The best Vegan Brown Sugar Chai Cookies! These brown sugar cookies are chewy in the center and soft all around from baking with brown sugar. With only 1 bowl & 1 hour of chill time required, these vegan chai cookies are a truly comforting dessert!
If you've been following SGTO, you know that we love vegan sugar cookies.
To give you a little overview, so far we've made Vegan Funfetti Cookies, Earl Grey Cookies, Lemon Cookies, Matcha Cookies, Orange Cardamom Cookies, and Coconut Lime Cookies, and Cinnamon Roll Cookies. Yes, my freezer is basically a mini cookie shop by this point!
Given that white sugar has gotten ALL the attention lately, I figured it'd be fun to give brown sugar its time to shine.
Brown sugar contains more moisture than white sugar due to the molasses, so these chai cookies are softer than my other sugar cookie recipes. However, these vegan brown sugar cookies still have a perfectly chewy center and lots of flavor from Chai spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and a dash of black pepper.
Tips to make chai brown sugar cookies
By this point, I'd say we are all becoming experts at baking vegan cookies! However, there are a few tips & tricks to create perfectly round, soft, and chewy eggless brown sugar cookies.
Always cream butter and brown sugar
This is a step I follow in most of my cookie recipes, but it's just as important to do when using brown sugar vs. white sugar. The butter and sugar will look a little wetter after creaming than white sugar (see below for photo reference), but it will still end up fluffier.
Cream Chai spices into the butter
Another fun tip- always cream your spices with sugar and butter! The fat from the butter actually does the best job holding onto flavor and infusing it throughout the dough.
Always bake on parchment paper
This is one of my BEST tips for evenly cooked cookies with NO burnt bottoms. Parchment paper not only prevents cookies from sticking to the pan, but it actually helps cookie bottoms bake evenly without burning.
I do want to note, I never recommend baking cookies on aluminum foil or tin foil. Cookies baking on foil will cook faster, the bottoms may burn, and they will spread too fast and end up super thin.
If you don't have parchment paper, just lightly grease an aluminum baking tray instead. The cookies may spread a bit more, but it still works!
Roll in white sugar before baking (optional)
Like many of my vegan sugar cookie recipes, I decided to roll these brown sugar cookies in granulated sugar before baking.
Granulated sugar helps to dry out the outer surface of the dough faster while baking which gives it that desirable "crinkly" appearance and it looks pretty after baking too!
This step will NOT work with brown sugar (it's too high in moisture), so just skip if you do not have white granulated sugar.
Chill the dough & don't flatten before baking
Since these vegan spice cookies have more moisture than cookies made with white sugar, they really need at least 1 hour of chill time in the fridge. Also, they spread a decent amount, which is why I do not recommend pressing the dough to flatten before baking.
Tap & Scoot for crinkly round cookies
Once the brown sugar cookies are out of the oven, they may look a little puffy. Just tap the tray on the counters to help them deflate and produce a more crinkly cookie.
Also, for perfectly eggless brown sugar cookies, use a round cookie cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie and swirl the cookies around inside until round.
It’s important to do this step right after the vegan chai cookies come out of the oven and are still warm.
FAQ & Substitutions:
I haven't tried it, but they might work! If you do use an alternative sugar like coconut or maple sugar, it's important to keep in mind the cookies will not be as sweet and they will not spread as much. As mentioned, brown sugar is a high moisture sugar so it's pretty unique!
Also, I do not recommend rolling the cookies in any sugar other than granulated white sugar.
Nope! The spices are really just here for flavor and do not add to the texture/structure of the cookie. You can omit them completely for more simple vegan brown sugar cookies.
Alternatively, you could always experiment by subbing in other spices. Nutmeg, allspice, and cloves could all taste wonderful in these cookies!
Leftover chai cookies will keep in a closed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for 7 days, and in the freezer for up to 1 month.
My preferred way is always to store cookies in the freezer as it helps them maintain their chewy texture!
Brown sugar cookie troubleshooting:
Why did my cookies spread too much/ not enough?
1) Not measuring flour properly. Make sure to spoon the flour into a measuring cup or, better yet, just measure in grams! Here is the affordable Escali kitchen scale I use. Too much flour leads to cookies that don't spread enough and too little flour leads to cookies that spread too much.
2) Baking soda is old or inactive. Always make sure to test your baking soda before using it!
3) Not chilling the dough. If you do not chill the dough, it's highly likely the cookies will spread too much. I recommend chilling this dough for 1 hour!
I can't wait for you to all start baking these soft, chewy, & absolutely delicious Vegan Brown Sugar Chai Cookies! They're so perfect to make for all the Holidays coming up and honestly would even make a great gift for friends. Enjoy!
-TSG
More vegan cookie recipes you will love:
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Vegan Brown Sugar Chai Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter I used Earth Balance sticks, see notes on Miyokos butter
- ½ cup+ 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar *can also use light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon dried
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom dried
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger dried
- ⅛ teaspoon star anise optional, ground
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper optional, for a little spice
- 1 flax egg 1 Tablespoon (8 grams) ground flaxseed mixed with 3 Tablespoons water and left to sit 5-10 minutes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 cup+ 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar optional- for rolling cookies in before baking
Instructions
- First add the vegan butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and optional anise & black pepper to a mixing bowl. Cream together with an electric mixer until soft and fluffy.
- Next, add in the flax egg and vanilla and whip together another 30 seconds.
- Then, add in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Make sure to add the flour first and then add the other ingredients on top. Then, use a fork to gently sift the baking soda and salt into the flour. Once sifted, mix everything together until a thick cookie dough forms. The dough will be slightly sticky, but should not be wet.
- Cover the bowl of cookie dough with plastic wrap and add the bowl of dough to the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
- About 10 minutes before removing the dough from the fridge preheat the oven to 350F, line a baking tray with parchment paper, and fill a small bowl with the 2 Tbsp of granulated sugar.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and use a cookie scoop to scoop out 10-12 evenly sized cookies (about 45-50 grams per cookie). Roll into balls between your palms and then roll in the bowl of granulated sugar until the cookies are coated.
- Place each cookie at least 2 inch apart on the tray and do not flatten them as they will spread while baking. All of the cookies will not fit on one baking sheet, so I recommend baking 6 cookies at a time on one tray vs. putting two trays in the oven at the same time.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned and the cookies are cooked through but have slightly soft centers (If making smaller cookies adjust baking time to 9-11 minutes). The cookies will continue baking after they are removed from the oven so the centers should still be soft, but not glossy or raw, when they are removed from the oven.
- Remove the cookie tray from the oven and immediately tap the tray on the counter to produce a more “wrinkly” cookie. For round cookies, use a round cookie cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie and swirl the cookies around inside to form them into a round cookie. This step will only work if you do it while the cookies are still warm.
- Then, let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes. The cookies will be soft and puffy out of the oven and will naturally deflate a little while cooling.
- After cooling, serve & enjoy!
Notes
- If using Miyokos butter or Earth Balance spread from a tub vs baking sticks, add 1 Tbsp (8 grams) more flour. These butters have more oil and tend to spread more.
- If you like more spice, feel free to double all the spices in the cookie recipe. It will not affect the texture but will lead to a slightly more intense flavor.
- If making cookies smaller than 50 grams (about 2 Tbsp) adjust the cooking time to 9-11 minutes for chewy cookies.
- Dark brown sugar leads to softer cookies that spread more whereas light brown sugar leads to crispier cookies. For even chewier cookies, add 1 Tbsp more brown sugar to the recipe.
- If you would like to make the dough and freeze it scoop the dough into balls and freeze on a parchment-lined sheet pan in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer the cookies to a ziploc bag or freezer-safe container. The baking time will need to be increased slightly for frozen cookies (usually 2-3 more minutes) so do keep that in mind!
- Leftover cookies can be stored in the freezer in a closed container up to 1 month, in the fridge for 7 days, or at room temperature for 2-3 days.
- Recipe updated November 2021 from ¼ teaspoon baking powder+ ¼ teaspoon baking soda to ½ teaspoon baking soda. This should help the cookies get flatter and chewier for those having problems!
Melaney says
Hello I'm thinking of trying this recipe but I don't use regular flour, what flour would be the best substitute?
Megan says
I don't test my recipes with other flours, but the only one that would work would be a gluten-free 1:1 baking flour mix. Otherwise, flour alternatives do not work in this recipe.
Allison says
These cookies were so good! Next time I make them, and there will definitely be a next time, I will double all the spices as suggested. They were still wonderful. Thank you for a great recipe.
Angie says
I love Chai & the Black Pepper added that extra spicy touch. Mine didn't spread out so I flattened them out myself. I used stick butter, too. (Vegan) The second batch was much flatter. They are still delish!!! My neighbor will not mind either!!!
Megan says
Glad they worked out and you all loved them 🙂
Ellie says
I was so excited to try this recipe - they look absolutely delicious! But for some reason, mine came out very different. They did not spread at all, and stayed quite thick and round. Could it maybe be the brand of butter I used, Country Crock w/ olive oil?
Megan says
That butter should actually work really well in these cookies. Did you measure the flour in grams and make sure the baking soda is active and working? If they didn't spread at all those are the two main reasons it can happen!
Danette says
Hello, I made your Earl Grey cookies and they were really really good and everybody loved them.
I’m setting out to make the chai cookies and I wonder if I can use coconut oil instead of the margarine? Thanks for your time. But most of all thanks for these awesome recipes!!
Megan says
So glad the earl grey cookies were a hit :). I always recommend using vegan butter or margarine as it's definitely important to cream the butter and sugar together and coconut oil doesn't really have the same consistency when it is solid (it's really hard and not "soft" as vegan butter or margarine can be). You can definitely try it but I think it will affect the spread of the cookies, though flavor-wise it should be fine. Hope that helps!
Naama says
Hey! I'm new with baking so forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I don't have the needed spices. Is it ok if I empty a chai tea bag and finely grind it or will that be weird?
Megan says
That will probably work 🙂 You may want to try 1/2 of the tea bag to start so the spices aren't too strong.
Abigail @ OhMyVegan says
These cookies are oh so good!
I left out all of the spices and added a pack of apple cider drink mix instead to make a caramel apple cookie.
Turned out fabulous and very flavorful.
Megan says
Love hearing they taste good with a different spice mix, thanks for sharing!
Ashley says
This recipe was a 10/10 from me! I made them to send to a friend for their birthday, and they turned out amazing. These were the softest/fluffiest vegan cookies I’ve ever made (I have a huge sweet tooth, so I’ve made a lot, lol)! The tips about using the spoon method for measuring the flour and chilling the dough helped tremendously, and they’re something I’ll definitely keep handy for recipes in the future 🙂
Angie says
I was excited to try this recipe, but I struggled.
My cookies did not flatten out (I used a large cookie scoop 2tbs) and they were underdone.
Where did I go wrong?
Megan Horowitch says
Did you measure the flour in grams? If not, try reducing the flour a bit. I'd also recommend increasing the baking time for a larger cookie to make sure it bakes through. It's hard to know what went wrong without more info but feel free to email me from troubleshooting help any time!
Will says
Hey! This recipe looks amazing but it's really hard to find flax where I am- would this work with any other egg replacement or without it? 😍
Megan Horowitch says
You definitely need to use an egg replacement, but if you can find chia seeds that also works in place of the ground flax. Also, you could try a different egg substitute and it would likely work- I just haven't tested others myself. Let me know how it goes!
Karianne says
Hi! These look delicious. Just wondering if I could use a chia egg instead of flax? I'm new to veganism and vegan cooking, so I'm not sure if it will make a difference or not?
Megan Horowitch says
Yes a chia egg will work perfectly! Just keep in mind the chia seeds may be visible throughout the cookies so it will change the "look" a bit but they will still be delicious.
Cata says
Hi! I just finished baking these cookies and they look sooo good! But they turned out a little under-cooked. Do you think i can put them in the oven again for 5 minutes, or they wont work? Thank you for the recipe!!! <3
Megan Horowitch says
If they've been out of the oven for awhile adding them back to the oven won't work as well to cook them as intended. If it's only been a minute or two then go for it!
Riley says
Could i use regular butter and a regular egg??
Megan Horowitch says
Maybe! I don't bake with eggs or real butter so I couldn't really say if it works but I don't see why not.
Courtney says
These sound delicious! Do you think you could make these as cutout cookies?
Megan Horowitch says
Thanks! Unfortunately these cookies spread quite a bit so they aren't going to work as cut out cookies.