Vegan!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan butter unsalted, room temp
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/4 cup aquafaba
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or use vanilla extract
- 2 cups 1-1 gluten free flour mix
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper.
- Add softened butter to a bowl and whip with a spatula or whisk. Add in vegetable oil and whip together as best you can.
- Add both granulated sugar and powdered sugar along with all of the spices and whip to combine.
- Whip the aquafaba with a small whisk until nice and frothy and add it to the bowl along with vanilla.
- Sift in flour, baking soda and salt and then use a spatula to gently fold the dough together. Once a dough has formed, chill the entire bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- After the dough has chilled, take 2 tbsp of cookie dough and gently roll into a ball. Toss the dough ball into the cinnamon sugar mix and coat. Then gently press down on your linked baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between each cookie.
- Bake for 13 minutes, flipping the tray halfway through and let the cookies cool completely before handling.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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