by David Leite
Makes about twenty 2 1/2-inch cookies
These Chinese five-spice cookies are basically a sugar cookie with the addition of sweet Chinese spice powder, which can include ground star anise, cinnamon, ginger, fennel seeds, Szechuan peppercorns, and cloves. The cookies are the perfect accompaniment to tea. Because of their snappy, crisp texture, they can handle lots of dunking.
Notes: You can make your own super fine sugar by buzzing 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a food processor for one minute.To keep these Chinese five-spice cookies fresh, place them in an airtight container. They should last a week.—David Leite
convert Ingredients
1 1/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup superfine sugar (see Notes)
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
1. Dump the flour, Chinese five-spice powder, and salt in a small bowl and whisk thoroughly. Set aside.
2. Using a hand mixer, cream the sugar and butter in a large bowl until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until fluffy, about 1 minute.
3. Add the flour-spice mixture and stir on low until just incorporated. Form the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). On a piece of plastic wrap, roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Slide the wrap and the dough onto a baking sheet and place the whole concoction in the freezer for 5 minutes until firm.
5. Remove the sheet and quickly cut out the spice cookies with a 2 1/2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, space them 1/2-inch apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and baked or until edges are golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately transfer the spice cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Recipe © 2003 David Leite. All rights reserved.
These sound amazing. And I have a jar of Chinese 5-spice in the kitchen right now leftover from a soup I made (and I haven’t had another reason to use it yet). Thank you!
You’re very welcome! Let us know what you think of the cookies! And if you still have some five-spice powder left, you may want to consider this Chinese Five-Spice Chocolate Chiffon Cake or any of several other recipes using “five-spice powder“
I made these last weekend and they are so good and so different. I love that they aren’t super sweet, and they *are* perfect with a cup of tea :)
Hi jenijen, so glad you liked the cookies. They’re one of my favorite tea-dunking snacks. I developed these years and years ago (when I was still young and beautiful) and I still turn to them every fall and winter. So nice to tuck into.
These cookies are delicious! The dough was a little difficult to work with, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the finished product. Thank you!
Angie, so glad you like the cookies. I agree the dough is tough to work with, but slipping it in and out of the fridge certainly helps.
David — I had to write and tell you that I tried something a little different when I made the cookies a second time. After I got the dough together, I placed it in wax paper and rolled it into a log shape. I wrapped the whole thing in plastic wrap and let it freeze overnight. This morning I just pulled the cookie log out of the freezer, peeled away the plastic wrap and wax paper and just sliced the frozen dough into 1/4″ rounds. I baked at same temperature and same amount of time. So easy and I couldn’t be
happier to have my new favorite cookie! Thanks again for this great recipe.
Angie, I couldn’t be happier. I developed that recipe a million years ago. It’s so delightful to me that you’ve discovered it and that you added to it–making the preparation better. Thank you!