Tag Archives: chai

Pumpkin Chai Hamantaschen

Pumpkin Chai Hamantaschen | Lil Miss Cakes

I can’t believe it took me this long to come up with this hamantaschen flavor!  I love pumpkin and I love chai, but I guess since this isn’t pumpkin season, this idea hasn’t hit me-until now.  And I’m so happy I thought of it!  I always have Oregon Chai tea concentrate on hand because I love making my own chai tea lattes during the winter.  I use the chai tea concentrate as the liquid in the dough, and to further bring out that flavor I  make my own chai spice blend.  The spice blend has a lot of ingredients, but they are all so amazing, once you own them, you will find yourself using them in sweet and savory dishes!  I love pumpkin but don’t really like pumpkin pie.  But this hamantaschen recipe needed a pumpkin pie filling, so I was on the hunt for a filling even I would love.  I remembered seeing a recipe I thought I would like by Bakerella (one of my idols and the inventor of the cake pop).  She uses cream cheese along side the pumpkin in her pie bites recipe; so I did the same thing but used dairy-free tofutti cream cheese and spiced it with my chai spice blend. Holy deliciousness!  My dough is soft, tender, and so easy to work with.  The dough needs no refrigeration and doesn’t lose it’s shape.  These cookies are packed with flavor and freeze so well.  The dough and filling can even be prepared the day before, just wrap and chill in the fridge.  The next day, just shape and bake.  I’m not sure which hamantaschen are my favorite anymore.  These are definitely on par with my cookies n’ cream recipe, but a bit more sophisticated than my funfetti hamantaschen.  Just try them all!

Pumpkin Chai Hamantaschen
Serves: 3 dozen
 
Ingredients
Dough
  • ½ cup shortening
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2½ cups flour
  • ¾ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp. chai spice mix
  • 3 Tbs. chai tea concentrate (such as Oregon Chai)
Pumpkin Filling
  • ½ cup pumpkin puree
  • 4 oz. dairy-free cream cheese (such as Tofutti)
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. chai spice mix
Chai Spice Mix
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • ¾ tsp. ginger
  • ¾ tsp. cardamom
  • ⅛ tsp. clove
  • ⅛ tsp. nutmeg
  • ⅛ tsp. black pepper
Icing
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 3-4 Tbs. cold water
Instructions
Make the spice mix
  1. Stir the spices together and set aside to use in the dough and the pumpkin filling.
Prepare the dough
  1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the shortening with the sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and mix until combined. Add in the flour, baking powder, salt, and spice mix and slowly mix on low speed. Pour in the chai tea concentrate and mix until a dough is formed. You can use the dough right away, but if the dough is too sticky, wrap and chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Prepare the filling
  1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth and no longer lumpy.
  2. Mix in the pumpkin, egg, and spices.
Form the hamantaschen
  1. On a lightly floured surface, or on a floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out a piece of the dough until thin. Use a round cutter (2½ to 3 inch in diameter) and cut out circles of dough. Fill each round with 1 tsp. of filling and pinch the seams together to form a triangle. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet and bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool before drizzling the icing.
Icing
  1. Mix the confectioners sugar with a little bit of water and mix until combined. Keep adding water until the desired consistency. I like a thick and opaque icing. Drizzle the icing on the cooled hamantaschen and allow to dry.

Chai Spiced Snickerdoodles

Chai Spiced Snickerdoodles

My new favorite flavor of fall is chai spice.  Pumpkin still hold a dear place in my heart but right now I want to focus on the warm spices that are used to brew delicious masala chai tea.  Chai tea originated in India.  There, they brew tea with a delicious mix of spices including ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and clove.  There is something so comforting about a piping hot cup of spiced tea.  Chai tea is also great in latte form with warm milk replacing the water.  Here I used the delicious spice mix to flavor a classic cookie, the snickerdoodle.

Chai Spiced Snickerdoodle BiteSnickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies.  The classic version is a simple vanilla cookie rolled in cinnamon and sugar and baked until lightly golden on the edges.  The cookie is crispy outside and moist and chewy inside.  That, to me, is cookie perfection.  Since snickerdoodles are so simple, they are able to be flavored in new and exciting ways.  My very first blog post was my recipe for pumpkin snickerdoodles.  I have come a long way in 20 months!

Stacks of Chai Spiced Snickerdoodles

I’m not sure why I love baking fall themed snickerdoodles, but I do.  And you should make them today.  They are delicious!  They are the perfect cookies to warm you up on chilly autumn days.  Here is the non-dairy recipe; it’s printable!

5.0 from 1 reviews
Chai Spiced Snickerdoodles
Author: 
Serves: About 5 Dozen Cookies
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable shortening
  • ½ cup margarine
  • 2½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2¾ cups flour
  • 2 tsp. cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2½ tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ginger
  • 1 tsp. cardamom
  • ¼ tsp. clove
  • ¼ tsp. nutmeg
  • ⅛ tsp. black pepper
Instructions
  1. In a medium sized bowl mix the sugar with the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove, nutmeg, and black pepper. Remove ¼ cup of the sugar/spice mixture into small bowl and set aside for rolling the cookies in.
  2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the remaining sugar/spice mixture with the shortening, margarine, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.
  3. Add the eggs into the mixer one at a time, mixing after each addition.
  4. Add in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until cookie dough comes together.
  5. Refrigerate cookie dough for at least an hour until firm.
  6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  7. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  8. Scoop batter into one inch balls (I use a 2 tsp. sized cookie scoop) roll in the reserved sugar/spice mixture and place on prepared cookie sheets.
  9. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are lightly brown.
  10. Allow cookies to cool and firm up before moving.