Make these ahead for the winter!
These ginger cookies resembles, my favorite ginger biscuit I used to eat back in Sri Lanka. Oddly enough, I used to hate these as a kid but fell completely in love with, growing up. I remember the mini me wondering why would anyone want to eat the fiery biscuit when there are so many other sweet and delicious stuff out there let along enjoying them.Funnily enough, I took a packet of these to Sweden, and my colleagues at work, allegedly burnt their throats trying to eat them.
So undoubtedly, this is an adult cookie, despite not having any booze. And these are not for the faint-hearted. If you can’t handle spices, you should consider cutting down on the amount of fresh ginger used in the recipe. I used 4 tsp but the recipe states 3, as I thought this might be too much for anyone trying this for the first time.
This cookie is very similar to a gingerbread except for the fact that it uses a lot of freshly grated ginger to give it’s characteristic heat. The fresh ginger is a great addition for desserts and I love to use it in place of or in combination with ground ginger. The flavor is very pungent and it really adds warmth to a dish.
The ginger that’s grown in South east Asia is different to the ones I found here in the US and back in Australia. The Asian version is smaller, more compact and very strong. A little goes a long way. But the ginger I buy here are huge, watery and very mild in flavor. So I had to use a considerable amount to get the same heat.
I’m using both fresh and ground ginger
Make sure to grate the ginger finely, using a micro-plane. This ensures a smooth batter and the heat is distributed evenly.
If you can’t find fresh ginger, you can substitute that with ground ginger, but the flavor won’t be the same, but it will still be a warming cookie. If you feel experimental, try adding crystallized ginger for an extra kick and texture.
Feel free to adjust the heat, by varying the amount of fresh ginger you use. I suggest you give this a try first, may be make half a batch and adjust the recipe to your liking. If for any reason you didn’t like the cookie as is or if it is too pungent to eat on it’s own, you can use it in desserts. These can be used in trifels, biscuit puddings and even in tiramisu.
I have coated the ginger cookies in turbinado sugar/ raw sugar, just to add extra crisp and texture. This is entirely optional. The original biscuit was plain anyway.
dough should not be sticky so you could roll it in between your palms into ball
coat the dough ball with raw sugar crystals
place on a tray and bake until golden brown and firm to the touch
Finally, these are great for dunking! makes the perfect treat with a warm cup of tea on a cold winter evening. I love these with a glass of milk in the night.
So give these a go, burn your lips and think of me!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp bi carbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar (lightly packed)
- 1/8 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) at room temperature
- 1 small egg at room temperature
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 3 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- turbinado sugar/raw sugar to coat (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360 F
- In a bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle, beat the butter with brown sugar until combined
- Add molasses, ground ginger and mix to combine
- Add the egg and beat to clear
- Sift flour, baking soda, salt and other spices into a separate bowl
- Add the flour mixture to the above wet ingredients
- Beat/mix on slow speed until everything combines together to form a dough and sides are cleared
- This dough should not be sticky, you should be able to form a ball easily by hand
- If it is too sticky, place in the fridge for 5- 10 minutes to firm up
- Prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment paper
- Take a table spoon of dough, squash it and roll between the two palms to form a ball
- Coat the dough with raw sugar and place on the rack and press to flatten a bit. Check the photo in the post
- Bake for 17 minutes. But check for doneness at 15 minute mark
- * it is always a good idea to bake a tester cookie, just to make sure the oven temperature is right and the cookie comes out the way you like! Depending on the tester, you can tweak the cookie size and the oven temp.
- Let cool off on the tray before removing on to a wire rack to fully cool the cookies
- Store in an air-tight container
4 comments
Good evening!
Your recipes are amazing and delicious
Thank you ♥️
Thank you so much 🙂
Can you suggest any substitute for molasses or would it be fine if I skip it
Substitutes: rice malt syrup, honey, treacle, dark brown sugar (melted with 1 tbsp water)