Serve up a holiday themed chai party with these buttery, melt-in-your-mouth Fruit & Nut Festive Chai Icebox Cookies!

Made with Arvinda's Festive Chai Masala, they're perfectly spiced with cardamom, cinnamon and clove and will look beautiful on any cookie platter, jeweled with the red cranberries. These cookies have a delightful crunch around the edges with chewy dried fruits on the interior. Not to mention the fruit and nuts combination make them especially reminiscent of the holidays.

I love my Masala Chai with a buttery cookie for dipping into! As the holidays are usually packed with a flurry of activities, icebox cookies are the thing to stock in your freezer so you always have a tea time treat on hand with virtually no fuss.

For this recipe I kept the fruits and nuts pretty simply, basically using whatever I had on hand. Make substitutions where necessary and feel free to try this recipe with hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts, pistachios or dried cherries, they all work equally well!

Happy chai party!

Fruit & Nut Festive Chai Icebox Cookies

Make this cookie dough in advance and store it in the freezer so you can enjoy fresh baked cookies for an impromptu holiday themed festive chai afternoon tea, or for when guests drop by on short notice! Serve these cookies with a cup of Festive Masala Chai or pack them into decorative gift boxes for a holiday hostess gift.

Ingredients:
1 CUP whole pecans
1/2 CUP whole almonds
2 CUPS all-purpose flour
1 TBSP. ARVINDA'S FESTIVE CHAI MASALA or ARVINDA'S CHAI MASALA
3/4 CUP salted butter, softened
3/4 CUP icing sugar
1 large egg
1/2 TSP. pure almond extract
1/2 TSP. pure vanilla extract
1 CUP dried cranberries
1/4 CUP raisins

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 200°F / 93°C.
2) Place the pecans and almonds on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes to slightly toast them. Cool the nuts then coarsely chop them.
3) In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour with Arvinda's Chai Masala. Set aside.
4) In a large bowl or stand up mixer, cream the butter with the sugar, then add the egg. Stir in the almond and vanilla extracts. Add in the flour mixture to make the cookie batter.
5) Add the toasted nuts, cranberries and raisins and combine well.
6) Roll the cookie dough into two 11" logs and wrap them in parchment paper (or plastic wrap). Store the dough in the freezer for at least one hour before baking.
7) Preheat the oven to 325°F / 165°C. Cut the cookies into 1/4" slices and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until they become slightly light golden in colour. Cool the cookies on a wire rack before serving.