Soft and flavorful cookie bars filled with warm and cozy chai spice blend, topped with a thick layer of vanilla-chai frosting.
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What sets this recipe apart
Blondie-cookie hybrid: These bars taste like a combination of chewy blondie and soft sugar cookie bar.
Chai spices: The warm and cozy combination of chai spices elevates this recipe.
Frosting: A thick layer of vanilla-chai buttercream is the perfect finishing touch!
Visual recipe overview
*Full recipe below in recipe card*
Cookie dough
Make the chai-spiced cookie dough. Press into pan and bake.
Frosting
Combine butter, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and spice mix.
Assemble
After the bars have cooled, top with frosting.
Chai spice blend
Chai is traditionally a spiced tea made with black tea, milk, sweetener, and a blend of spices. The exact combination of spices can vary, but cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves are commonly used.
For these cookie bars, I use those same warm spices (no tea) to flavor a buttery cookie dough. Think of it as an elevated snickerdoodle.
You can buy a chai spice blend or you can make your own with the following combination of spices:
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Cardamom
- Allspice
- Cloves
The exact proportions are in the recipe card. Leftover chai spice? Make this chai crumb cake.
Tips: Getting the perfect texture
These bars have a fantastic soft and chewy texture that you can really sink your teeth into. Several things help develop the ideal texture:
Brown sugar: For moisture and sweetness
An extra egg yolk: For chewiness and richness
Sour cream or yogurt: For tenderness
Don’t overbake: These bars should be removed from the oven as soon as the center bakes through. They will firm up as they cool.
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Recipe
Frosted Chai Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Bars:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt
- 1½ cups Bob’s Red Mill White All-Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons chai spice mix, see note
Frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons half and half or cream
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons chai spice mix, see note
Optional topping:
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar or coarse sugar
- ½ teaspoon chai spice mix, see note
Instructions
Bars:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×9 baking pan (preferably metal). You can also line the baking pan with foil, leaving a couple inches of overhang on two sides (this will allow you to easily lift the whole pan of bars out of the pan). Spray or grease the foil.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and both sugars on medium speed for several minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and sour cream and beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and 4 teaspoons chai spice.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined (do not over-mix). Spread the dough into an even layer in the prepared pan (it will be thick). If necessary you can moisten your fingertips with water to press it into an even layer.
- Bake for 20-23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the center no longer jiggles. Be careful not to overbake, it will firm up as it cools. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Frosting:
- With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar for 1-2 minutes, until light and creamy. Add half and half, vanilla extract, and 2 teaspoons chai spice. Beat until completely combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Spread the frosting on top of the cooled bars. If desired, combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the frosted bars.
Notes
Chai spice mix
Combine the following:- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Ashley says
Hello Allison,
These sound delicious! I have had them on my to-do list all week! I am making them today.
Have you ever topped them with a cream cheese chai frosting?
Allison says
Hi, Ashley. I have not tried that, but I’m sure it would be delicious. You can just make a cream cheese frosting and add chai spice to taste. I have a recipe here (you’ll likely only need half): https://celebratingsweets.com/cream-cheese-frosting/
Enjoy!
Zoe says
Can this be made in advance? then the frosting the day you need it?
Allison says
Sure. You can make the bars up to one day in advance. Enjoy!
Zoe Schwartz says
Only one day in advance will it survive 2-3?
Allison says
Yes, they’ll just dry out over time. Enjoy!
Cara says
Oh my goodness, this might be our favorite dessert we’ve ever made! Absolutely delicious, top to bottom. Thank you for sharing!
Allison says
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Laura says
Love love this recipe!!!! Smells so good in my house and tastes amazing!!!!! Easy to follow!!!
Allison says
Yay! I’m so glad!
Cara says
These have quickly become one of our top desserts at my house! Seriously, the flavor is INSANE. I can’t say enough good things about this recipe, thank you so much for sharing Allison!
Marla Nichols says
Light, and not overly sweet. I will definitely be making these again!
Allison says
Great! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Stephanie says
Can you double this recipe and if so, how long would you bake it?
Allison says
I haven’t tried it but I would assume you could double it and bake in a 9×13. The bars will be thicker and need to bake a bit longer. Add 5 minutes to the bake time and then check them every few minutes until they are done.
Stephanie says
Thank you.
June says
Huge hit with my family, I was asked to make them again immediately!
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Lisa Gordon says
I can’t wait to try these!!
Could these be frozen?
Allison Mattina says
Hi! Yes, you can freeze them. Although I’d recommend adding the frosting after freezing and thawing.
Kris says
Question, have you ever made these in a jellyroll pan? I made them once and they are delish, but would prefer a thinner bar. Obviously I’d need make a larger batch. Just wondering what your thoughts were. Thanks
Allison Mattina says
Hi, Kris. I have only made the recipe as written. I’m thinking you could probably make the recipe as is and bake it in a 9×13 pan for thinner bars. If using a 10×15 jelly roll pan I think you would need 1.5x the recipe. Doubling would likely make the bars too thick. Good luck with it! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂