There's something a little mystical and magical about the old gingerbread folk; devoured at Christmas and chased by baddies in nursery rhymes. These are biscuits with baggage, that never fail to attract the restless hands of curious cooks. I'm ashamed to say though that, for a long time now I had seriously neglected them. Probably due to the fact that the shop bought ones scare me a little bit, with their gorily decorated, bright-as-the-sun icing smiles, staring back at you off the shelves. The gore didn't bode well in the taste department either. There's nothing magical about a sweeter than sweet cookie that's rock solid with barley a whiff of ginger. I've got a hazy memory carried over from childhood that a gingerbread-man should be soft in the centre with a little snap on the outter, and have a fiery, spicy and very very gingery kick.
I've been pondering the ultimate gingerbread man for a while now and have fialed miserably on many attempts to create perfect spicy dough. One attempt came out a bit like a spicey digestive biscuit, revolting I thought but apparently not to some people who said it reminded them how much they like digestives. I was determined to stir as far away as possible form the digestive similarities and remembered trying some regular circular ginger biscuits that had stem ginger in them. This would definitely add to the gooey soft centre. It had to be tried. It was and it worked. Well. Better than well. Of all the spicy dough combinations this made the most sense and got the best results.
These gingerstem-men are more spicy than sweet, have a fiery ginger kick, and the added extra dollop here and there of gooey stem ginger. It makes their usual roadkill physique look a little more characterful and lumpy and bumpy but I prefer them with their physical imperfections as long as the taste is the best. If you have a bit of the Bree Van De Kamp about you and prefer the immaculate appearance you could easily chop the ginger much more finely beforehand or whizz it up in a food processor this way you would still get the gooey texture with a smoother surface.
Ingredients:
100g / 3 and half oz unsalted butter
5 tablespoons demarera sugar
7 tablespoons Golden Syrup
2 teaspoons ground ginger
Half a teaspoon of Cinnamon
Half a teaspoon of Nutmeg
Ground black pepper, a pinch
200g / 7 oz plain flour
Half a teaspoon baking powder
Half a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Seal Salt, a pinch
50g / 1.7 oz Crystallised stem ginger
I've been pondering the ultimate gingerbread man for a while now and have fialed miserably on many attempts to create perfect spicy dough. One attempt came out a bit like a spicey digestive biscuit, revolting I thought but apparently not to some people who said it reminded them how much they like digestives. I was determined to stir as far away as possible form the digestive similarities and remembered trying some regular circular ginger biscuits that had stem ginger in them. This would definitely add to the gooey soft centre. It had to be tried. It was and it worked. Well. Better than well. Of all the spicy dough combinations this made the most sense and got the best results.
These gingerstem-men are more spicy than sweet, have a fiery ginger kick, and the added extra dollop here and there of gooey stem ginger. It makes their usual roadkill physique look a little more characterful and lumpy and bumpy but I prefer them with their physical imperfections as long as the taste is the best. If you have a bit of the Bree Van De Kamp about you and prefer the immaculate appearance you could easily chop the ginger much more finely beforehand or whizz it up in a food processor this way you would still get the gooey texture with a smoother surface.
Ingredients:
100g / 3 and half oz unsalted butter
5 tablespoons demarera sugar
7 tablespoons Golden Syrup
2 teaspoons ground ginger
Half a teaspoon of Cinnamon
Half a teaspoon of Nutmeg
Ground black pepper, a pinch
200g / 7 oz plain flour
Half a teaspoon baking powder
Half a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Seal Salt, a pinch
50g / 1.7 oz Crystallised stem ginger
Boil the kettle and fill a deep bowl two thirds full with boiling water. Put golden syrup tin in the water with the lid still on. Leave it in there as you get on with the rest of the baking. (This makes it easier to pour and measure than when it's at room temperature.)
Get a medium sized pan on a low heat and melt the butter slowly. Be careful not to brown it by heating it too high. When the majority has melted stir through the sugar until it dissolves and then add your runny-er syrup, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper. Stir this through for a minute or two more until you get a gooey brown mix. Set to one side to cool.
Whilst cooling heat the oven to 170 degrees C, Gas mark 3, or 325 F. Chop the ginger finely (or whizz with a blender). Prepare a baking tray with a sheet of baking paper covering the surface. Brush with a little melted butter to stop the biscuits sticking.
Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the chopped ginger. Gently add in the cooled off liquid mixture bit by bit folding together with the tips of your fingers to bind. If it's too runny add a little more flour (too dry add more melted butter). You want to end up with a moist but firm light brown coloured dough.
Get a medium sized pan on a low heat and melt the butter slowly. Be careful not to brown it by heating it too high. When the majority has melted stir through the sugar until it dissolves and then add your runny-er syrup, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper. Stir this through for a minute or two more until you get a gooey brown mix. Set to one side to cool.
Whilst cooling heat the oven to 170 degrees C, Gas mark 3, or 325 F. Chop the ginger finely (or whizz with a blender). Prepare a baking tray with a sheet of baking paper covering the surface. Brush with a little melted butter to stop the biscuits sticking.
Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the chopped ginger. Gently add in the cooled off liquid mixture bit by bit folding together with the tips of your fingers to bind. If it's too runny add a little more flour (too dry add more melted butter). You want to end up with a moist but firm light brown coloured dough.
Lots of recipes now call for the dough to rest in the fridge but I have found that baking powder and bicarbonate of soda respond best to being cooked immediately. I tried cooking half this batch immmediately and then half after 2 hours rest, and the best biscuits came out from the dough that hadn't rested.
I rolled my dough relatively thinly (about 2-3mml) to keep them moist after being cooked and also shaped my own by flattening and shaping the head out and pinching out the arms and legs. It's fun seeing the different shaped ones that come out rather than the uniform cutter shapes. When you take them out they are still soft so you could shape them further before they go hard by running the the blunt side of a knife around the edges.
If you are using the handy cutters, divide the dough in half and roll one piece at a time, with a rolling pin, again quite thin (1cm) on a floured surface. Then place them on the buttered parchment paper and bake in the pre-heated oven for 17 minutes. Take out and leave to cool until they go solid. Keep an eye on them. You want them to be a nice golden colour and not too dark a brown.
I rolled my dough relatively thinly (about 2-3mml) to keep them moist after being cooked and also shaped my own by flattening and shaping the head out and pinching out the arms and legs. It's fun seeing the different shaped ones that come out rather than the uniform cutter shapes. When you take them out they are still soft so you could shape them further before they go hard by running the the blunt side of a knife around the edges.
If you are using the handy cutters, divide the dough in half and roll one piece at a time, with a rolling pin, again quite thin (1cm) on a floured surface. Then place them on the buttered parchment paper and bake in the pre-heated oven for 17 minutes. Take out and leave to cool until they go solid. Keep an eye on them. You want them to be a nice golden colour and not too dark a brown.
Should make 17 or more medium sized ginger-stem-men.
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