I absolutely love gingernuts - I could sit and eat a whole packet in one sitting (and feel mighty sick afterwards mind you), so when I came across this recipe, I had to have a go!
All in all they were really easy to make, although I have made a couple of changes (like adding more ginger and a touch of cinnamon) - I have also amended the baking time from the original recipe - I know that all ovens vary, but I made the rookie mistake of leaving them in the oven for too long, so some of them had a slight burnt tinge which was a real shame. (Didn't stop me munching nearly the whole batch in bed though!!)
Ingredients:
Makes 16 biscuits
4 oz Self Raising Flour
2 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 1/2 oz Granulated Sugar
2 oz Margarine
2 oz Golden Syrup
Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 190oC (Gas Mark 5), and lightly grease a large baking sheet (or 2 smaller ones).
2. Sift the flour, ginger, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and then lightly rub in the margarine until you get a mixture that resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Add the syrup and then mix everything together to form a stiff paste.
4. Divide the mixture into 16 pieces of similar size, and roll each piece into a smal ball. Place them on a baking sheet, leaving plenty of room between them, as they spread out quite a bit during baking.
5. Flatten each ball slightly with the back of a spoon (it is easier to use a spoon than your fingers, but don't press down too much or the dough will stick to the spoon. Also, you want them to flatten naturally during baking).
6. Bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 10 minutes (or until they are golden brown, but not burnt around the edges!). Your ginger nuts should have spread out and cracked - just like the shop bought ones!
7. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Store in an air-tight container, where they will keep for a week or so.........if they last that long!!!
