About a month ago, my husband and I were having lunch at one of our favorite little bakeries. It was a very wet, windy, Fall day. A warm cup of soup and sandwich hit the spot. But what got me was, the Maple Latte I had! Made with real maple syrup and topped with grated nutmeg, it was perfect for that blustery Fall day. After lunch we ended up at Costco and found this Bourbon Maple syrup. Hey, perfect for coffee, pancakes, or frosting! Of course one ended up quickly in my cart.

On the drive home, I thought this latte in a cookie would be great! A chai snickerdoodle. But a snickerdoodle made with all butter, not shortening like most snickerdoodle recipes. The ones my grandmother would bake always had shortening in them, and they were usually on the crisp side. I wanted a snickerdoodle to be soft and buttery so it melts in your mouth!

I used Half Baked Harvest’s recipe for her chai snickerdoodles and topped them with my Bourbon Maple frosting. There is pumpkin in this recipe, but it is very little and does not dominate the taste. These cookies are great on their own, but this frosting takes it to that next level! Perfect for a blustery Fall day or winter grey day.

Chai Snickerdoodle Cookies with Bourbon Maple frosting

Adapted from Half Baked Harvest Pumpkin Chai Snickerdoodle Recipe
Print Recipe
Servings 18

Ingredients
  

  • 2 C all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 C granulated sugar
  • 1/2 C pumpkin puree
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chai Spice Sugar

  • 1/3 C granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp all spice
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Bourbon Maple Frosting

  • 8 tsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 C powder sugar
  • 1/2 C Maple Bourbon Syrup
  • grated fresh nutmeg, optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet in parchment paper or use a silpat. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and mix until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
    Make the chai spice sugar. In a small bowl, combine all chai spice ingredients and whisk.
    Roll the dough into tablespoon size balls and roll into chai spice sugar. The dough will be sticky, I found that dipping my hands in water, kept the dough from sticking to me. Place on prepared cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes. When they come out of the oven, tap the sheet pan on the counter a few times to flatten them down as they will puff up in the oven. Cool cookies on the cookie sheet before removing. When cookies are cooled, ice with frosting.
    To make the frosting, combine all frosting ingredients in a large bowl and mix on medium high until fluffy. Frost cookies and top with fresh grated nutmeg. Note: if you can't find the Bourbon Maple syrup, you can use regular maple syrup and a few teaspoons of real bourbon.