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Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary

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Jane’s Ginger Cookies

Published on June 11, 2014 β€’ Last updated January 28, 2019 by Elizabeth Atia
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Jane's Ginger Cookies

I have no idea who Jane is but she makes mighty good cookies.

This month Treat Petite, a food blogging challenge co-hosted by Stuart over at Cakeyboi and Kat The Baking Explorer, is all about childhood memories. The Biscuit Barrel, hosted by Laura over at I’d Much Rather Bake Than… is all about summer. So I’ve combined the two challenges in this one recipe, a nostalgic biscuit recipe from my rural Canadian childhood.

linky collage

I used to attend a summer camp for one or two weeks every summer. It was your stereotypical North American children’s summer camp: groups of children age 7-15 bunking in wooden cabins, outdoor toilets and showers, swimming, canoeing, camping, ziplining, fishing, camp fires – it had it all. The things I learned on those fantastic weeks helped shape who I am; self-sufficient and stubborn with an appetite for adventure.

This week my eldest is on his own summer camping trip at the Scottish equivalent in the Cairngorms. I can’t wait to hear the adventure stories he has to share when he returns.

One of my favourite parts of summer camp was the evening camp fire singsong. We’d all gather at the fire pit in the forest and sit on a circle of felled logs, singing our hearts out with new found friends while we watched the embers drift into the starry sky.

janes ginger cookie recipeAfter the camp fire we’d head back to the dining hall for milk and cookies. They were the best cookies, I know, because when I hit age 16 I worked at that summer camp as an assistant cook and I made those cookies for the camping children on giant baking trays in an industrial sized oven.

One of the recipes was for Jane’s Ginger Cookies and the original recipe I used to make for 100 camping children is barely legible in my old notebook. I’ve scaled down the recipe (the original made 16 dozen cookies!), converted it to UK measures and used UK ingredients (ie: a combination of treacle and golden syrup to replace the molasses). I can’t get the same type of molasses here in Shetland as I used to buy in Canada – blackstrap molasses is too dark. Oh what I would give for some Crosby’s old-fashioned molasses!

janes ginger cookies

Flavoured with ground cloves, ginger and cinnamon these biscuits are quite reminiscent of pepperkaker, or ginger snaps. They’re a hard biscuit ideal for dunking into a glass of ice cold milk or a hot cup of tea.

This reminds me of Len Fischer’s How to Dunk a Doughnut: The Science of Everyday Life (2002). The first chapter in this quirky book details The Art and Science of Dunking. True story! Fischer was commissioned by a leading biscuit manufacturer to investigate the best way to dunk a biscuit in order to avoid fishing around the bottom of the teacup for soggy remains.

The results concluded that the best way, in the absence of a chocolate topped biscuit (which holds everything together for longer), was to dunk the biscuit side on (see Figure 1.1) preventing the top from getting soaked. The science behind this involves capillary rise and the Washburn equation, but you really should read the whole chapter to be properly educated on the art and science of dunking. It is rather amusing.

how to dunk a biscuit
Figures from Len Fischer’s How to Dunk a Doughnut (pages 7 and 8)

So there you have it. The scientific method for dunking a biscuit, plus a perfect dunking biscuit recipe. Go and dunk, my dear readers, and be merry! πŸ™‚

Jane's Ginger Cookies

A crunchy ginger biscuit ideal for dunking.
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 13 minutes
Total Time: 43 minutes
Servings: 8 dozen cookies
Author: Elizabeth

Ingredients

  • 480 grams granulated sugar
  • 285 grams butter
  • 95 grams black treacle
  • 95 grams golden syrup
  • 1 free-range egg
  • 670 grams plain flour
  • 1 tsp Shetland sea salt
  • 2 tsp ground cloves
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • extra granulated sugar for rolling
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Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 180 C.
  • Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
  • Add treacle, golden syrup and egg and mix together well.
  • Sift flour, salt, spices and bicarbonate of soda together in a separate bowl.
  • Add dry ingredients to the wet and combine thoroughly.
  • Pinch off pieces of dough the size of a walnut and roll into a ball.
  • Roll the dough ball into granulated sugar to coat and place on an ungreased baking tray. Press down lightly with the palm of your hand to flatten.
  • Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to cool a few minutes on the baking tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Biscuits freeze and defrost well. They will also keep for up to a week in an airtight container.

Environmental Information

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Category: Cookies, Recipe

About Elizabeth Atia

Daydream adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Calls Shetland home.

Previous Post: « E is for… Education #AlphabetPhoto
Next Post: Home Made Fab Ice Lollies »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cindy @ Hun... What's for Dinner?

    November 22, 2015 at 1:49 am

    I love this type of cookie on a cold winter night with a cup of hot chocolate. There is just something about ginger cookies that make you want to curl up in front of a fire.

    Reply
  2. bev

    August 7, 2015 at 10:18 am

    look delicious

    Reply
  3. kayleigh white

    January 18, 2015 at 8:37 pm

    I used to hate ginger – detest it! But since maturing into late twenties, I find I love it more than chocolate!

    Reply
  4. Debbie Skerten

    November 23, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    Brilliant blog. You learn something new everyday x

    Reply
  5. Farhana

    November 6, 2014 at 9:01 am

    I love subtle smell of ginger!

    Reply
  6. bev

    September 9, 2014 at 10:42 am

    Look yum!

    Reply
  7. Pam Francis Gregory

    August 31, 2014 at 11:09 am

    These look gorgeous! Defo going to give these a try.

    Reply
  8. Heather Haigh

    July 27, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    An education and a recipe for ginger bikkies. What’s not to love?

    Reply
  9. Choclette

    July 24, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    Maybe Jane was Cornish as these look just like Cornish Fairings (ginger biscuits). Singing around the camp fire was my favourite part of school camp too – oh happy days! Don’t think we got to eat yummy biscuits like these though.

    Reply
  10. glenn hutton

    July 2, 2014 at 9:14 am

    Love the dunking guide ;0)

    Love the recipe, thank you!

    Funny thing how your taste changes over the years, when I was a child/teenager I detested ginger biscuits/cookies, in fact I hated ginger full stop. Don’t remember when this changed but I cannot get enough of the stuff in food and drinks.

    All I can say is never give up on something that you detested when you were younger as your palate changes as you you get older.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      July 2, 2014 at 9:37 am

      I absolutely agree! I was the same with olives, as I wrote recently πŸ™‚

      Reply
  11. Kat (The Baking Explorer)

    June 30, 2014 at 9:24 pm

    These look perfectly baked and deliciously crunchy. Thanks for entering them into Treat Petite!

    Reply
  12. Heather Haigh

    June 29, 2014 at 8:00 pm

    Treacle, golden syrup, ginger – oh yesssssssssssss.

    Reply
  13. Stuart Vettese

    June 27, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    Lovely Elizabeth. I always enjoy reading about your Canadian childhood.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      June 28, 2014 at 7:17 am

      Thanks Stuart πŸ™‚

      Reply
  14. Paul Wilson

    June 24, 2014 at 11:33 pm

    I love ginger biscuits. The problem I usually have when baking my own is that they either come out too hard or too soft – what’s the secret?

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      June 25, 2014 at 7:13 am

      This particular recipe makes very hard biscuits. I do have an old fashioned spice cookie recipe including ginger which is quite lovely and softer (I make them into bear paw shapes!) πŸ™‚

      Reply
      • Paul Wilson

        June 25, 2014 at 11:34 pm

        Is there a knack with biscuits to getting the “hardness” just how you want it?

        Reply
  15. sustainablemum

    June 24, 2014 at 7:22 am

    Wow these look amazing, I might just have to give them a try πŸ™‚

    Reply
  16. Tracy Nixon

    June 19, 2014 at 4:08 am

    Oh my favourite type of biscuit! I shall attempt this recipe!

    Reply
  17. Honey

    June 17, 2014 at 8:49 am

    These look yummy! x

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      June 17, 2014 at 9:16 am

      Thanks πŸ™‚ They are pretty scrummy, for sure!

      Reply
  18. Sally - My Custard Pie

    June 12, 2014 at 10:18 am

    The dilemma of whether to dunk or not. You might be rewarded by a softly, melting mouthful or a cup full of mush. Lovely recipe – addicted to ginger biscuits.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      June 12, 2014 at 10:22 am

      I’m not a dunker, really. I prefer a big mouthful of biscuit followed by a drink of milk, myself. Takes the risk out of dunking πŸ™‚

      Reply
  19. Vohn McGuinness

    June 12, 2014 at 9:59 am

    Those biccies look delicious. I so love that you have scientific graph on your page! Loved this post. πŸ˜€

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      June 12, 2014 at 10:01 am

      Thanks Vohn :)It was a really entertaining book so I felt I had to share a snippet from it. πŸ™‚

      Reply
  20. Kate - gluten free alchemist

    June 11, 2014 at 8:58 pm

    What perfectly crisp round ginger cookies. I love the crackly top and sparkly sugar grains. They look amazing! Jane was definitely in the know when it came to cookies! And as for the science of dunking? Brilliant!!!!

    Reply
  21. Stuart Vettese

    June 11, 2014 at 8:19 pm

    The science of dunking – love it!!
    Thank you for entering Treat Petite with these edible memories πŸ™‚

    Reply
  22. Laura

    June 11, 2014 at 2:09 pm

    I never knew there was a science to dunking biscuits – clearly my chemistry education has been wasted up to this point! These are gorgeous examples of ginger biscuits and I love those crackly tops =)

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      June 11, 2014 at 2:12 pm

      Everything is science; that’s the awesomeness of science πŸ˜€

      Reply

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About Elizabeth

Adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Loves bikes. Calls Shetland home. Read More…

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“Every day is another chance to get stronger, to eat better, to live healthier, and to be the best version of you.”

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