Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Ginger Cream Cookies





















There are certain flavours which I consider my secret weapons when it comes to cooking. Top of the list are lemon and ginger.

Apart from the fact that my taste-buds just love the fresh zing of lemon and ginger, they are my favourites because they have the simple ability of lifting a dish from "blah" to "wow!".  For example, a little lemon zest in a leek and potato soup makes the dish come alive, and fresh ginger can bring a bland stir-fry back from the dead.

Since they are my favourite ingredients I will eat them in anything, sweet or savoury, their inclusion will no doubt make my mouth water. So today's post is an ode to my trusty pal "ginger".

The cookies are nice and light and ever so soft and crumbly and the butter cream filling has lovely chunks of crystallised ginger. They are best eaten fresh but if you are able to refrain from eating them all, they will keep fresh for a few days when stored in an airtight container.

Anyone else have favourite 'secret' ingredients that they love to rely on?

Ingredients:

Cookies:
250g butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon golden syrup
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch salt

Ginger Cream:
100g butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
45g ( a few tablespoons) chopped crystallised ginger

Method:

Cream the butter and sugar.
Beat in the egg and golden syrup.
Stir in the flour, baking powder, ginger and salt.
Roll large teaspoons of mixture into balls, place them on greased or lined baking trays. Flatten them with a fork.
Bake at 180 Celsius until light brown.
Transfer to a rack to cool.
Create the Ginger Cream by beating together the butter, icing sugar and ginger.
Spread the Ginger Cream onto the cookies and sandwich them together.

Makes approx 20 filled cookies

7 comments:

  1. I love ginger too! I made ginger muffins tonight - and realised I bake with it heaps. :-) Your cookies look quite similar to ginger kisses (homemade ones are best), though perhaps are different in texture. Might have to give this recipe a whirl when I've eaten all my muffins. :-)

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  2. Also lemon and ginger - I have quite a few lemon and ginger recipes on my blog including tea and a cheesecake. I also love brown sugar - I think it makes everything delicious, including savoury dishes and I always use a spoonful in things like stirfries.

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  3. Mrs Cake - Yip they are different in texture, they're not sponges like ginger kisses, they are more of a delicate biscuit, but yes they do look so similar (esp in that photo). Btw I just checked out your muffin recipe and it has made me so hungry, it seems I can't get sick of ginger. :P

    Sasa - I'll have to check out your cheesecake recipe (I am a glutton for cheesecakes). Your use of brown sugar sounds really interesting, I don't often use it in savoury stuff but I might have to start experimenting.

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  4. Thanks for joining the NZ Food Bloggers Association! We'll keep you updated on upcoming events.
    These look delicious, I am a big ginger fan too and a if I only use part of a bag of crystalised in baking the rest tends to get consumed like lollies.

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  5. an old favourite is always a winner in the family, isn't it? I love ginger biscuits, with or without fillings.

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  6. How long do they need in the oven

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    Replies
    1. About 10mins, just keep an eye on them.

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