Chai Oatmeal Lace Cookies
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These chai oatmeal lace cookies feature a creamy, chai-infused dark chocolate ganache, sandwiched between a pair of delicate oatmeal cookies. Made with rolled oats, brown sugar, candied ginger, and chai tea bags, this chai cookie recipe offers a spiced autumn twist on the classic lace cookie.
What Inspired These Oatmeal Lace Cookies?
Although they’re both made from oats, lace cookies bear little resemblance to their cousin, the more traditional oatmeal cookie (or its cousin, the oatmeal cream pie!) Unlike soft, bakery-style oatmeal cookies, which often include add-ins like raisins or walnuts, lace cookies are thin, crispy, and chewy. In fact, oatmeal lace cookies remind me of the brittle, wafer-thin tuiles often found accompanying ice cream sundaes and other plated desserts.
In this recipe, I’ve given the basic lace cookie an autumn glow-up. I’ve added bits of candied ginger, and filled my homemade cookies with a chai-infused dark chocolate ganache. (I’ve experimented with adding chai spice to my chocolate ganaches—and my banana bread—in the past, and it’s always a welcome addition.) And in these chai-spiced oatmeal lace cookies, this classic fall flavor does not disappoint.
Ingredients for Making Oatmeal Lace Cookies
To make this chai oatmeal lace cookie recipe, begin by gathering the following ingredients:
- Unsalted Butter – You’ll need unsalted butter to make the cookie dough, plus more for the ganache.
- Brown Sugar – I used dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar will also work. You can use a combination of the two.
- All Purpose Flour – Unlike traditional bakery-style cookies, these only contain a small amount of all purpose flour, but don’t skip it. The flour acts as a binder for the oats and sugar.
- Ground Cinnamon– Along with candied ginger, ground cinnamon gives these cookies their spice. If desired, you can add mixed spice, ground ginger, or a pinch of ground nutmeg for additional autumn flavor.
- Kosher Salt – If you don’t have kosher salt, you can also substitute fine sea salt, or table salt.
- Vanilla Extract – You can use vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste. Nielsen-Massey is my preferred brand.
- Egg – You’ll need one large egg, at room temperature.
- Rolled Oats – Double-check to make sure that you’re using rolled oats or old-fashioned oats for this recipe. It won’t work properly with “quick” oats (they’ll turn to mush) or steel cut oats, which are too firm.
- Candied Ginger – You can use homemade or store-bought candied ginger, chopped into very tiny pieces. If you have some left over, save it to make ginger truffles or garnish a mug of ginger hot chocolate.
- Chai Tea Bags – You’ll need 4 chai tea bags to infuse the chai flavor into the whipping cream. And if you have extra, save them for a vanilla chai simmer pot, or a batch of cinnamon chai macarons with milk chocolate ganache.
- Whipping Cream – Or heavy cream, if you’re in the US.
- Dark Chocolate – Choose a high-quality chocolate for this recipe, rather than grocery store chocolate chips. I often make my ganaches with Callebaut 54.5% dark. Guittard, Valrhona, and Ghirardelli are also good choices.
Preparing the Chocolate Ganache
To make the chai-spiced chocolate ganache, you’ll start by infusing the whipping cream with chai tea bags. (It’s the same technique I use to make my Earl Grey white chocolate ganache, with different types of tea and chocolate.) The longer the infusion time, the stronger the chai flavor. I like to infuse my cream for about an hour.
After infusing, pass the cream through a fine mesh strainer to remove the tea bags. You can press down gently with the back of a spoon or rubber spatula to release the extra cream, but do not squeeze the tea bags or they’ll break and fill the ganache with impossible-to-remove bits of loose tea!
After combining the cream and chocolate, you might find that it takes several minutes of whisking to reach the desired consistency, but don’t worry—it will get there eventually!
If desired, you can pop the bowl in the fridge briefly to speed the cooling process along, but don’t refrigerate for more than a few minutes or your ganache will firm to a consistency more suitable for rolling into truffles rather than piping into sandwich cookies.
Oatmeal Lace Cookie Tips and Tricks
Bake on multiple trays. These cookies need plenty of room to spread as they bake. I baked mine six to a half sheet tray, one tray at a time, in four separate batches.
Use silicone mats. Don’t bake directly on the trays or you’ll find yourself struggling to pry your lace cookies away from the tray. If you don’t have silicone mats, you can bake on sheets of parchment instead.
Adjust the flavor. If you aren’t a fan of chai, you can make the ganache without infusing the cream. Similarly, you can omit the chopped ginger from the cookie batter, or replace it with chopped candied orange peel or lemon peel instead.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
These chai oatmeal cookies taste best on the day they are made. Layer leftover sandwich cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
To freeze: Layer in an airtight container between sheets of parchment. Thaw at room temperature.
Other Chai Inspired Recipes you Might Enjoy:
Chocolate Chai Truffles
Chai Pudding
Ginger Chai Cookies
Chai Spiced Banana Bread
Vanilla Simmer Pot with Chai
Cinnamon Chai Macarons
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
Print
Chai Oatmeal Lace Cookies
- Total Time1 1/2 to 2 hours, including infusion time
- Yield12 3 1/2-inch round sandwich cookies 1x
Oatmeal lace cookies featuring a chai dark chocolate ganache sandwiched between a pair of delicate, ginger-spiced oatmeal lace cookies.
Ingredients
Oatmeal Lace Cookies:
113 grams unsalted butter (1/2 cup; 1 stick)
225 grams dark brown sugar (1 cup + 2 tablespoons, packed)
16 grams all-purpose flour (2 tablespoons), sifted
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature
160 grams old-fashioned oats (1 1/2 cups; 5 2/3 ounces)
25 grams candied ginger, finely chopped (2 tablespoons)
Chai-Spiced Chocolate Ganache:
4 chai tea bags
160 milliliters whipping cream (2/3 cup), plus more for topping up
160 grams dark chocolate (5 2/3 ounces, or about 1 cup)
15 grams unsalted butter, softened (1 tablespoon)
Instructions
Oatmeal Lace Cookies:
Preheat oven to 360° F (180° C). Line 2 half sheet rimmed baking trays* with silicone mats.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar melts.
Remove from heat. Stir in all purpose flour, ground cinnamon, and kosher salt, followed by vanilla extract. Set aside and allow to cool 5 minutes at room temperature.
With a wooden spoon or flexible rubber spatula, stir in the egg, followed by the old-fashioned oats and the chopped candied ginger.
Drop batter by the teaspoonful onto prepared trays, allowing 3 inches of space between each spoonful.*
With damp fingertips or the back of a metal spoon dipped in water, smooth the batter into thin discs, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
Bake in preheated oven for 11-12 minutes, or until deeply golden brown.
Cool completely on tray. Repeat with remaining batter.
Chai-Spiced Chocolate Ganache:
In a small saucepan, warm the cream over low heat. Remove from heat, add the chai tea bags. Cover and set aside to infuse, at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 hour.**
With a fine mesh strainer, strain the infused cream to remove the tea bags and any loose bits of tea. Reweigh the cream, or re-measure in a measuring cup. Add more cream to make up 160 milliliters (2/3 cup). Return to saucepan and rewarm over low heat.
Meanwhile, melt chocolate over a bain marie or double boiler.
Whisk the warm, chai-infused cream into the melted chocolate, followed by the softened butter.
Set aside to cool at room temperature until ready to assemble.
Assembly:
Pair each oatmeal lace cookie with another of similar size (not unlike finding mates for your French macarons!) Flip half of each pair so that the bottom side of the cookie faces upward.
With a metal whisk, whisk ganache until thick, creamy, and easy to pipe.*** The ganache should remain fluid enough to flow easily from a piping bag, and spread evenly when sandwiched between 2 cookies.
Scoop ganache into a disposable piping bag.
Pipe a generous dollop into the middle of each cookie. Top with the second cookie and press down gently, allowing ganache to spread to the edges.
Store sandwich cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or layer between sheets of parchment and freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
Use old-fashioned oats or rolled oats for this recipe, not “quick” or instant oats.
*These cookies need plenty of room to spread as they bake. I baked mine 6 to a tray, 1 tray at a time, in 4 separate batches.
**The longer the infusion time, the stronger the chai flavor.
***It might take several minutes of whisking to reach the desired consistency. If desired, you can pop the bowl in the fridge briefly to speed the cooling process along, but don’t refrigerate for more than a few minutes or your ganache will firm to a consistency more suitable for rolling into truffles rather than piping into sandwich cookies.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Infusion Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 11-12 minutes per tray
- Category: Biscuits and Cookies
- Method: Oven + Stovetop
