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Taylor Swift's Chai Cookies Made Vegan!

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. Just as delicious as the original! Gluten-free option included.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chai, chai cookies, sugar cookies, Taylor Swift's chai cookies, vegan cookies
Servings: 15 cookies

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

Credit: Recipe inspiration from Joy The Baker's Chai Sugar Cookies, adapted to be made vegan and gluten-free.
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 a chai tea bag 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 sugar in a high-speed blender.