Ginger Crunchies

 

I wanted to share something special with you today for Mother's Day 2022.  This is my second one back in Canada. I will  be getting together later today with my sister, brother in law and father for a special supper together.

I really wanted to make us all a special treat.  And I thought I would bake something British. Nobody does baked treats better than the British and nothing is more moreish than these delectable Ginger Crunchies.

 

  

You better get your pinny on because if you like ginger, you are going to fall in love with these crisp shortbread based ginger biscuit/cookie/squares!

They are crisp and buttery, very short textured.  They are also topped with a lush ginger glaze and some sweet chunks of preserved ginger.  Don't worry if you haven't got any preserved ginger, you can substitute candied ginger for it, or leave it off altogether.

The recipe is one which I adapted from the cookbook entitled Vintage Tea Time, by the Women's Institute and curated by Jessica Simmons.

I love the Women's Institute cookery books.  Formed in 1915 the Women's Institute had two clear aims; to revitalize the rural community and to encourage women to become more involved in the production of food during the first World War.

 

It has long been considered the leading authority on hoe cooking and is the largest voluntary women's organization in the UK.   There is even a WI cookery school in Oxfordshire  called Denman College.

Oh how I would have loved to attend one of their cookery courses while I was still living in the UK. Never mind  . . .  we all have access to their lovely books, so that is a pretty close second!!

 

These crisp moreish biscuits/cookies/bars are one of my favorite Teatime Treats.  And no small wonder, with their crisp, crumbly ginger flavored cookie base and sweet ginger glaze topping, they always go down well.

I adore the flavor of ginger and this is a bar that highlights it really well! 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GINGER CRUNCHIES

Simple ingredients that most of us already have in our kitchens.  

For the base:

• 1/2 cup (110g) of butter at room temperature
• 1/4 cup plus 1 TBS (60g) finely granulated sugar
• 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger

For the glaze:

• 4 TBS icing sugar
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3 tsp golden syrup (can use light corn syrup)
• chopped stem ginger to garnish (optional)

 

You can leave your butter out on the counter for an hour or so before you go to make these and it will be at the perfect temperature. If you don't have fine granulated sugar, you can blitz it for a few seconds in a food processor to make it finer.

In the UK this is called Castor sugar. I find here in Canada the regular granulated sugar I buy is quite fine enough. 

The ground ginger called for is simple dry powdered ginger, available in the spice sections of all good grocery shops.

 

The glaze is a simple one.  Butter melted together with the icing sugar, some golden syrup and more powdered ginger.

Its okay if you don't have golden syrup.  You can use light corn syrup in its place. It is worth it to get golden syrup if you can however. It is available via Amazon and British import stores everywhere.   It has a lovely caramel-like flavor, with a bit of a lemon undertone.

 

HOW TO MAKE GINGER CRUNCHIES

Nothing could be easier.  These are very simple to make. You will need an 8-inch square baking tin. I would not bake them in any tin that is larger as the base would be too thin and they might burn.

Preheat the oven to 360*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line an 8 inch square tin with aluminum foil. (This will make it easier to lift out the finished biscuits/cookies).

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy.

 

Sift together the flour, baking powder and ground ginger. Stir this into the creamed mixture, mixing everything well together.

Press into the prepared tin and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. (They should be pale golden brown.)

For the glaze combine the butter, icing sugar, ground ginger and syrup in a small saucepan. Stir over a gentle heat until well mixed together.

 

Pour over the biscuit (cookie) layer while both are still warm. Cut into squares immediately and let cool completely. Decorate each square with some of the stem ginger, if using.

Leave until completely cold to lift out. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

I guarantee if you are a ginger lover like I am, you are going to fall in love with these. You may find it impossible to eat only one.  Two is a certainty!

 

Some other British teatime treats on here that you might enjoy are:

TRADITIONAL BATTENBURG CAKE - Also known as a church window cake, this lovely bar cake sports both a pink and yellow batter,  cut and put together with jam and butter cream in a way so as to resemble a church window.  Wrapped in marzipan it is a delicious cake to enjoy with a nice hot drink. 

POLKA DOT PETTICOAT TAILS - triangular shortbread biscuits, crisp and buttery, dotted with little dimples of your favorite kinds of jam. Very scrumptious!

 

FAT RASCALS - A delicious cross between a scone/pastry/biscuit, studded with sweet currants and coated in fine sugar. These are fabulously tasty indeed!

 

In the spirit of transparency, mine came out a little bit on the dark side today. I didn't hear the oven timer go off, but they were still incredibly delicious. Do not expect that yours (given the perfect timing) will be quite as dark as these. You should aim for a nice light golden brown.

These are quite, quite delicious and I guarantee they are set to become a family teatime favorite!

Yield: 16

Author: Marie Rayner

Ginger Crunchies

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

These lightly spiced crunchy biscuits (squares/cookies) are very moreish and go quite well with a nice hot cuppa! They are also very easily made!

Ingredients

For the base:

• 1/2 cup (110g) of butter at room temperature
• 1/4 cup plus 1 TBS (60g) finely granulated sugar
• 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger

For the glaze:

• 4 TBS icing sugar
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3 tsp golden syrup (can use light corn syrup)
• chopped stem ginger to garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 360*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line an 8 inch square tin with aluminum foil. (This will make it easier to lift out the finished biscuits/cookies).
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and ground ginger. Stir this into the creamed mixture, mixing everything well together.
4. Press into the prepared tin and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. (They should be pale golden brown.)
5. For the glaze combine the butter, icing sugar, ground ginger and syrup in a small saucepan. Stir over a gentle heat until well mixed together.
6. Pour over the biscuit (cookie) layer while both are still warm. Cut into squares immediately and let cool completely. Decorate each square with some of the stem ginger if using.
7. Leave until completely cold to lift out. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

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