TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)
- What it is: A unique sugar cookie blended with Chinese five-spice powder with cinnamon, ginger, star anise + peppercorn for a fun twist.
- Why you’ll love it: A perfect holiday or everyday cookie that offers an aromatic, less-sweet flavor, making it a sassy alternative to standard biscuits.
- How to make it: Whisk flour, five-spice powder + salt. Cream the butter and sugar, beat in egg + vanilla. Stir in the dry mixture to form a soft dough, shape it into a disk + chill. Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness, freeze for 5 minutes, cut into shapes + bake till the edges are golden brown.
Jump To
I came up with this recipe a good 30 years ago—one of the first recipes I developed—and it’s been a stalwart in my kitchen ever since. It’s dead simple—honestly, the kind of recipe you look at and think, Really? That’s it?—but it delivers some surprisingly highfalutin flavors. The One and I turn to it whenever we want to shake up our taste buds. And being a supertaster, I love when those ’buds get a good rattling.
Want to Save This?
I'll email this to you, so you can come back to it later. Booyah!
These Chinese five-spice cookies will make you say bye-bye-bye to boring, plain sugar cookies and hello to these crisp, spiced lovelies. They’re sugar cookies, yes, but they’re also so, so much more. Depending on your five-spice blend, you might get star anise, cinnamon, ginger, fennel seeds, Szechuan peppercorns, cloves—or some combination thereof. They’re perfect at the holidays, but honestly, they’re perfect any time of year. And thanks to their crisp snap, they stand up beautifully to dunking, especially in tea.
Chow,
More Shareable Sugar Cookie Recipes
Brown Sugar Cookies
45 mins
Windowpane Cookies
40 mins
Valentine’s Sugar Cookies
30 mins
Sugar Christmas Snow Cookies
35 mins
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Featured Review
I made this recipe a few days ago, and it was a hit. It wasn’t cloyingly sweet. It was crisp at the edges and tender in the middle. Everyone except one picky eater who preferred less spicy cookies loved these cookies. This is a holiday must-have!
Mide
Chinese Five-Spice Cookies
Equipment
- 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter or favorite holiday-shaped cutter
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, (or just blitz granulated sugar in a blender until finely ground but not powdery)
- 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Dump the flour, Chinese five-spice powder, and salt in a small bowl and whisk thoroughly.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter in a large bowl until creamy and well combined. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until fluffy, about 1 minute more.
- Stir in the flour mixture, combing just until everything is incorporated and a soft dough forms. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and adjust the rack to the center position.
- Unwrap the dough, place it on a fresh piece of plastic wrap, and roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Slide the wrap and the dough onto a baking sheet and place the whole shebang in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm it slightly.
- Remove the dough from the freezer and quickly cut out the spice cookies with a 2 1/2-inch round cookie biscuit cutter (or if it's the holidays, your favorite cookie cutter) spacing them 1/2-inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the edges are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately transfer the spice cookies to a wire rack to cool. (The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.) Find more information on storing and freezing your cookies here.
An LC Original
View More Original RecipesExplore More with AI
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Was looking for something different to bring to a Halloween party, just need to keep the dough cold while shaping the cookies. Getting ready to make another batch, there mysteriously disappearing before the party!
Lynn, I absolutely love it!!! Happy Halloween.
Do you think these would taste good with a drizzling of anise flavored icing?
Kristy, I think if you like anise flavor, sure! For me: not at all. Not an anise fan!
I made this recipe a few days ago and it was a hit. It was not cloyingly sweet. It was crisp at the edges and tender in the middle. Everyone except one picky eater who preferred less spicy cookies loved these cookies. This is a holiday must-have.
Wonderful to her, Mide! We so appreciate you taking the time to let us know! Yes, they’re a slightly sophisticated cookie, forgive the term. Less sweet, more spice, a little something unusual. So glad you loved!