Gingernut Biscuits

Oh, sometimes it is fabulous to recreate much-loved biscuits and discover that they taste even better than from the packet!  Boasting aside, these gingernuts are incredibly easy and quick to make, and use only storecupboard ingredients.  In fact, I worked out it is quicker to make them than drive to the shops to buy them.  How's that for convenience?   The recipe below (borrowed from Delia Smith) makes 16 beautiful biscuits, which probably isn't as many as a packet, and they are very light and crisp - ideal partners for ginger ice cream (which I will be blogging shortly) or rhubarb compote.  Haven't tested them gluten free, sorry.

Gingernut Biscuits

Gingernut Biscuits

4oz/110g self raising flour

1 rounded tsp ground ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 ½ oz/40g granulated sugar

2oz/50g softened butter (Delia uses margarine)

2 tbsp golden syrup

Preheat the oven to 190 deg C, and grease (or parchment) 2 baking sheets.

Sift the flour, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, add the sugar, and then lightly rub in the butter/margarine until the mixture looks like large breadcrumbs.   Add the syrup and mix up until you have a stiff paste. 

Divide the mixture into 16 pieces of similar size, rolling each one into a ball.  When you put them onto the baking sheet, leave room for expansion – so about 8 per sheet, max.   Flatten each one with the back of a spoon or a dry hand.     Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown, spread and slightly cracked (Delia suggests putting them just above the centre of the oven, so I did them in two batches).   

Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.   You are supposed to store them in an airtight tin so they don’t go soft.   Did you know that the difference between biscuits and cakes is that biscuits go soft when stale and cakes go hard?