The way that a handful of plain old sugar can catch the light and glitter like diamonds is just remarkable. Such tiny crystals seem incapable of such beauty, and yet somehow they can shimmer and shine right alongside the finest jewels when the sun hits those sweet granules.

“All that glitters,” the latest theme for Sugar High Friday, is a particularly creative idea, forcing participants to really open their eyes and seek out those lovely highlights that might otherwise be overlooked.

The sparkled ginger cookies from VwaV immediately came to mind after reading the title, but of course I put my own little spin on them. Switching them to sparkled chai cookies, I simply substituted agave for the molasses, added in some cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and a pinch of black pepper, and these cookies possessing some sweet heat were born.

Easily catching my eye from across the room, there’s no way a pile of these gems will go unnoticed, or uneaten, for long.