Spiced Chai Cookie Bars

Gooey, warm, baked mac and cheese; chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles; Mom's delicious meatloaf; homemade giant cinnamon rolls or caramel rolls; spicy, chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside molasses cookies; DQ's chocolate malt.  All of these things epitomize to me what all-American, genuine comfort food is. Food that evokes fond childhood memories.  Food that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside and food that takes you back in time to when the most important thing in life is what color eye shadow to wear or if you should tell your best friend that you experienced your first kiss that left you totally breathless and feeling like you could simply just die.

Well, there's one more thing to add to that list that makes me feel so content and satisfied that I couldn't care less if that load of laundry gets folded right now.  Chai tea. That exotic Indian spiced tea that you'd swear has some kind of drug in it because it is so devinely delicious and completely addicting. I absolutely adore this stuff and over the last couple of years there has been an explosion of desserts, pies, cakes and cookies that all have Chai tea as the main component.

  

These bars are no exception, and I must say that they are just as addicting as Chai itself.  They are incredibly simple to make and are delicious both with the icing and without...your choice, but I made these with.  What the heck, I'm gonna blow the diet anyway the minute they hit my mouth whether they're frosted or not, so I may as well do it up right and add the frosting.  Now don't say I didn't warn you...they're addicting and I challenge you to even try and eat just one!

Spiced Chai Cookie Bars

Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter or margarine softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Filling:
2 Tbs instant Chai tea powder

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray or grease bottom only of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  In small bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter on high until creamy.  Beat in sugars.  Gradually beat in eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined.  In low speed, beat in dry ingredients until combined.

Spoon half of the batter into pan and spread evenly.  Sprinkle the filling on top.  Drop the rest of the batter by teaspoons on top of the cinnamon filling mixture.  Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown or until toothpick inserted comes clean.  Let cool for an hour.  Drizzle the glaze over the bars.