Chai Pear Cookies

Pear Chai Cookies with Browned Butter Chai Glaze

The warm flavors of chai spice are paired with a browned butter oatmeal cookie, filled with ginger pear preserves, and topped with a decadent browned butter chai glaze. If I were to sell this cookie it would be named, “The Warm Hug,” because that is exactly how this cookie tastes and feels. Comforting, warm, inviting, and gloriously delicious. This fall cookie has it all.

There are layers of flavor in this cookie. Chai spice is very fragrant and consists of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, allspice, and black pepper. A little goes a long way and I have added it to the dough and the glaze for an extra kick of warm fall flavors. I connected the ginger flavor in the pear preserves with the ginger in the chai spice by infusing honey with fresh ginger to add to the cookie dough. This step is optional but does add another layer of warm gingery flavor. The brown butter used in the base of the dough as well as the glaze for the top of the cookie give create a rich base for these warm spices to stand out.

Why I Love This Recipe

Flavor-Give me all the Fall spices in one cookie. To start out, the dough is made with browned butter which is more flavorful than using regular unsalted butter. It gives the oatmeal cookie base a warm almost toffee like flavor when mixed with brown sugar. I add to this chai spice and roast chopped walnuts to create a fragrant base oatmeal cookie that will encase a spoonful of ginger pear preserves. The preserves play along with the ginger in the chai spice and then the whole cookie is dipped in a brown butter glaze that includes vanilla and more chai spice. It is a fragrant cookie that is warm on the tongue with just a hint of honey and will have you sighing in disbelief that a cookie can taste so good. Also, it makes your house smell incredible.

Texture- This is an oatmeal cookie, so it has a chewier texture than most of my soft baked cookies. The oatmeal cookie is sturdy to hold in the pear preserves in the middle and the roasted walnuts add a crunchy bite. Using honey in the oatmeal cookie dough keeps the cookie soft and chewy for days on end. The pear preserves in the middle offer a jammy soft and spicy sweetness that pair well with the chewiness of the cookie. The best part of this cookie, in my opinion, is the browned butter glaze. It sets quickly and creates a thin crust of spice brown butter that melts in your mouth with every bite. Texturally this cookie has a lot going on. And it’s all good things.

Versatile-there are many different fillings you can add to this cookie. Of course, I would love for everyone to make ginger pear preserves but I know it’s not practical for busy bakers. Some options for fillings in this cookie are:

-no filling. The glaze and cookie are wonderful without a filling.

-apple butter

-fig jam

-plum preserves

-caramel or dulce de leche

-nutella- this one might sound weird but trust me, chocolate, hazelnuts, and spices are a great combo!

-orange marmalade-I would also add some orange zest to your cookie dough for a bright flavor.

Have fun with it! And please tag me in your wonderful creations, I love seeing your bakes.

Ingredients You Need

Browned Butter please refer to this recipe for a full breakdown on how I brown butter.

-Granulated & brown sugar

-Eggs

-Chai Spice- If you cannot find any in stores near you, you can make your own as I have done below.

-Vanilla extract

-Flour

-Baking Soda & Baking Powder

-Salt-for cookie dough. I use kosher salt.

-Oatmeal-I used old fashioned oats. Any type of oatmeal is fine except for steel cut oats. They will not work for this recipe.

-Walnuts-roasting them will bring out their flavor and create a crunchier texture.

–Ginger Pear Preserves

-Honey- I infused my honey with a 2-inch piece of ginger by bringing the honey to a boil with the peeled and smashed ginger for a minute on the stove, then allowing it to cool to room temperature before adding to the cookie dough. This step is not necessary but will add yet another layer of spiced flavor to this cookie. You can discard the ginger after the honey has cooled but I once again added it to my nightly tea with delicious results.

For the Glaze:

-Butter

-Vanilla Extract

-Chai spice mix

-Sprinkle of salt

-Powdered Sugar

-Hot water

Chai Spice Mix:

-1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/2 teaspoon cardamom

-1 teaspoon ginger

-1/2 teaspoon allspice

-1/2 teaspoon of cloves

 

Let’s Make Cookies

The dough for this cookie is quite easy to throw together and only takes about 10 minutes to prepare. After making and scooping the dough, I let it rest in the fridge to firm up before baking. As with most cookies on this blog, letting the dough rest after they have been filled is essential and even more so with a dough that has lots of spices in it such as chai spices. Baking these cookies right after scooping and filling them will yield great results but the flavor of the spices improves if they are left to chill for a bit. You can leave these in the fridge for up to 3 days before baking.

Cream the chilled Browned Butter and both types of sugars in a bowl until very creamy. I like to see the butter light in color and fluffy, this usually takes around 3-5 minutes on high speed.

I add in eggs one at a time  and mix thoroughly after each addition making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. I then add the vanilla extract and honey and continue mixing on high for another minute.

I like to sift my dry ingredients: flour, salt, chai spices, baking powder, and baking soda on top of the bowl then mix on low until it just comes together into a dough.

I give my roasted walnuts a rough chop and add them to the dough along with the oatmeal. I mix these on low until it is just incorporated.

Next, it’s time to stuff the cookie dough with ginger pear preserves. I gather a parchment lined baking sheet, my four-ounce cookie scoop, a teaspoon, and a four ounce jar of ginger pear preserves I had made earlier in the week. Let’s go.

How to Stuff Cookies

**I have posted video on how I make these cookies on: Instagram , Facebook , and Pinterest , if you want a visual aide on how I stuffed the cookie dough**

I take a 4-ounce cookie scoop and scoop out a full scoop of dough. I make a well in the center of the dough that is inside the cookie scoop and place a teaspoonful of Ginger Pear Preserves in the well.

With a pinching motion I pinch the dough closed on top of the pear preserves, sealing them inside the dough. I take the scoop and release the stuffed dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.

I bake these cookies at 375*F for 14-16 minutes. I know the cookies are done when the tops and edges are golden brown. If your cookies still look wet on top continue to bake in 2-minute increments.

Let these cookies cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before glazing.

Brown Butter Chai Glaze

This glaze is easy to make and tastes so yummy you will want to put it on everything.

I start out by putting the butter in a saucepan and melting it over medium heat. The butter will be bubbling and frothy and begin to brown on the bottom. I continue to stir and take off the heat once the butter is browned.

I add the powdered sugar, vanilla, chai spice, honey, and a sprinkle of salt to the browned butter in the pan. I stir with a whisk until the mixture is smooth.

I added three tablespoons of very hot water to thin out the glaze. I want the glaze to resemble a thick maple syrup in consistency. It should be thin enough to dip cookies in but not too thin that it is runny like water. Adjust the water you use accordingly.

When I Dip, You Dip, We Dip

Once the cookies are cooled, they are ready to be dipped in glaze. This glaze crusts very quickly so I need to keep a fork or whisk nearby to stir up the glaze if the top starts to set. This glaze is very similar to donut glaze so it will need to be warm and used quickly. In my experience, it does not reheat well.

I dip the cookie tops one by one and place them on a wire rack to cool and set. They will take minutes to form a nice crust but should be left to properly set up for at least 20 minutes or so before moving them to store.

These cookies will stay fresh for a week in a tightly covered container and will fill your house with the most pleasant spicy aromas. Happy Fall and Happy Baking!

If you try this recipe and love it as much as I do, please tag, follow, and like @sunshinetxcookies on Instagram and Facebook. New posts every Thursday so be sure to follow me for more delicious cookie recipes. Happy Baking!