Gingernuts

The last 3 events I’ve been asked to go along to, I’ve turned up with a Kilner jar full of these, because you can knock them out whilst having a cup of tea in the morning. The key to success in any biscuit (or pastry, for that matter) is two-fold. No, you don’t need to have cold hands, or any other such myths. It’s all in the balance of two things: how much liquid you add, and how much you work the dough. The more liquid you add, whether it’s water, milk, eggs, cream, whatever, the easier your dough will be to come together and so the less you have to work it. If you’ve got a dry dough, though, the more you work it, the more it will come together, so you can use less liquid.

Step 1

First, preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4. Line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper (non-stick greaseproof paper).

 Step 2

Melt your butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then leave this to cool whilst you prepare the ingredients. If you don’t leave this to cool sufficiently, you could end up scrambling the egg when adding to the dry ingredients.

 Step 3

Into a large bowl, weigh your flour, sugar, bicarb and ginger. Mix these together to combine.

 Step 4

Add your butter and egg into your dry ingredients, then stir with a wooden spoon until it comes together. You’ll then probably need to switch to your hands to bring it together into a dough. Don’t be tempted to add any more liquid.

 Step 5

Squish your dough into a sausage shape so it’s easier to divide up evenly. Then, break it into 12 roughly equal pieces. Roll each of these into a ball and place them onto your prepared baking tray. Press down with a finger in the middle of each to squish slightly.

 Step 6

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or a dark golden brown colour you’d expect from a ginger nut. Leave to cool on the tray, and store in an airtight container or biscuit tin.

Top Tip:

These biscuits freeze better than any I’ve tried before – they’ll keep for up to 6 months and can even be eaten straight from frozen if you’re rushed. Just wrap the whole batch in cling film or place in freezer bags.

Enjoy!