Cookie of the day · Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Vegan Chocolate Chai Crinkle Cookies
Fudgy cocoa crinkle cookies spiced with cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and finely ground black tea, rolled in a thick coat of powdered sugar that cracks into snowy fissures as they bake. Rich and gently warming, they suit chilly November evenings and Diwali-week cookie plates.
- Total time
- 3 hrs 15 mins
- Makes
- 24 cookies
- Oven
- 350°F
- Ingredients
- 20
Includes 2 hr chill and 2 bake rounds.
About these cookies
These cookies have a dark, fudgy cocoa center, a crackled shell of powdered sugar, and a slow warmth from cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and a little black pepper. Finely ground black tea adds a slight malty bitterness that keeps the chocolate from tasting too sweet, so the whole cookie comes across like a cup of masala chai. They're a good one to bake for Diwali week or any cold early-November evening.
Steps
- Tap a step to check it off.
Tips for success
- Grind the black tea as fine as you can. Coarse bits of leaf feel gritty in a soft crinkle, so stop only when it looks like cocoa powder.
- Don't cut the 2-hour chill short. This oil-based dough is very soft when warm, and cold dough is what lets the cookies crack cleanly instead of spreading flat.
- Pack on the powdered sugar. The granulated sugar coat underneath keeps the powdered layer from soaking into the dough, but you still need a thick, fully white coat for bold crinkles.
- Pull the cookies at 11–12 minutes while the centers still look underbaked. They set as they cool, and baking until firm takes away the fudgy middle.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack and keep the second sheet in the fridge, so every cookie goes into the oven cold.
Swaps
- Use 3 tablespoons of aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) in place of the flax egg. The cookies come out a little lighter, with a crisper shell and slightly less chew.
- Swap the oil for ⅓ cup of melted vegan butter for a richer, buttery flavor. Vegan butter contains water, so the cookies spread a bit more; chill the full 2 hours and check doneness at 11 minutes.
- Replace the cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and pepper with about 4½ teaspoons of a vegan chai masala spice blend. The spice balance depends on the blend, so check the label for added milk powder or sugar.
- Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour that contains xanthan gum in place of the all-purpose flour. The cookies will be a little more fragile, so let them cool on the sheet for the full 5 minutes before moving them.
Storing
Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze them for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature. You can also freeze the rolled dough balls before coating them in sugar; when you want to bake, let them sit for 10 minutes, coat them in granulated and then powdered sugar, and add 1–2 minutes to the bake time.
This recipe was developed with AI and checked for vegan ingredients and sensible baking times, but it hasn’t been test-baked in our kitchen yet. How our recipes are made.
