Chewy Stem Gingernuts

This recipe is a firm favorite - I adore ginger in all of its shapes and forms and this gingernut combines both ground and stem ginger for a gingery explosion. What's not to love right?

The first time I baked these cookies was before I started my MA. The very first week of the programme consisted of a trip to Rome, mind you it was not a holiday, we had to work really hard and most of us were stressed out pretty much throughout the whole experience. In any case, I wanted to bake something for the trip so I made these cookies and brought them along. Wonder what those security people at the luggage scanner thought.. Upon arrival in Rome, it turned out the supermarkets were closed, and we only got the chance to shop the next day. This meant that dinner consisted of these gingernuts. Luckily I brought loads..

Got a long trip ahead of you? Or just a cosy day in? Have a go at these gingernuts, you won't be disappointed!

Chewy Stem Gingernuts

Ingredients:

350gr self-raising flour

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

200gr caster sugar

115 unsalted butter 

85 golden syrup

1 medium egg, beaten

35gr stem ginger, drained and finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas 3.

2. Melt the butter and golden syrup in a pan over low heat, set aside to cool.

3. Sift the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and caster sugar into a large mixing bowl. Once your butter and syrup mixture is barely warm, pour this into the flour mixture and add the beaten egg and stem ginger. Mix with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined. 

4. Roll the mixture into 24 walnut-sized balls using your hands. Arrange them on three baking trays lined with baking parchment. If you only have one baking tray (like me) you can arrange them on baking parchment and swap it out once your previous batch is done.

5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown (they shouldn't be too pale). If your cookies brown unevenly, you could turn the tray halfway through. 

6. Leave the cookies to cool on the trays for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store these in an airtight container. If your cookies turn crunchy because you've left them out too long, you can add a slice of fresh bread to the airtight container to soften them.

Source: The Great British Book of Baking