Description
These moon-shaped cookies are made with classic chai spices, pecans and a coating of powdered sugar for a festive and flavorful treat. Make them for the holidays or anytime you’re craving a really good cookie.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, nutmeg and salt until well combined.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse 1/4 cup powdered sugar and pecans together until a coarse meal forms.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat butter and vanilla on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in nut mixture until just combined. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Dough will be moist but crumbly.
- Turn dough out onto a clean countertop; knead a few times to form a ball. Gently but firmly press dough ball into a rough log shape.
- Use a sharp knife to cut dough into 24 equal-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a 1 1/2-inch log, then bend to form a crescent shape, tapering ends slightly. Place on prepared baking sheets spaced at least 1 inch apart.
- Bake cookies 12 to 15 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until cookies are set and bottoms are golden-brown. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- In a small shallow bowl, sift remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Roll still-warm cookies in powdered sugar, then return to cooling rack to cool completely. Roll or dust fully cooled cookies with any extra powdered sugar.
- Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- You can swap the ginger, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg called for in this recipe for 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, if desired.
- These cookies taste even better on day two!
- This recipe can easily be doubled to make about 48-50 cookies.