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The recipe for Taylor Swift Cookies comes straight from Taylor herself! Chai sugar cookies with eggnog icing – perfect for the holidays!
Featured with this recipe
Taylor Swift Cookies (Chai Sugar Cookies)
Taylor Swift posted this recipe in response to a fan on her Tumblr back in 2014, and it became known as “Taylor Swift Cookies”. It has gained popularity again with the release of her newest album, Midnights. True Swifties know that Taylor thrives during the holiday season and these chai-flavored sugar cookies made from scratch with eggnog cinnamon icing are perfect for cozying up by the fire all season long. If your neighborhood cookie exchange sign-up sheet has a blank space, then you better write your name (and bring these cookies). Cause the baker gonna bake, bake, bake, bake, bake…..
Check out her original Tumblr post to be delighted by her quirky recipe writing. My favorite excerpts include “cozy holiday vibez” and “TAY-blespoons”.
Ingredients in Taylor Swift’s Chai Sugar Cookies
- Unsalted Butter – Make sure the butter is at room temperature before using. Set it out on the counter for 20-30 minutes before cooking. This ensures the batter will have a smooth consistency.
- Vegetable Oil – Oil mixes with the butter to keep the cookies moist and tender.
- Granulated Sugar – For sweetness of course!
- Powdered Sugar – Powdered sugar helps to make the cookies tender.
- Egg – One large egg gives the inside of the cookies a fluffy texture.
- Vanilla Extract – or Vanilla Bean, Vanilla is the perfect pairing for the chai flavors.
- Flour – All-purpose flour creates the base of these cookies.
- Baking Soda – Baking soda, along with the egg, gives the inside of the cookies a fluffy texture.
- Salt – A bit of salt to balance out all the sweetness.
- Chai Tea Bag – This is where all the yummy, warm chai spices come in – cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, and star anise. Cut open the bag and pour the chai tea leaves right into the dough.
- Homemade Eggnog Icing – Mix together powdered sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and eggnog. Eggnog frosting makes the perfect finishing touch for your Taylor Swift Cookies.
Recipe Variations
- If you want to simplify this recipe, then Taylor herself suggests using a premade sugar cookie mix and just adding a packet of chai tea to the mix.
- Alternatively, if you have a sugar cookie recipe that you love, then use it as a base and just add the chai tea packet.
- The icing is optional, as the chai cookies are delicious on their own, but I just love the eggnog flavor so I almost always ice them. If you aren’t icing the cookies, then sprinkle them with a little bit of white sugar before baking.
- If you want the icing to be more of a glaze, then add a little more eggnog.
- If black tea isn’t your thing, then you can still add that chai element by making up a chai spice mix to add to the dough. To a small bowl, add two teaspoons each of cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and four teaspoons each of ginger and cinnamon. Mix together and use one to two teaspoons of the mix in your cookie dough. Save the rest for later! This mix tastes great in overnight oats, chia seed pudding, and also in hot chocolate!
Recipe Tip
The cookie dough is a little soft, so I like to use a cookie dough scoop to make the dough balls. I also like the way the cookie scoop makes the finished product look. The original recipe says to use a tablespoon and spoon each dollop of dough onto the cookie sheet.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, they aren’t cookies shaped like Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift Cookies are these Chai Sugar Cookies that Taylor made for the 1989 Secret Sessions. She posted a picture of them on her Instagram and then posted the recipe on Tumblr. Kind of a cross between a sugar cookie and a snickerdoodle.
Baking soda! Baking soda reacts with other ingredients to produce tiny pockets of air. Those air pockets make your cookie light flaky and fluffy!
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
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How to Make Taylor Swift Cookies
Taylor Swift Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 chai tea bag
For the Eggnog Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons eggnog or whole milk
Instructions
- Add the butter to the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix until butter is light and fluffy. Then add oil and mix until fully combined.
- Add sugar, powdered sugar, egg, and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, add flour, baking soda, salt, and the contents of the chai tea bag. Whisk until combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients while mixing on medium speed. Mix until dough forms and all ingredients are fully incorporated. You may have to scrape the sides of the bowl. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350. Remove dough from the fridge and scoop onto a baking sheet either covered with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray.
- Bake for 9 minutes. Do not over-bake. The cookies will continue to cook on the pan once you pull them out.
- To make the icing, mix powdered sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and eggnog. Stir with a fork until combined.
- Let cookies cool and then drizzle icing over the top of each cookie.
Notes
- Want to simplify this recipe? Taylor herself suggests using a premade sugar cookie mix and just adding the chai tea bag to the mix.
- The icing is optional, as the cookies are delicious on their own, but I just love the eggnog flavor so I almost always ice them. If you aren’t icing the cookies, sprinkle them with a little bit of white sugar before baking.
- If black tea isn’t your thing, then you can make up a chai spice mix to add to the dough. To a small bowl, add two teaspoons each of cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and four teaspoons each of ginger and cinnamon. Mix together and use one to two teaspoons of the mix in your cookie dough. Save the rest for later! This mix tastes great in overnight oats, chia seed pudding, and hot chocolate!
loveeeeee this recipe. thank you. so easy for my little brain to follow. happy evermore season to those who celebrate!! 🍂🌙
I love evermore but my favorite is folklore!!!!!
folklore is such an incredible album!
Hi! How long can I store this? Is the icing gonna turn hard?
You should be able to store these for a few days in an airtight container. The icing shouldn’t go hard!