Chai Bars

Chai bars– These chai bars are soft, dense, spicy-sweet, and INCREDIBLY delicious. Think soft, thick, snickerdoodle cookie, but instead of cinnamon sugar on the outside, it’s chai spiced sugar, and instead of a cookie, it’s a bar. 😍

This chai bars recipe is super easy to make and turns out SO good every time. It starts with mixing up an easy, pantry-staple, chai spice mixture. Then you’ll whip up a very simple sugar cookie dough, throw some of that chai spice in there, then press into a cake pan. Last, but not least, you’ll mix the rest of that chai spice with some sugar and sprinkle over top the dough before baking.

If you’ve never had a chai tea before, you’re missing out! Chai is a type of Indian tea that’s made with a mixture of spices, like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg (and often black pepper). These spices combine to form a warm, aromatic, and spicy-sweet spice mixture.

A common way to use chai spice is in a chai latte, where the spices are mixed with black tea, milk, and sweetener (like vanilla syrup or sugar). A chai latte is one of my favorite drinks to get at a coffee shop.

These bars are perfectly sweet and spicy (not hot-spicy, but spice-spicy 😜). The texture is amazing–they’re thick, dense, and doughy, with thicker, chewier edges and a sweet, slightly crunchy, crispy top. They are just cozy, fall perfection. 👌🏻

Serve these chai bars with a cup of hot coffee or black tea, or if you’re really a chai fanatic, a creamy chai latte. They’re great for fall entertaining or bringing to share with friends for any gathering.

Why you’ll love this recipe:

• Perfect cozy, fall dessert recipe
• Delicious served with hot coffee or tea
• Thick, dense, and gooey snickerdoodle-like cookie bars
• Warm, aromatic, spicy-sweet chai spice flavor
• Easy to make – 10 minutes prep
• Freeze well – pull them out as needed!

Notes from the test kitchen:

A couple years ago I developed a snickerdoodle bar recipe that was inspired by the taste and texture of the dough from this cinnamon roll cookie recipe that I had been making on repeat by The Food Charlatan (which is in fact, the BEST cinnamon roll cookie recipe out there in my opinion). These snickerdoodle bars were a big hit and performed pretty well on Instagram.

So, when I was planning fall recipes and had chai bars on my list, I knew that using this snickerdoodle cookie bar recipe as a base would be perfect. I created a simple chai spice mixture to use both in the dough and for combining with sugar and sprinkling over the top of the dough and pretty much kept the same bar recipe. I’m so happy with how these turned out!

Ingredients

• Butter: I always use salted butter in my recipes, so I recommend sticking to that. Make sure to use soft, room temperature (or slightly cooler) butter. Melted butter will cause these bars to brown too quickly and will alter the texture.
• Granulated sugar: Sugar helps tenderize and give the bars structure. A couple tablespoons is reserved for mixing with the chai spices and sprinkling over the bars before baking.
• Eggs: Acts as a binder, moistens the dough, and provides structure to the bars.
• Vanilla: Vanilla complements the chai spices so well. Pure vanilla extract is the best, although imitation will do the job, too.
• All purpose flour: In most of my cookie recipes, I use bread flour because I like the density it gives, but for these chai bars I found that all purpose flour worked perfectly and gave great texture.
• Baking powder & baking soda: Leavening agents–gives those bars a little height.
• Salt: Salt is so important in baked goods to balance out and bring out the sweet factor.
• Chai spices: Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper are very common in chai spice. Black pepper is a surprising, but pleasant addition in this mixture–it gives it the tiniest little bit of “zing” to that familiar chai flavor.

Equipment

• 9″x9″ square pan – This Nordic Ware pan is my tried and true square pan. It’s quality and it comes with a lid, which is so handy.
• Small and large glass bowls – These are the best and they come with lids!
• Hand mixer – I’ve had this KitchenAid handheld mixer for years.
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Parchment paper
• Small spoon – For mixing and sprinkling the spice mixture.

How to Make Chai Bars

1. Make the chai spice mixture. In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper together.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer (about 2 minutes).
3. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated (about 1 minute).
4. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and part of the chai spice. Mix for about a minute, until everything is evenly combined.
5. Press the dough into a square pan lined with parchment paper and smooth out with greased fingers.
6. Combine the rest of the spice mixture with some sugar, then sprinkle over top the bars.
7. Bake at 350˚F for about 26-28 minutes. Let the bars cool, then cut into 16 small squares.

Notes & Tips

Modifications for Chai Bars

Dairy-free: Easily make these bars dairy-free by substituting butter for your favorite vegan butter.

Spice mixture: If you prefer more or less of any of the spices, feel free to adjust to your taste in the spice mixture.

Additions: I haven’t tried this yet, but I think white chocolate chips could be a really yummy addition to the bars! If you really want to level up these bars, try serving them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce or warm apple pie filling.

Storage

These chai bars keep well at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days. They also freeze really well. Store them in an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper between layers. Pull them out and let them thaw at room temperature for at least 10 minutes. You can also keep them fresher by storing in the refrigerator (they actually taste really good cold!).

Other Recipes You Might Like…

• Another popular bar recipe: Raspberry White Chocolate Blondies
• Try my most popular cookie recipe: Honey Butter Cornbread Cookies
• For a classic cookie recipe, try these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Chai Bars

These chai bars are soft, dense, spicy-sweet, and INCREDIBLY delicious. They have the texture of a soft, thick, snickerdoodle cookie, and are sprinkled with chai-spiced sugar on top. 😍

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chai bars, cookie bars, easy desserts

Servings: 16 servings

Author: Kate Reeder

Ingredients

• ¾ cup salted butter, softened
• 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar + 2 tbsp for topping
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 ⅔ cup all purpose flour (360 grams)
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp chai spice mixture see below

Chai Spice Mixture

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a 9"x9" square pan with parchment paper.
• Start by making the chai spice mixture. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper. Mix with a small spoon until well blended. Set aside.
• In a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well on low for about one minute.
• Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and 2 teaspoons of the chai spice mixture. Mix on low until the dough is just combined and starts to clump together.
• Using your fingers (spray your fingers with cooking oil), press the dough down into the pan in an even layer.
• Add two tablespoons of granulated sugar to bowl with the rest of the chai spice mixture. Mix with a small spoon until blended.
• Using your fingers or a spoon, sprinkle the spice and sugar mixture over the top of the dough in an even layer.
• Bake for about 26-28 minutes. The bars will be puffy and seem underbaked, but they are ready to be pulled out.
• Let the bars cool completely, then carefully lift them out by holding onto the parchment paper and cut into 16 squares.

Video

Did you try this recipe? Make sure to give it a rating and leave a comment below and tag Table Nutrition in your photos on social media!