Chewy ginger biscuits

 

I've had a bit of an absence from posting here which I feel I should acknowledge, before I tell you about these biscuits. It is probably enough to say that I am now eight months pregnant, still working full time and frantically trying to complete my masters thesis.  Many exciting and wonderful things have been happening, but this site is not my journal and so I won't go into all that here.  Let it just be said that if you like food and you like to travel, then get ye to Penang in Malaysia where there are the most wonderful culinary and other adventures to be had if you're willing to just walk and explore.

But enough of such pleasant reminiscences. To the biscuits! My favourite thing about these biscuits - apart from the fact that they are just cooling on a rack right next to me and I've already shoved three warm ones in my face - is how sparkly they are. They're coated in raw sugar which gives them an excellent ghetto bling aesthetic, and a lip-smacking crust to boot. Chewy and soft, they are the essence of wintery comfort.

I've adapted this recipe from one I found on All Recipes. Like everything with ginger and spice in it, it did not have enough, so I've corrected some of the amounts here, and subbed in golden syrup instead of molasses, just because I didn't have any molasses. 

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups plain flour
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 180g butter
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup golden syrup
• 1 tablespoon water
• raw sugar for coating

 

Heat the oven to 180 degrees C and line two trays with baking paper. 

Sift all the dry ingredients except the sugar. In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg and beat in. Add the water and golden syrup to the wet mix and stir through with a wooden spoon. Then stir in the dry ingredients in two batches until mixed through.

Pour some raw sugar in a bowl, then roll the biscuit dough into walnut-sized balls and roll in the sugar until it's evenly coated. Then place on the trays and flatten each ball slightly with your hands. The dough is very soft so work it gently.

Bake for 8 minutes (10 if you have a slow oven). Then cool and scoff. 

When your unborn child kicks you as you eat them, it's surely a sign of approval, no?