Thick and chewy peanut butter cookies are made even better with authentic chai spices and flaky sea salt for your new favorite fall cookie recipe! These chai-spiced peanut butter cookies are easy to make and perfect with a glass of milk.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my spiced oatmeal raisin cookies and pumpkin snickerdoodles with chai spices!
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What does it taste like?
Rich and nutty with cozy warming spices. You'll also taste a crackle of flaky sea salt that balances out the caramelized sweetness of brown sugar in these chai peanut butter cookies. If you're a fan of my instant chai latte mix, you'll want to make these immediately!
And dunk your cookies in my easy cinnamon tea for a spice match made in Heaven.
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Peanut Butter - This is a classic peanut butter cookie recipe with a twist of masala chai spice. You can generally use your favorite peanut butter here but I will note that natural, freshly ground peanut butter will yield a looser texture and can make for oily cookies.
Chai Spices - You'll use a masala chai blend of black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and nutmeg plus allspice in the cookie dough. Use the best quality ground spices you can get.
Brown Sugar tends to yield moist and chewy cookies when compared to granulated sugar, which is known for crispy cookies. I like to make peanut butter cookies with brown sugar and you can use dark or light brown sugar interchangeably.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Creamy or Crunchy - Can I make this recipe with crunchy peanut butter? Yes, absolutely! You will enjoy tiny crunchy bits of peanut that switch up the texture but the recipe is otherwise the same.
Nut Butter - You can make these spiced peanut butter cookies with almond butter or another kind of nut better like macadamia or cashew. Just note that almond butter, especially, is typically oiler and your cookies will likely be darker and crisper around the edges. Almond butter
Spices - If you are used to a sweeter, more Western take on chai, this version will taste more complex to you. But that is not a bad thing! I recommend making the recipe as is and, if you don't quite care for it, reduce the clove and black pepper the next go round.
Salt - Kosher salt is a great substitute for flaky sea salt and often easier to find at the local grocery store. Just don't use iodized table salt in this recipe as it will not taste, feel or look the same.
How to Make Salted Chai Cookies with Peanut Butter
Step One: Start by creaming together the wet cookie ingredients with a hand or stand mixer.
Step Two: Meanwhile, whisk together the dry cookie ingredients, including the chai spice blend.
Step Three: Add the dry and wet mixtures together and stir until just combined then cover and chill for at least one hour.
Step Four: Use a cookie scoop or dinner spoon to scoop the cookie dough out into balls and press down on each ball with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.
Pro Tip: Spray the fork with non-stick oil before pressing into the cookies to prevent sticking and messing up the cookie pattern!
Step Five: Ensure the cookies are evenly spaced on the cookie sheet, with at least two inches between them.
Step Six: Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch.
Pro Tip: This recipe makes about 20 cookies and I recommend baking them in batches rather than crowding the pan with too many at once. As the cookies spread, you don't want them to run into each other and bake together/lose shape.
Step Seven: Let the cookies cool for a few minutes then sprinkle flaky sea salt over top.
Don't sleep on chai spice in cookies! My Cookie Butter Chai Latte is a fun favorite that further proves the beauty of this combination.
Frequently Asked Questions
Peanut butter dough needs chill time so that it can stiffen, which makes it easier to scoop and less likely to spread too much while baking.
The short answer is because peanut butter is sticky. Make sure you chill the dough to minimize stickiness. And you can spray your cookie scoop and fork with non-stick oil to keep them from sticking to the dough as you work with it.
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days or refrigerated for up to two weeks.
Yes, you can freeze peanut butter cookie dough altogether or in scoopsu002du002deither way seal it in an airtight container and it will keep for up to two months. I recommend scooping out the dough into individual balls that way you can just thaw and bake what you need rather than an entire batch of dough.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
Peanut butter cookies were among my mom's favorites so I developed this easy chai spiced peanut butter cookie recipe in her memory. I hope you'll enjoy a batch soon and be sure to pin the recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Salted Peanut Butter Cookies with Chai Spices
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
- 1 whisk
- 1 cookie coop or dinner spoon
Ingredients
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon clove
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Flaky sea salt or kosher salt to garnish
Instructions
- Cream together peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract for three minutes.
- In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, clove, allspice, black pepper, and sea salt.
- Fold peanut butter mixture into flour mixture and stir by hand until just combined to form the cookie dough
- Cover the dough and chill for at least one hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop dough into two-inch balls and place on prepared cookies sheet, leaving at least two inches space between each. Use a fork to press a criss-cross pattern into the top of each cookie.
- Transfer pan to oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until cookies are golden brown and firm to touch.
- Remove from oven and cool for three minutes then sprinkle each cookie with flaky sea salt.
Melissa says
Um. These are AMAZING. Just made them this morning. I didn't use cloves because I couldn't find them in my pantry (even though I KNOW I have them, grr). I used crunchy peanut butter because it is what I have. But dayum. So good.
Jazzmine Woodard says
Thanks for your feedback, Melissa! I'm so glad you enjoyed the cookies--crunchy peanut butter is my fave. 😊
GingerHalos says
Does this recipe call for egg?
It's not mentioned on the lost but in the instructions.
Jazz says
Hi! Yes, this recipe calls for one egg. Thanks for catching my oversight. I have updated the ingredient list to reflect that. Hope you make and enjoy the cookies!
Natalia says
This recipe looks delicious. I can't wait to try making these since I love cinnamon. I think for me I will always hold oatmeal cookies as my favorite cookie (hold the raisins) because it feels like a warm hug in a cookie. Degustabox sounds packed with actually useful items!
Jazz says
It really is packed with useful stuff! I love oatmeal cookies [with extra raisins] too.
Kaylan says
Soooo...my favorite cookie has always and WILL ALWAYS be that good ol chocolate chip cookie! My mom could whip the best ones up so fast--perfection every time!
I'm trying to make my version better 🙂
Jazz says
Chocolate chip cookies are a classic.
Cyndi br says
Favorite cookie is snicker doodle
Jazz says
Those are yummy cookies too!
Enitan Oyekoya says
Hands down my favorite cookie would have to be snickerdoodles buttery cinnamony sugary all in one bite mmmhmmm.*licks lips*
Jazz says
Snickerdoodles are definitely addictive!
Angie W says
It's hard to pick a favorite cookie! I definitely like peanut butter cookies and good ol' chocolate chip cookies, but I also like a triple ginger cookie that I usually make at Christmas
Jazz says
Those ginger cookies sound delicious. AND congratulations, you are the winner of the giveaway! Shoot me an email with your mailing details at [email protected] from the address you used to subscribe to collect your prize.
Angie W says
Thank you so much! I can't wait to get it!! 🙂
LOLA says
Cinnamon peanut butter that sounds amazing. My favorite cookies are also peanut butter, but I pretty much find it hard to resist any cookie or sweet for that matter. Degustabox sounds like a great idea. I'm curious where the name comes from. Anyway, would love to win. Please pick me!
Jazz says
Thanks for your comment, Lola! Degustabox is a European company and the name is Spanish.