Vanilla Chai Sugar Cookie Bars

Ingredients

For the bars:

1/3 cup unsalted butter room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon strong brewed chai tea I used Bigelow Vanilla Chai
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

For the frosting:

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
2 Tablespoons cream cheese I use Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
1-2 Tablespoons strong brewed chai tea
Topping:
ground cinnamon optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray an 8" square pan with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about a minute.
Add egg, vanilla and 1 Tablespoon of the chai tea.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and spices.
Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix just until combined.
Spread in prepared pan.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until just lightly golden. Take care not to over bake or you'll have dry bars.
Allow to cool completely.
To make frosting, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and fully combined and fluffy.
Add the sugar, pinch of salt and vanilla and beat until combined.
Add 1-2 Tablespoons of tea, a little at a time, and beat until frosting is desired consistency.
Frost cooled bars. Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired. Store in refrigerator, tightly covered. You can serve cold, but I think the flavor is best at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

*Whenever I make a bar cookie, I line the pan with foil and then spray it. After they're cool, it's easy to lift the entire cookie out of the pan, peel off the foil and cut into bars.

*For really clean cuts, refrigerate before cutting for a couple of hours or until frosting is firm.

*For the strong brewed tea, I used one tea bag and about 1/4 cup or so of hot water and let it steep for a few minutes.