If you love ginger then have I got a recipe for you! In the UK candied ginger is called “stem ginger” and these cookies use this tasty ingredient as one of the main flavors. These crispy-yet-chewy treats are a staple cookie (or “biscuit” as they say across the pond) in England and Ireland and if you’ve ever had the imported versions then you know how delicious they are.
Well, now you can make theses truly fabulous cookies at home. When you first bite into one of these stem ginger cookies you get a very crisp texture. But, then when you bite down on a piece of that chewy candied ginger the texture totally changes. It’s a really special cookie! And, as you might expect they are divine when enjoyed with a cup of hot tea of your choice.
To make these cookies you’re essentially making a shortbread recipe and so the dough is extremely crumbly like a pie crust. Don’t be alarmed! This is how it’s supposed to look.
To form the cookies you’ll need roll them into balls then gently flatten them on the cookie sheet.
The last step before popping these cookies into the oven is to sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top. For this reason it’s best to lay down some parchment paper under the cookies so that you don’t end up scraping up melted sugar from your cookie sheets.
These uncomplicated cookies have a very addictive quality in that the sweet flavor of candied ginger keeps you wanting more. Thankfully, these cookies are small because you will almost certainly want more than one!
Stem Ginger Cookies
Makes 20-24 cookies
40m prep time
20m cook time
179 calories
Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon water
- 5 tablespoons crystalized ginger
- 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mix butter and granulated sugar together. Add in flour, salt, ground ginger, and water and mix until just combined. Fold in crystalized ginger. Dough will be very crumbly.
- Tear off pieces of dough and gently roll each one into a small ball. Flatten gently with hands and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool on pan for 20 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe adapted from The Irish Times.