It’s the fall season, so bring on the chai flavored recipes! Fall can encompass many different flavors including apple, pumpkin, maple, cranberry and ginger just to name a few. To me, baked goods and chai spices are a no-brainer. Traditionally, chai is made into a tea which consists of milk, spices, sweetener, and black tea. Chai spices can be used for so much more than just tea. Once you make your basic chai spice recipe, there are so many ways to utilize it.
Chai can include several different spices. Cardamom is the most common ingredient, followed by a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, star anise and cloves. Pepper and coriander, nutmeg and fennel are also used but they are slightly less common.
In the winter of 2011, Brion and I traveled Turkey for a month. We were meeting with the Trafalgar tour group in Istanbul. Arriving a day early gave us time to ‘snoop’ around a bit. Next to our hotel was a ‘Starbucks’, so we went in. When Brion ordered my coffee, they gave me a ‘Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte’ by mistake. That (pumpkin) chai flavor was just incredible. I have been addicted to it ever since.
A stay in Istanbul would not be complete without a traditional and unforgettable boat excursion up the Bosphorus, that winding strait that separates Europe and Asia. Its shores are a mixture of past and present, grand splendor and simple beauty. Modern hotels stand next to shore-front wooden villas, marble palaces in contrast to rustic stone fortresses and elegant compounds neighboring small fishing villages. Since Turkey actually straddles two separate continents, its culture features strong elements and traditions from both east and west. At that point in time, we found Turkey a relaxed country to travel in which made our time there very enjoyable.
These crescent rolls are a shortcut to making the classic cinnamon rolls using cream cheese pastry and that incredible flavor of the chai spice. Yum!
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- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp EACH cardamom, ground anise seed, allspice & cloves
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- butter for spreading on pastry
- 2 1/3 cups flour
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 90 gm cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 cup LESS 1 Tbsp Crisco butter flavored vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup milk
- 50 gm cream cheese, softened
- 1 Tbsp butter,
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp milk or more if necessary
- 1/2 tsp chai spice mix or to taste
Ingredients
Chai Spice Filling
Crescents
Drizzle
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- Whisk together all chai spices with brown sugar. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder & salt. With a pastry blender, cut in cream cheese & shortening until mixture resembles coarse peas. Stir in milk. On a lightly floured work surface, knead dough gently about 20 times.
- Form dough in a ball then roll out into a 14-inch circumference. Spread butter over the surface of dough then spread spice/sugar combo (all but 1 tsp needed for drizzle) evenly over the butter.
- Cut circle into 12-14 equal wedges. Roll each wedge from the outside edge to form a crescent shape. Slightly curve each one & place on baking sheet.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until pastry is baked. Remove from oven & place on wire cooling rack.
- In a small bowl, beat together cream cheese & butter until smooth. Add 1/2 tsp chai spice mix, powdered sugar, salt & vanilla. Beat until well combined then add enough milk to make a drizzle consistency. When crescents are cool, drizzle & serve.
