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Chai Bars

4.33 Mitt(s) 3 Rating(s)3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 53 votes, average: 4.33 out of 53 votes, average: 4.33 out of 53 votes, average: 4.33 out of 53 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5

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Level: Easy

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Description

These spicy bar cookies are a delicious accompaniment to tea or coffee.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Butter, Softened
  • ½ cups Packed Brown Sugar
  • ½ cups Granulated White Sugar
  • 1 whole Egg
  • 2 cups Flour
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 1-½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 1-½ teaspoon Cinnamon, Ground
  • ¾ teaspoons Cloves, Ground
  • ¾ teaspoons Ground Cardamom
  • ¼ teaspoons Black Pepper
  • ¼ teaspoons Star Anise, Ground
  • Icing
  • 2 Tablespoons Honey
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 1 cup Powdered Sugar
  • Water

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350

Cream butter and sugars in a mixing bowl until thoroughly combined. Add egg and mix well.

Add flour, spices and salt, and stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined.

Press into a 9X12 baking pan that has been greased with Baker’s Joy (or buttered and floured) and smooth with a spatula until the dough is even and flat.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until the cookies are a pale golden brown. Let cool.

For the icing:

Mix 2 T honey, 1 t ground ginger, and 1 c. powdered sugar together in a bowl. Add water until the icing is at a spreadable consistency, and spread over the cooled cookies.

Cut with a pastry cutter or pizza wheel. It will take several hours for the icing to become firm enough to transport, so plan accordingly.

15 Comments

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erinz on 6.20.2011

These chai shortbread cookies are delicious! I didn’t have any star anise, so left that out. I increased the cloves & cardamon to 1 tsp and the black pepper to 1/2 tsp. I also added a sprinkle of cloves to the icing. I will definitely make these again!

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bedlamsbard on 12.29.2009

I was surprised by how easy these were! And so good! I didn’t use as much black pepper, which I think was probably a mistake — they still taste great, though, but there’s not quite as much zing as I’m used to with chai — and since I didn’t have ground star anise, I used anise seeds instead, ground up in my mortar and pestle. First time for *that*, too! Haven’t tried the icing yet, because the cookies just taste great on their own!

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TheDishyLife on 8.7.2009

These are delish! I shared them with my office becasue I couldn’t be trusted having them all at my place and everone loved them as well. I also didn’t have any star anise but don’t think it that altered the outcome.

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Country Girl in the City on 7.28.2009

Chai is one of my favorite things to drink. These are yummy bars and my two year old and four year old really liked them too.

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shortcake1076 on 7.19.2009

I love chai, so I was very excited to make this recipe. I made these two days ago and I’m in love! I had to leave out the ground anise since every store around here only has anise seeds. They were great and very easy to make.

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Sex, Food, and Rock & Roll on 7.4.2012

I wish I could only deduct 1/2 a star, since my only problem with the recipe is that it did NOT fill a 9×12″ pan. It was the perfect amount for an 8×8″ pan. So only being able to make about 1/2 the quantity I was expecting to is a big downside, but it’s the only one. They were very good and everyone liked them and dubbed them “Christmas in your mouth.” Definitely a hit!

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jodie729 on 5.8.2011

The first time I made these I thought they were good, but a little bland for my tastes. I guess I thought all the seasonings would come through stronger and expected the bars to be a little sweeter and more decadent. They’re too mild for me. I have made them MANY times since then though, because they are my mother in-law’s very favorite thing in the world. I have baked everything in the world for her, and she has raved about NOTHING the way she has about these bars. So, to each their own! :0) This is a permanent part of my baking repetoire because of her. Give them a try because you may think they are the greatest thing ever too.

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shoebotmom on 6.27.2010

These were DELICIOUS! I took them to a picnic to use friends as guinea pigs……everyone loved them.

I expected them to be a lot like a cookie. They weren’t. They also weren’t like cake. They were kind of a mix of a cake and a cookie.

Did I mention that they were delicious??!! They were really yum!!

Alteration: I didn’t have (because I don’t care for) an anise, so I just omitted that spice.

Tip: I used about 1 1/2 tbsp of water in the icing. It was really thick and I needed to spread it with the back of a spoon. It did help it set faster though.

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