Masala Tea Spiced Cookies

With scent of fallen leaves in the air and the crisp autumn wind in the trees, I've been inspired to break out my wintery treats. This cookie is adapted from a Chai Brown Sugar Cookie I found online, but I decided to change it up a little bit once I noticed that, while on one of her exotic grocery shopping sprees, my mom had bought Masala Tea Spice. This warming blend of spices includes ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, and nutmeg. The end result? A peppery, chewy cookie with the essence of a steaming cup of chai tea. Mmmmmm.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 teaspoons Masala Tea Spice (or 3/4 tsp. cinnamon, 3/4 tsp. cardamom, 1/4 tsp. ginger, 1/8 tsp.     cloves, 1/8 tsp. nutmeg)
- 3/4 cup butter-room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg


Instructions:

1. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spice(s) in a large bowl, set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar on medium speed for 3-5 minutes or until fluffy. Scrape the bowl down with a rubber spatula. Add in the egg and vanilla. Mix on low until combined.
3. Add in all the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients at once and mix on low until the dough forms a ball and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
6. Scoop dough by rounded tablespoon and place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart from one another. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

*Recipe adapted from Chai Brown Sugar Cookies from www.ovenadventures.com